4. The uproar in Chapter 12 is sparked by crime and fueled by fear. The suggested solutions to the crime problem are often poorly thought-out or unrealistic. If you had a voice in this debate, what would you recommend be done in relation to the crime problem? Why do you think this recommendation is appropriate?
I would bring in a completely non-biased coalition of outsiders to sit down and squash this debate and make recommendations that have without doubt historically worked elsewhere............ have them make a plan and implement it. Apartheid was not the answer.
"Alan Paton uses the first section of this chapter to discuss the problems of South Africa through the description of a conference in which these problems are discussed. Several of these problems are only peripheral to the actual conflicts of the novel. The most obvious of these dilemmas is the one of apartheid, which had not been instituted at the time of the novel's publication but was obviously discussed. However, Paton discusses these problems from a purely white perspective, most significantly in the case of native crime. There is no discussion of crime against the natives, only concerns over the status and safety of whites.
Paton continues to suggest the fate of Absalom in this chapter, in which Kumalo learns that the police have been searching for Absalom as well. This greater implies a connection between the murder of Arthur Jarvis and the location of Absalom. Absalom's culpability in the murder of Arthur Jarvis is certainly consistent with his behavior and the reason why the young man is so elusive; he is not merely a transient, but instead is hiding in order to escape the authorities."
Cry, the Beloved Country
http://www.gradesaver.com/cry-the-beloved-country/study-guide/section2/
