Here are your questions for this amazing book. Enjoy reading it, it is a treasure!
Introduction - It is vitally important that you read the introduction. It explains the purpose of the book, how it was written, the author’s life, etc. and it is necessary to understand this, in order to appreciate the book.
Q1 What book did he read before he started writing Cry, the Beloved Country? How did it influence him? Kevin
Q2 Book 2 was inspired by who? Tyler
Q3 Who was Dr. Verwoerd and how does he personify the way many White South Africans felt about the natives? Daniel
Book One
Chapter 2
Q4 What had they hoped for their son?
Chapter 5
Q5 What has been the result of the destruction of the tribe? How are Kumalo’s brother and sister victims of Johannesburg?
Chapter 7
Q6 Msimangu says his, “one great few in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.” What does this mean? Do we see it become true? Kevin, Tyler, Daniel
Chapter 8
Q7 Who does the government fear? Why do they find the “heart” more of a threat than the “voice”? Kevin
Chapter 9
Q8 Describe Shanty Town.
Chapter 11
Q9 Who is the murdered victim? What is the connection between Jarvis and Kumalo?
Chapter 12
Q10 Summarize the debate about education, law, and crime. Tyler
Q11 What purpose does it serve to keep the natives ignorant? What is the benefit? What is the harm? Daniel
Chapter 14
Q12 Summarize what we know about Absalom. The name Absalom means “father is peace.” Do you think there is a reason Paton decided to name his character Absalom?
Chapter 17
Q13 Why is Kumalo so moved by the lawyer who “takes the case for God”?
Book Two
First read the Gettysburg Address that so influenced Jarvis, by clicking here.
Chapter 21
Q14 Summarize what we know about Arthur Jarvis.
Q15 How does Arthur Jarvis feel about the racial division in South Africa? Describe his writings. Kevin
Chapter 22
Q16 What is “behind” the judge? Who is responsible for the laws? How doe the natives feel about the judge and laws? Daniel
Chapter 28
Q17 What do you think of the verdict?
Chapter 29
Q18 What story does John Kumalo refer to?
Q19 Contrast what he did tell his brother, and what he didn’t tell his brother. Kevin
Q20 What does Msimangu give to Kumalo? How does K respond? Tyler
Book Three
Chapter 30
Q21 Describe Kumalo’s homecoming.
Q22 Kumalo’s friend says that, “kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering.” How do we see this come true? Daniel
Q23 What does this same friend say about suffering? Is this true? Tyler
Chapter 33
Q24 What does Jarvis do for the native community? Why do you think he does these things? Kevin, Daniel, Tyler
Chapter 34
Q25 Why did Jarvis add to his letter the line, “You should know that my wife was suffering before we went to Johannesburg.” Why does this move Kumalo? Kevin
Chapter 35
Q26 Why is Kumalo so quick to remind the demonstrator all that the White man has done for them? (Think about what Msimangu said about love and hate.) Daniel
Chapter 36
Q27 Why does Kumalo go up the mountain? What Biblical imagery does this conjure up? Tyler
Q28 What is Kumalo thankful for?
I wrote your names after the questions I want you to answer. In addition to answering those questions, choose three more to answer as well. Don’t forget to fill our your reading journal!
6 comments:
Q2 Book 2 was inspired by who? Tyler
Abraham Lincoln, more or less.
Chapter 7
Q6 Msimangu says his, “one great few in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.” What does this mean? Do we see it become true? Kevin, Tyler, Daniel
He said this in the subject of the way their country was run and the possibility of either bitterness, or even revolution. “When they are turned to loving,” which before Misimangu had said that the people of that country don’t really know what is wrong, though there is something. When the leaders of the country figure out what is wrong and attempt to fix it, but the natives, who before where completely willing to change, their oppression has made them bitter thereby stymieing the change.
Chapter 9
Q8 Describe Shanty Town.
A run down ‘Town’ if it can really be called that, somewhere were the homeless or poor can rent out, or ‘build’; basically take some boards and throw them together with some grass. If it rained they all would be unfortunate. If you want to rent or buy a room there, you could wait as long as five years and still be no further up the list.
Chapter 28
Q17 What do you think of the verdict?
Although the Judge let John Kumalo’s son and Pafuri unjustly in the light that they both lied and abandoned their ‘friend’ to his death, and didn’t really even care, even though Matthew Kumalo was Absalom’ cousin, he still didn’t mind. Though that aspect was unjust, the way they judged Absalom in my opinion they judged it justly. If you break into a home with malicious intent, carry weapons, and physically hurt one of the occupants, even if Arthur hadn’t done anything in self-defense, if he had, the three thieves would have either assaulted him and still maybe have killed him, or they might have ran where they could possibly still be identified by the cook. So in summary, in the case of the two, unjust. Absalom’s case, just as possible. If he hadn’t gotten the death sentence he still could have been in jail for a while or would have had public service or what have you. The death of another human being, which is a stiff crime, so it would have been bad either way.
Q10 Summarize the debate about education, law, and crime. Tyler
The way their country was run, blacks were treated inferior to the white’s. The white leaders didn’t want the blacks to do anything but work in their mines and make their government. Their argument was, ‘it took us thousands of years to get where we are, we shouldn’t rush it for the blacks to be education. Of course, if you don’t do anything but work in dirty mines, and not even get a fair cut of their paycheck, are you going to be motivated? No, exactly how they were. So if you have no motivation, a bad paying job and inferior treatment, you probably aren’t going to behave lawfully. John Kumalo was mostly right about the way they were treated and the way they responded to the treatment. The reason crime rate was so high, is just treatment and injustice. If they had increased wages, decreased work hours, and increased education for blacks, the crime rate would go down substantially. All that said, God still calls us in the ten commandments; “do not steal…. Do not kill.... do not covet,” so in a biblical standpoint both are wrong. You can argue it either way and the way the whites justified themselves they said “they would die without us here,” well what did they do before you were there? That’s right, they were fine farming.
Q20 What does Msimangu give to Kumalo? How does K respond? Tyler
Misimangu gives Kumalo 32 pounds. Kumalo responds in crying and sobbing and happiness and sorrow.
Book Three
Chapter 30
Q22 Kumalo’s friend says that, “kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering.” How do we see this come true? Daniel
We see it come true through James Jarvis whose wife died, son died, and yet he still paid for the agricultural guy, for the milk, and for the church. So a man who lost his two closest family members was doing the most to restore the community.
Q23 What does this same friend say about suffering? Is this true? Tyler
Chapter 30
Q21 Describe Kumalo’s homecoming.
It was joyous for the people of the village, but for Kumalo, not so much. The people in the village were happy because the bishop who was there with them did not speak Zulu.
Chapter 33
Q24 What does Jarvis do for the native community? Why do you think he does these things? Kevin, Daniel, Tyler
He not only gives them plenty of milk, which actually saves two children from death. He also hires and pays for an agricultural specialist to care for the land. On top of that he also ends up paying for the church.
Chapter 36
Q27 Why does Kumalo go up the mountain? What Biblical imagery does this conjure up? Tyler
There are two images that come to mind when I read this part. The first is Jesus going to the Mount of Olives to pray and the second is Moses going to get the Ten Commandments.
Q3 Who was Dr. Verwoerd and how does he personify the way many White South Africans felt about the natives? Daniel. Dr. Verwoerd was the Prime Minister of South Africa. He had a very racial attitude towards the natives and was a driving force behind the apartheid ideology.
Book One
Chapter 2
Q4 What had they hoped for their son? They had hoped that their son Absalom would go to St. Chad’s. St. Chad’s was most likely some kind of college. For years they had saved money to pay for his tuition. Their hopes were short lived when he left for Johannesburg.
Chapter 5
Q5 What has been the result of the destruction of the tribe? How are Kumalo’s brother and sister victims of Johannesburg? Basically everyone has left home and settled in Johannesburg where they have followed quite different paths. Kumalo’s sister Gertrude has become a prostitute and alcohol dealer in order to put food on the table. Although she wanted to leave the city, it never happened. Kumalo made her dream of leaving possible. His brother John has become a political reformer, pushing for the rights of black people. Unlike Gertrude, John is happy with his life in Johannesburg and wants to stay. Both came to the city and quickly became integrated into the Johannesburg way of life.
Chapter 7
Q6 Msimangu says his, “one great few in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.” What does this mean? Do we see it become true? Kevin, Tyler, Daniel. It basically means that when the white people finally start to have love for the black people, the black people will despise the whites. I don’t think we do see this becoming true. There are a few blacks who dislike the white people, but this mindset does not appear to be the widely accepted view towards white people. Many white folks appear too view the black race as inferior. There are the occasional exceptions, but the white populace as a majority was in no way ready to love the black race.
Chapter 9
Q8 Describe Shanty Town. Because of the need for housing, Shanty Town was thrown together within just a few days and nights. The homes were made out of anything that could be found, wood, iron, poles, and many other things. Because the homes were built in haste and without good tools or materials, they were not stable or reliable. The black people were worried about the prospect of rain and a cold winter. The walls were likely to small to effectively keep out the cold, and the ceilings to porous.
Chapter 11
Q9 Who is the murdered victim? What is the connection between Jarvis and Kumalo? The murdered victim is Arthur Jarvis, the son of Kumalo’s neighbor Mr. Jarvis. When Arthur was a boy, Kumalo would see him riding his horse by the Church which he worked at. It must have been awkward knowing his own son had killed the son of his neighbor. Before the murder, it looks as if Kumalo and Mr. Jarvis never spoke much to each other. I think the murder made them better friends, not just neighbors that might occasionally wave to each other.
Chapter 12
Q11 What purpose does it serve to keep the natives ignorant? What is the benefit? What is the harm? Daniel. Leaving the natives ignorant makes it easier for the white people to do stuff behind their backs without them knowing. By leaving them in such a state, they can benefit by not having to worry about the black people revolting. It could be dangerous however if the black people were to find out and revolt. When several thousand black people go on strike, or unite together, that is quite a force to reckon with.
Chapter 17
Q13 Why is Kumalo so moved by the lawyer who “takes the case for God”? The reason Kumalo is moved is because the very idea of a white man trying to save the life of his son amazes him. Beforehand he never knew this lawyer and the lawyer never knew him, he was driven simply by compassion and the desire to do God’s will.
Book Two
Chapter 21
Q14 Summarize what we know about Arthur Jarvis. We know he grew up with his father in Ndotsheni and as a young man moved away and got married. He quickly became well known and loved. After his death, by reading his writings we see he is a revolutionary at heart. His desire is to see the black race treated as equals; as brothers in Christ. In his writings, he broke down the reasons why black people were being mistreated and the solution to the social problems plaguing society. If he had not been killed, he could have been very active in the fight for the rights of the black race.
Chapter 22
Q16 What is “behind” the judge? Who is responsible for the laws? How do the natives feel about the judge and laws? Daniel. The law is behind the judge, and the people make the laws, which means the white people make the laws and not the blacks. The black people feel cheated and unfairly treated
Chapter 28
Q17 What do you think of the verdict? The verdict seems fair and unfair at the same time. He got what he deserved, but it was an accidental killing. Still a killing is a killing. If he had been a white offender, he might have gotten off easier by getting life imprisonment or something similar.
Book Three
Chapter 30
Q22 Kumalo’s friend says that, “kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering.” How do we see this come true? Daniel. We see this come true in the way Mr. Jarvis treats the black community after the murder of his son Arthur. Mr. Jarvis’s grandson asked him for milk to be provided to the community after hearing Kumalo’s story of the child dying. Next Mr. Jarvis sent Mr. Letsitsi to help out with the dam and management of farming. Even though his neighbor’s son had hurt him deeply, Mr. Jarvis chose to turn around with love and kindness instead of wrath and hatred.
Chapter 33
Q24 What does Jarvis do for the native community? Why do you think he does these things? Kevin, Daniel, Tyler. Mr. Jarvis sent Mr. Letsitsi to help the town of Ndotsheni build a dam and better manage their farm land. Along with the rain, Mr. Letsitsi brought hope and purpose to the town.
Chapter 35
Q26 Why is Kumalo so quick to remind the demonstrator all that the White man has done for them? (Think about what Msimangu said about love and hate.) Daniel. He reprimands the demonstrator because the white man Mr. Jarvis has been very generous and kind to the town of Ndotsheni. I think he was also making the point that not all white men were wicked.
Q1 What book did he read before he started writing Cry, the Beloved Country? How did it influence him?
He read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. After reading this famous book, Paton adopted the method of using preliminary dashes instead of quotations.
Book One
Chapter 2
Q4 What had they hoped for their son?
They had hoped that he would attend St. Chad’s, the local school.
Chapter 8
Q7 Who does the government fear? Why do they find the “heart” more of a threat than the “voice”?
The government hears the heart of the african american people. They fear that their oppression of them will soon be challenged. Because voices can be silenced, but the heart is something that is indestructible.
Chapter 9
Q8 Describe Shanty Town.
It's a town full of perversity and prejudice.
Chapter 11
Q9 Who is the murdered victim? What is the connection between Jarvis and Kumalo?
Arthur Jarvis. Kumalo's son killed Jarvis' son.
Chapter 21
Q14 Summarize what we know about Arthur Jarvis.
He was an outspoken young man. He was voiced about his opinions of freedom for african americans.
Q15 How does Arthur Jarvis feel about the racial division in South Africa? Describe his writings.
He hates the racial division and strives to fix this problem. He is animate in this 'quest' of his.
Chapter 33
Q24 What does Jarvis do for the native community? Why do you think he does these things?
He inspires hope in them with his writings and actions. He does these things because he is fed up with the unjust things that are happening to his people.
Chapter 34
Q25 Why did Jarvis add to his letter the line, “You should know that my wife was suffering before we went to Johannesburg.” Why does this move Kumalo?
I'm not sure why he added it. Maybe to make Kumalo feel sorry for them? I think Kumalo realizes that Jarvis and his family are not doing well in Johannesburg and are worse off that before.
Good work Tyler. Your answers are thorough and describe the perspective of both the book and you. That is good! I like knowing what you think.
I think with Q10 you hit on some good points. The Whites certainly mistreated the natives, and then the natives responded with criminal activity. Both are wrong in what they do. We are responsible for our actions, no matter the circumstance. This also ties in with Kumalo's son. Even though he didn't mean to kill Arthur, he still did, thus he is guilty. So really what we see is K's son being a microcosm of the native community in South Africa.
(If you don't know what microcosm means, look it up! It's a great word!:)
Overall, well done on the questions! I too thought of Jesus and Moses, there are so many different references to mountains in the Bible as well. I think it is a beautiful scene - Kumalo watching the sun rise, as the life of his son is extinguished. So the book ends with great sadness, yet hope.
How did you like the book? How did it compare to the other books we have read so far?
Daniel,
Nice work on the questions. You have really been excelling in this area!
I think it is a sad irony that they have saved $ for their son to go to college, and instead the $ is spent finding their wayward son.
It is a sad fact that there is so much fear and hate in the city. And there are certainly some that have "turned to hating" as M feared. John K is one of them! I think there is definitely an undercurrent of resentment towards whites by the natives.
I like how you point out that after the terrible murder, K and J become better acquaintances. This is yet another part of the story where a positive development comes out of a horrible event.
You might want to go back and re-read chapter 22. Even the blacks respect the rule of the judge. The laws were generally fair. Apartheid was not a system of passed laws necessarily. So even the native community respected the judge and the law.
Book 3 is so full of love replacing hate and Mr. Jarvis being the example of that. Great job with those questions! The redemption was not lost on you!
What did you think of he book compared to the others we have read?
Daniel,
For Q25 Jarvis mentions that his wife was suffering before the death of their son. This is to make Kumalo feel BETTER. He wants to make sure that Kumalo does not think that she only became ill after the death of their son. He is relieving any guilt about Kumalo's son also being responsible for his wife's sickness. Might want to re-read this part book, because what Jarvis writes is another way he shows that he has forgiven Kumalo's son completely.
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