Please comment on Johannesburg as a metaphor in Cry, the Beloved Country.

I would argue that Johannesburg actually operates as more of a
symbol than a metaphor. Throughout the novel, in the way that both Kumalo and Arthur Jarvis
travel to Johannesburg, it seems to represent a place of evil and degradation, where people such
as Absalom and Gertrude are attracted and then become associated with crime and violence. Note
the way in which Kumalo is so overwhelmed when he arrives in
Johannesburg:

Black
people, white people, some going, some coming, so many that the tunnel is full. He goes carefully
that he may not bump anybody, holding tightly on to his bag. He comes out into a great hall, and
the stream goes up the steps, and here he is out in the street. The noise is immense. Cars and
buses one behind the other, more than he has ever
imagined.

There is a massive contrast
between the country and its peace and tranquility, and the noise and crime of Johannesburg. Note
the way in which one of the first things that happens to Kumalo is that he is tricked by a fellow
black man who takes his money to supposedly buy him a ticket. Johannesburg operates as the place
that corrupted Absalom and Gertrude and so many others like them.