Note the variations in style in this chapter. Paton is presenting varied views about the social situation, but he seldom speaks in his own voice. He makes his condemnations, but they occur most often in such terse and effective sentences as: "No second Johannesburg is needed upon the earth. One is enough."
In the next chapter, Arthur Jarvis' essay is self-explanatory, but Mr. Jarvis' angry reaction indicates his initial lack of understanding about his son's drives. He is angry that his son should judge him and find fault with him. Part of it is anger at Arthur's impudence, but part seems to be anger at himself, anger at the thought that he failed Arthur because he failed himself and his country. He took too much for granted. He ignored things that might have upset him. What Mr. Jarvis took for granted or ignored, Arthur questioned, investigated, and thought deeply about. It is hard for a father, after eighteen or twenty years of being looked up to by his children, or at least of being the judge of right and wrong, to realize that they know more than he does, or that they have more wisdom and courage and honesty than he has. It is something that is difficult to accept, even after such a blow as the son's murder.
Stephen's quest here, the one he promised to undertake for his friend back home, has proved almost as fruitless as his own search for Absalom. All three of the people he has looked for (Absalom, Gertrude, and the servant girl) have been corrupted by the city and its life. All have become criminals of one sort or another.
