While Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country is set in South African and discusses social problems present at that time, it really involves experiences all humans encounter in their lives: fear, repentance, and redemption. Paton designed his characters and their experiences to be real, that way readers can identify with them. His themes expel any restriction of time, location, or ethnicity.

Fear is introduced immediately in the novel. In describing the village of Ndotsheni, we are told the people live in fear of starvation. This leads many of the village men to Johannesburg to find work to support their family, leaving their loved ones behind to fear for their safety and integrity. When he travels to Johannesburg, Kumalo is fearful of what he will find there, in fact he was even afraid to open the letter delivered from Johannesburg. Once he arrives, he is both confused and fearful...