To begin, the novel was written to show and tell what segregation was and how it hurt so many. From the words I have read, I understand segregation to be the division of people solely by race. Also, the division has an affect on all races involved; mainly bad affects. For example, "They talked of young criminal children, and older and more dangerous criminals, of how white Johannesburg was afraid if black crime"(52) shows that white people were afraid of all black people just due to the fact that they are black. White people connected crime with black people. It was very unfair treatment. Black people were hurt and scared because of the white people who felt that they were better than all black people. The average white person never gave a black person a chance to show to them that they are people just like them. They had so many opportunities taken away from them. There are many examples of separation, which leads us to the next topic.
In the novel, the idea of segregation occurs many times and so does the problems brought up by it, in the novel. For example, "Kumalo's face wore the smile, the strange smile not known in other countries, of a black man when he sees one of his people helped in public by a white man, for such a thing is not lightly done"(81) is just one example of segregation through the book. It shows segregation by the bold type, whites helping blacks was very uncommon. That was the problem, white people did not believe that black people should be helped. The white people saw black people as useless and soul less animals. They never gave them the benefit of the doubt. Usually they were abusing or putting the them down, not daring to help them. There are so many more examples.
Last, the more segregation shown in the book, the more people are driven crazy by it. For example, "He is in prison, arrested for the murder of a white man"(128) shows that segregation drives even the good, mad. This quote shows that Absalom has committed a crime that he was never expected to do. He did such a thing because he was in the white mans house, Arthur Jarvis, to steal from him, and ends up shooting him. Segregation causes madness and crime to happen. People knew no other way to express themselves but through such actions.
This novel has the prominent theme of segregation. First, the purpose of the book is to show what segregation was like and what happened with it. Second, the theme of division comes up very commonly through the book. Last, this drives most people mad and make hasty decisions. The book's purpose is for segregation, it is shown many times, and it drives people mad.
