Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder.

Assured by these developments, Kumalo embarks on the search for Absalom, first seeing his brother John, a carpenter who has become involved in the politics of South Africa.

Back in Ixopo, Kumalo makes a futile visit to the tribe's chief to discuss changes that must be made to help the barren village.

Paton attempts to create an unbiased and objective view of the dichotomies it entails: he depicts whites as affected by "native crime" while blacks suffer from social instability and moral issues due to the breakdown of the tribal system.

Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire.

For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.Paton frequently uses literary and linguistic devices such as microcosms, intercalary chapters and dashes instead of quotation marks for dialogue to indicate the start of speech.

Cry, the Beloved Country was written before the passage of a new law institutionalizing the apartheid political system in South Africa.

In the author's preface, Paton took pains to note that, apart from passing references to Jan Smuts and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, all his characters were fictional.

Also, in the New Testament Book of Acts, Stephen was a martyr who underwent death by stoning rather than stopping declaring the things he believed.

Among Peter's better-known traits is a certain impulsiveness; also, after Christ's arrest, he denied knowing Jesus three times and later wept in grief over this.

Paton wrote the screenplay with John Howard Lawson, who was left out of the original credits because he was blacklisted in Hollywood for refusing to give information to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

[citation needed] In 1983, a historic stage adaptation was performed by the Capital Players theatre group at the Moth Hall in Gaborone, Botswana.

The country was at that time one of the leading "frontline states" to apartheid South Africa and a centre for artistic activity that often stood in quiet opposition to the racist regime just across the border.

The premiere was attended by Paton himself, who had travelled from Natal, as well as Botswana's then-President Quett Masire (with political acumen, the director had arranged for the first performance to take place on the President's birthday).

James Earl Jones played the Reverend Kumalo and Richard Harris filled the role of Jarvis.

The original Broadway production opened on 30 October 1949 at the Music Box Theatre and starred Todd Duncan and Inez Matthews.