Cry, the Beloved Country

In Chapter 23, why is there no need for a second Johannesburg?

One voice in Chapter 23 suggests that, with the money from the mines, a second Johannesburg might be built. However, Chapter 23 concludes with a different voice. This voice states, “No second Johannesburg is needed upon the earth. One is enough.”

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Welfare workers such as Father Beresford and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer suggest that another Johannesburg need not arise, for the government could set up something like the Tennessee Valley Authority, and some say that money is not the important thing at all in the situation. No second Johannesburg is needed, for one is enough. 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. This suggests that the problems in Johannesburg are not local and specific only to this large urban area, but exist elsewhere. More importantly, Paton suggests that these problems will continue to increase as urbanization continues in South Africa unless the changes he suggests are implemented.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/cry-the-beloved-country/study-guide/section4/