Throughout Cry the Beloved
Country fear is present in almost every character's life. In fact, it seems
as though fear has plagued all of South Africa. However, I feel as though many
rely too heavily on fear. They use it as an excuse. If they lie, they blame it
on fear. If they are rude to someone, they blame it on fear. People break the
law because they fear being hungry and homeless. There is an ever-present fear
of the unknown. Father Kumalo fears for his son. He also fears what he did
wrong. He feels personally responsible for his son’s wrongs. I feel as though
this is a common theme with parents all around the world in all eras. Parents
fear for their children’s safety, health, happiness, and overall wellbeing. Sometimes
they need to take a step and realize that there is only so much they can
control. When you let fear consume you, you let it dictate your life, and when you live in fear, you aren't really living at all.
There is an interesting part about fear in the book, and it talks about people being too afraid to change the city, and allow for blacks and whites to both have education, people fear change, and they fear idleness. Doing nothing and doing something could both hurt the Country, and the people have don't know what is beneficial. It seems their feelings of what is right is suffocated of their fear of losing money.
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