: Cry, the beloved country title meaning I'm reading a book in lit class, called Cry, the Beloved Country and I'm not sure what exactly that title is supposed to mean, so: "What does the phrase

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Often, I've found that, if the title doesn't make sense right away, it won't make sense until you read the entire book. The frame of the book's context should help you to figure out the meaning.
I did a brief search for the title meaning and found this. Here's a few excerpts to help:

First, there is the "Cry," which is an order to someone. It's basically saying, hey you! Cry!
The second part of the title tells us who the "Cry!" is addressing: "the Beloved Country." The beloved country is, of course, South Africa.

And in Paton's own words:

Indeed, Paton writes, in his note on the 1987 edition of the book, that the phrase Cry, the Beloved Country, "was written by one who indeed had loved the earth deeply, by one who had been moved when the birds of his land were singing"

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