Cry Journal #5

There are many characters that Alan Paton did not give a name to, and one of the characters is Absalom's wife. Throughout the book, she appears in various places of suffering, and it makes her seem older than she is. One time is when Kumalo tells her that her fiancée is in trouble with the police. Kumalo then asks her, out of anger, if she would be "willing" to him. She responds yes, and Kumalo is grieved because he did not mean it. She is also pregnant, and when she talks to Gertrude, they "laugh carelessly". But, throughout the book, Alan Paton refers to her as "the girl" as if to remind us that she is only a child. Eventually, Gertrude realizes this and stops laughing carelessly. "The girl"'s situation represents that in Johannesburg, you become older than you really are. This decision of Paton's represents very well that there is no room for children in Johannesburg.