Cry, The Beloved Country is unlike any other book I have read. The classical style of the text enriches the reader’s mind with deep though between the silver lining. Alan Paton is developing a story of Indigineous people as they tackled the world around them. On page thirty four, Paton develops the tone of the story with “The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightening flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are the valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.” (Paton, 34). The author creates a sense of decay and tragedy among the land. Among the people. The story follows the main character, Rev Stephen Kumalo. After he receives a letter from a man named Msimangu concerning his sister, Gertrude, he makes haste to Johannesburg. Believing she is ill, he soon discovers she is a different kind of ill. Living in a dirty sin filled city all the while committing each sin and bearing a child. The Reverend is at a loss. Determined to bring her home, he later decides to look for his son, John, who also happened to disappear in Johannesburg. Kumalo finds himself discovering the struggles of colored people in Johannesburg, particularly the busses. As the people walk from every destination rather than succumbing to negro discriminitories on public transportation. Both men travel together in hopes of finding the lost son. Kumalo faces “…anxiety turned to fear, and your fear turned to sorrow.” (Paton, 140). However,  the author points out how “…sorrow is better than fear. For fear impoverishes always, while sorrow may enrich.” (Paton, 140). The novel dives deep into the concept of adversity. Whether it be in the little or catastrophic things. A message worth sharing.