"Cry, beloved country, for the unborn child who is the heir of our fear." We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Fear is a pervasive theme in Cry, the Beloved Country. The novel focuses on the idea of ​​how fear affects us. It shows the fear we feel when our world, our moral sense and our way of life begin to disappear. Paton uses fear as a way to express many of the political, economic, and social issues occurring in South Africa in the period in which this book is set. Fear is also embodied in many of the characters in the novel. Stephen Kumalo, who travels to Johannesburg to find his sister and son, is used by Paton to express the fear of the natives. “Basically the fear for his son. Deep down there is the fear of a man who lives in a world not made for him, whose world itself is slipping away, dying, destroying itself, beyond all memory.” He fears for his son, who after burglarizing a man's house and killing the man in an accidental shooting is being tried for murder. He fears for his village, plagued by poverty and drought. His son, who is another character used by Paton to express fear, reveals a different perspective. When he stands trial, he admits that the accidental shooting was committed out of pure fear. “The accused looks down at the floor again. Then he replies in a low voice, I was scared, I was scared. I never intended to shoot him." The fact that Absalom is easily influenced is due to his fear of the world. The murder of a man was not done with evil intentions but out of fear of conditions in South Africa. When Absalom is convicted, the judge recognizes that the acts were committed because of the social condition of South Africa. However, he still sentenced Absalom to death because of the law created by a “defective society.” In chapter 28, as the judge says, “his learned lawyer argues that he should not suffer the extreme punishment, argues that he is shocked, overwhelmed and affected by this act, praises him for his sincere and frank confession, draws attention to his youth and the disastrous effects of a big and evil city on character of a simple tribal boy. Deeply faced with the disaster that has engulfed our native tribal society, ... But even if it is true that, out of fear, selfishness and recklessness, we have wrought a destruction which we have done little to repair, although it is true that we should be ashamed of it and do something more courageous and forthright than what we are doing, nevertheless there is a law, and it is one of the monumental achievements of this defective society that has made a law and appointed judges to administer it... But a judge cannot joke with the Law because society is defective... I only point out that a judge cannot, must not dare to be influenced by the existing defects of society to do anything other than administer the Law law." Fear is not only demonstrated through the black natives, but also through the white natives. Fear is the main reason behind the restrictive and harsh laws created by white people. At the beginning of chapter 12, the author writes: “Doubt not that there is fear in the land. For what can men do when so many have become lawless? Who can enjoy the beautiful earth, who can enjoy the seventy years and the sun going down to the earth, when there is fear in the heart? Who can walk calmly in the shade of jacarandas, when their beauty is endangered? Who can lie in peace while the darkness hides some secret? What lovers can lie sweetly beneath the stars, when the threat grows with the measure of theirs..”