Read the passage.

excerpt from Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

It was still a long way to Twenty-third Avenue, and as they passed one avenue after the other, Msimangu explained that Alexandra was outside the boundaries of Johannesburg, and was a place where a black man could buy land and own a house. But the streets were not cared for, and there were no lights, and so great was the demand for accommodation that every man if he could, built rooms in his yard and sublet them to others. Many of these rooms were hide-outs for thieves and robbers, and there was much prostitution and brewing of illicit liquor.


How does the language in this excerpt affect the reader’s understanding of Johannesburg in the 1950s?


A.) It captures the deep divisions, unfairness, and danger that existed in this time and place.

B.) It captures the sense of unity felt by those relegated to shantytowns outside of the city.

C.) It captures the similarities between the rural villages of South Africa and the settlements in its cities.

D.) It captures the sense of pride that many black South Africans felt at having a place of their own.