Cry, the Beloved CountryIn Cry, the Beloved Country, author Alan Paton used two main characters to present both the white point of view and that of Africans. James Jarvis, Paton's European characters have undergone a subtle but also impactful transition; His indifference to society's evolving problems then surprisingly transformed into the courage to act to solve those problems. During his trip to Johannesburg, trying to understand his son's "liberal" point of view and witnessing the downfall of a young African girl, Jarvis discovered that his apathy only compounded the difficulties facing his country. confronted; Unable to be a spectator after the death of his son, Jarvis decided to "...do all the good that was in his power." However, Jarvis discovered that "such a thing [helping Africans wherever he could] is not done lightly", but requires boldness and determination to achieve these goals. As Book II of Cry, the Beloved Country unfolded, Paton described Jarvis as a white man. British farmer looking down on the valley from his "high place", a narrow-minded person who only saw things from his point of view, "...if they [the Africans] got more land, what if by chance They could make a living, who would work on the white man's farm?" While in Johannesburg, Jarvis learned that his son, Arthur Jarvis, who had recently been murdered, had fought and spoken out about the very issues of the society his father ignores and avoids. "Yes, he [Arthur Jarvis] was always talking here and there... Native crime, and even more native schools, and he raised quite a dust in the newspapers about the conditions in the non-European hospital." Devastated by the death of his deceased son and confused by "this boy who had gone traveling in strange waters", Jarvis began to doubt his principles and morals. "I didn't know not that it would ever be as important to understand him [Arthur Jarvis]" Indeed, Jarvis found that indifference was slowly degenerating the society around him, "...it went in the wrong direction and began to brew alcohol. .she was arrested and sent to prison...I don't know...And I don't care." Later, as Jarvis comes across an essay written by his son: "Of them [James and Mary Jarvis] I [Arthur Jarvis] learned everything a child should learn about honor, charity and generosity..