Cry, the Beloved Country
Chapter Questions
BOOK ONE
Chapter 1
1. Chapter One gives a panoramic view of the countryside. Describe the view
and note the main differences between the hillside and the valley.
2. What comment does the narrator make about the importance of the valley?
3. Who remains living in the valley?
4. Identify one simile used in the chapter.
Vocabulary: Umzimkulu, Ixopo, kloof, titihoya
Chapter 2
1. Chapter One introduces the setting. Chapter Two introduces the plot. State
your impressions of Kumalo and his wife. Support your answer with textual
references.
2. Identify the characters that are introduced in this chapter.
3. Who sent the letter to Kumalo? Outline the contents of the letter.
4.What central conflicts are introduced in this chapter?
5. What type of narrator is used in Book One?
Vocabulary: Johannesburg, umfundisi, Zulu
Chapter 3
1. What things about the trip worry Kumalo? What does this tell us about
Kumalo?
2. What request does his friend make?
3. Give evidence showing the distinction between social classes in South Africa.
4. On page 17 Paton outlines Kumalo’s fears. What are they? What does the last
fear reveal about this time period in South Africa?
5. Explain the statement: “It was this world alone that was certain.”
Vocabulary: lorry, vain
Chapter 4
1. Why do the mines seem to cry? What is being mined in South Africa?
2. How is Kumalo immediately taken advantage of in Johannesburg?
3. Who offers to help him travel to an area of the city called Sophiatown?
4. Who does Kumalo meet at the Mission House?
Vocabulary: kraal, Tixo, pilgrimage
Chapter 5
1. Where has Msimangu arranged for Kumalo to stay?
2. What information does Kumalo receive about Gertrude, John and Absalom?
3. Summarize Msimangu’s comments about the tragedy of the broken tribe.
Chapter 6
1. Describe Claremont.
2. Do you think Gertrude is sincere in her desire to leave the city? Why or why
not?
3. How do we know that Kumalo believes she is sincere?
4. Explain the statement “One day in Johannesburg, and already the tribe was
being rebuilt, the house and soul restored.”
Vocabulary: petition, torrent, Bantu
Chapter 7:
1. John prefers to speak English. Why does Paton give us this detail?
2. Why does John prefer to live in Johannesburg?
3. According to John, how is the church like the tribal chief?
4. What is the one hope that Msimangu sees for South Africa?
5. Where had Absalom been living?
Vocabulary: stipend, parson, fidelity, sombre, oppress
Chapter 8
1. Msimangu says, Dubula, a Black leader, “has the heart.” How does he
demonstrate this quality?
2. Why is there a bus boycott?
3. How do some white South Africans show that they do not fear or hate black
South Africans?
4. Why is Msimangu bewildered?
Chapter 9
1. What tensions are caused by the housing crisis?
2. The author uses repetition in this chapter. List three expressions that are
repeated several times. Why does Paton do this?
3. How does the author create sympathy for the people of Shanty Town?
4. The black South Africans see Shanty Town as a sign of hope. What is
Dubula’s plan?
5. How do white South Africans view Shanty Town?
Chapter 10
1. Why do Gertrude and Kumalo never talk of the “deep things” in
Johannesburg?
2. As Kumalo looks for Absalom, we see apartheid policies in action. Identify two
of them.
3. Absalom’s girlfriend is a symbol of what happens to many young girls in South
Africa. What is her story?
Chapter 11
1. What are the headlines in the newspaper?
2. Who was Arthur Jarvis? What was his work? Who was his father?
3. Explain the following quotation: “Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the
custom that is gone. Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an
end.”
4. How does Kumalo react to the news of Arthur Jarvis’ death?
Chapter 12
1. Identify three problems that are revealed in this chapter.
2. What prevents or hinders possible solutions to these problems?
3. Though Kumalo’s search for Absalom seems to be in a separate plot from the
beginning of this chapter, how are they in fact related?
Chapter 13
1. Describe Kumalo’s emotional state at the beginning of this chapter. Why does
he “recover”?
2. What does Msimangu say in his speech to the blind people and to Kumalo
indirectly?
Chapter 14
1. Who confirms Kumalo’s worst fear?
2. John Kumalo acts differently on the two occasions in which we see him in this
chapter. Illustrate and explain the reason for the change.
3. Why does the white man become angry?
4. What do you make of the relationship between Stephen and Absalom?
Chapter 15
1. How does Msimangu explain his anger to Kumalo when he apologizes?
2. Why does he advise Kumalo to get a lawyer?
3. Why is Kumalo bitter and in despair?
4. What does Father Vincent direct him to do?
Chapter 16
1. In what ways has Absalom’s girlfriend become a victim of the harsh
environment?
2. How is Kumalo cruel and unkind in this scene? How can you account for this
behaviour?
Chapter 17
1. Make a brief point-form summary of this chapter.