Kindness and love, they are a secret. He, according to Msimangu, is the one that the white people are most afraid of, because he is not afraid. Pleasant-faced man: A white man who works at the reformatory at which Absalom stayed. Lithebe, a Christian woman who feels that helping others is her duty. The chief: A self-important, proud man who is more concerned with displaying his power than with learning about ways to help Ndotsheni.
Tomlinson Along with Dubula and John Kumalo, he is one of the three major black leaders in Johannesburg. Knowing this, why do you think jarvis takes the book containing the lincoln address with him when he leaves That last two paragraphs in this chapter are about quiet. This desire for revenge has led the whites to demand more police protection rather than demanding more schools that could educate the masses who are performing the crimes. Harrison The father of John and Mary Harrison, James and Margaret Jarvis stay with him while they are in Johannesburg. He was well-loved by black and white South Africans alike. Unlike his brother, John Kumalo has forsaken the church and now lives a largely immoral life, having divorced his wife and taken up with a mistress.
He donates milk at first, then makes plans for a dam and hires an agricultural expert to demonstrate newer, less devastating farming techniques. And since Absalom is on trial for a similar crime, there is a real possibility that he will be made to suffer for this crime, as well as the one he actually committed. The premiere was attended by Paton himself, who had travelled from , as well as 's then-President with political acumen, the director had arranged for the first performance to take place on the President's birthday. He loves his money and power, loves that people will listen to him, but knows that if he says anything too controversial he will be put in prison. The agricultural demonstrator: James Jarvis pays him to come to Ndotsheni and help the villagers learn to work the land successfully. John Kumalo is quite the opposite.
Hlatshwayos Absalom Kumalo stayed with this woman while in Shanty Town before he went to the reformatory. Stephen also wants to know why John did not write. In chapter 7, Kumalo finds and confronts his brother. So Kumalo is in a perfect position to observe the damaging results of black unemployment and the lack of defined social roles in the people around him. He is happy to do it, because he wants money for himself, and independence from white people for his own people.
Despite coming across as arrogant and even a bit fake, John is still a powerful speaker. Barbara Smith One of Margaret Jarvis's nieces, James and Margaret Jarvis visit her during their time in Johannesburg. He cares about Absalom, but he is also cynical. So, while Kumalo and Msimangu are watching John give a speech, the narrator sums up: There are some men who long for martyrdom, there are those who know that to go to prison would bring greatness to them, these are those who would go to prison not caring if it brought greatness or not. And of course, he immediately gets cheated: a young man offers to buy a bus ticket for him and then disappears with his money. He is needed there, the letter says, to help his sister, Gertrude, who the letter says has fallen ill. In the novel, Absalom requests that his son be named , the name of one of 's disciples.
. A major reason why Absalom was missing is that he murdered Arthur Jarvis when he, Johannes Pafuri, and his cousin John attempted to rob his house. Absalom is young, immature, and irresponsible, but being caught, paradoxically, brings out the best in him. The morning of his departure, Kumalo rouses his new family to bring them back to Ndotsheni only to find that Gertrude has disappeared. John Kumalo The brother of Stephen Kumalo, he is a former carpenter who has become a great political leader in Johannesburg primarily because of his charisma and speaking abilities.
A kind and just man who believes in the strength of family life, Kumalo searches desperately for his son in order to reunite his family, but becomes an activist for social justice and a return to rural life once he learns that his son is responsible for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. A tall, young minister at the Mission House in Sophiatown, Msimangu has an acute understanding of the problems that face South Africa. Father Vincent He is the white priest at the Mission House who tells Stephen Kumalo that the sorrow that he feels over his son is an improvement over fear, for the sorrow can enrich him. With the help of friends, Kumalo obtains a lawyer for Absalom and attempts to understand what his son has become. Absalom Kumalo: Stephen Kumalo's only child. Deep down the fear for his son.
The beginning of the change in John Jarvis occurs when he gives a large donation to the African Boys' Club, an organization that Arthur Jarvis had helped sponsor. This is in sharp contrast to Stephen, who had to think very seriously about using his savings to come to Johannesburg. Though he is terrified of his execution, he eventually comes to terms with it, and arranges for all of his money to be given to his child when it is born. Neither of them are willing to accept that they have dodged responsibility, laying it at the feet of their more honest relatives. But he still wants to see his brother, so he and Msimangu set off to find him.