Question

The problem is not that things are broken. The problem is that they are not repaired again. The white man has broken the tribe. And it is my belief that it cannot be repaired again. But the house that is broken, and the man that falls apart when the house is broken, these are the terrible things." Do you believe that the novel agrees with Msimangu's assessment of South Africa? Why or why not?

Answer 1

This passage comes from the novel Cry, the Beloved Country.

I believe that the novel agrees with the assessment that Msimangu makes of the situation in South Africa. In this passage, Msimangu states that the main problem of South Africa is that the disruption caused by Europeans severed the ties people had with their tribes. The consequence of this is that people have nothing left in their towns, which takes them to Johannesburg. Once in the city, they become morally corrupt. This is reflected in the themes that the book deals with. The book is concerned with the way in which tribal structures have been lost, and it suggests that this is one of the main causes of the problems the country is faced with.