"No second Johannesburg is needed upon the earth." Chapter 23, page 205 of Cry, the Beloved Country.
It pertains to the idea of the province Odendaalsrust.
growing larger because of the discovery of gold. At this point in the novel, the author Alan Paton breaks almost entirely from the original narrative to discuss the political situation in South Africa. This quote is significant because it sums up the political themes. Paton focuses on the problems of Johannesburg as well as the other events in the novel. The problem being spoken of here is that of Odendaalsrust growing to be a city like Johannesburg.
Paton's views on the rural areas and the urban areas are clear through his writing. When he speaks of Ixopo and the surrounding rural areas, he illustrates that the "hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it," (pg. 35) and "it holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof," (pg. 35). Yet when he speaks of Johannesburg he speaks of the political corruption, the loose women, and the crimes. He shows and affinity for the views of the Left Clubs and Church Guilds in their suggestion that the only solution for South Africa is a greater sense of love and brotherhood. .
Paton's perspective also has a strong American influence. In previous chapters he mentioned the ideas of Abraham Lincoln. In this chapter he mentions Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program. He says if a new city like Johannesburg arises then the same problems will face the city. A second city would bring a second Parktown and Shanty Town and Pimville (the ghettos of Johannesburg). Those towns would bring about more welfare workers, thus creating the need for programs such as the New Deal's Tennessee Valley Authority. Not to mention the crime that would double. .
The discussion of the possibility of a new Johannesburg in South Africa serves to broaden the scope of the novel from the situation in Johannesburg to the entirety of South Africa.
