Cry, Beloved Country Study guide  

Matching  

Mrs. Ndlela- a woman in Sophiatown who makes Absalom leave because of his friends  

Mrs. Lithebe- a woman in Johannesburg who houses Kumalo, and then Gertrude and her son 

Mrs. Mkize- a woman in Alexandra who houses Absalom and his stolen things  

Mary Jarvis- Arthur’s wife 

Maragaret Jarvis- Arthur’s mother, and she dies at the end of the book  

Mr. Carmichael- the lawyer Father Vincent procures for Absalom 

John Harrison- Arthur’s brother-in-law who shares his opinions about the natives 

Napoleon Letsitsi- Agricultural demonstrator sent to Ndotsheni by Jarvis 

Kuluse- Zulu man in Ndotsheni whose baby is dying for lack of milk 

Johannes Pafuri- present with Matthew and Absalom at Arthur’s murder, isn’t called guilty at the trial 

Hlbanei- the taxi driver in Alexandra who steals things with Absalom  

Van Jarrsveld- Afrikaans policeman who informs Jarvis of Arthur’s murder 

Sir Oppenheimer- white man involved in government and development of the mines  

Richard Mpiring- Arthur’s houseboy who is wounded in the events that lead to Arthur’s death 

Dubula- Native African who organizes the bus boycott and Shantytown’s construction  

Fill in the Blank (Background of the book) 

Inkosi- means chief or master  

Tixo- a Xosa word meaning Great Spirit 

Blood River- 1838, battle of the blood river, 464 boers defeated more than 10,000 Zulu, 3,000 Zulu are killed and there are few Boer losses, boers are determined to keep separate from British and Africans, stay in Dutch reform Church 

Umnunzana- means sir 

Unfundisi- means parson but is also used as a title and used with respect  

Transvaal- one of the two Boer Republics, in 1886 diamonds and gold are discovered here  

Nelson Mandela- head of ANC- African national congress, jailed in 1963 because ANC is banned. 1990: the ban went away, and Mandela is freed, 1993: Mandela wins the Nobel peace prize along with F.W. de Klerk (National Party President), 1994: Mandela is elected president of South Africa  

Sharpeville- 1960: Sharpeville police shot into demonstrators against pass laws, 69 unarmed people killed, state of emergency declared; held for 90 days, more than 22,000 arrested 1963: Nelson Mandela-head of ANC-is jailed  

Soweto- children demonstrate against use of the Dutch derived Afrikaans language in school and they get gunned down. Riots around the country which leads to a death toll of 1,500 + 20,000 people imprisoned. Governments around the world try to help South Africa. 

Pretoria- A city founded by Voortrekkers Piet Retief and Gret Maritiz. Capital of the Union of South Africa. (It was in the back of the book ava)  

Multiple choice  

Book One 

Letter opening and its information- a child brings a letter to Kumalo, and he is scared to open it, it is from Msimangu and he writes that Kumalo’s sister is sick and asks him to come the Johannesburg 

Kumalo’s journey to Johannesburg- Him and his wife agree to take their saved money to Johannesburg, he mistakes one of the mine buildings for Johannesburg, and reads the bible on the train,  he is nervous about going, scared of traffic, not having enough money, not coming back the same, seeing his son, a bus or going on a wron one, getting hit by a bus, and getting lost. His friend asks him to check on Sibeko’s daughter, hears the Afrikaans language, sees the mines, a young man offers to help him find the right bus to Sophiatown and ends up stealing his money, a man from Church takes him to Msimangu 

Gertrude’s life and situation- Gertrude goes to Johannesburg with her son to find her husband who went to the mines, but is now a prostitute and has been in prison, She is initially sullen and blames others for her actions, her and her brother are not close, she is ashamed and says she is a bad women, Kumalo gets mad at her at first then asks if she wants to come home with him, she says yes, but then says she is not good enough, but Kumalo plans to take her anyway, the night before they leave Gertrude has a thought of being a nun, but the next morning she has disappeared and left her son, whom Kumalo takes with him on his journey back to Ndotsheni. 

John Kumalo’s life, beliefs, and treatment of his brother- successful business, no longer married to Esther, talks about having “experience in Johannesburg”, is glad he is no longer in Ndotsheni under the rule of the Chief, he is angry over the unequal distribution of resources-the blacks work the mines for the whites but don’t get any of the reward, is an indifferent father-doesn’t know where his son and nephew are at the end of the book he betrays Kumalo and finds a lawyer only caring about himself and his son 

The bus boycott-  Dubula has the heart and leads the boycott and thinks nothing for himself, some whites help, and because of the boycott Msimangu and Kumalo must walk many miles to their next destination 

Kumalo’s interaction with Absalom’s girl- when he visits Absalom’s girl, he gives into the temptation to hurt her, forces her to admit she would have taken him if she desired, he apologizes to her and some pain is lifted once he leaves  

Book two 

Circumstances of Arthur Jarvis’ death- Arthur Jarvis was in his house when Absolam and a few others broke in. According to Absalom's testimony, he shot Arthur Jarvis as defense because he was spooked. 

Arthur Jarvis’ beliefs and actions regarding South Africa- speaks many languages including Zulu and Afrikaans, he admires Abraham Lincoln and Jesus, deals with the issues of Christianity: how South Africans have used Christianity to justify racism; how he feels country is inherently unchristian, although he feels his parents are good parents, they failed to teach him anything about the country that he lived in, dedicates his life to the struggle because he feels he has no choice and is glad his wife agrees with him, his greatest joy would be if his children grow and share his beliefs  

John Harrison and Mr. Harrison Sr.’s reactions to Arthur’s views- greatly admired and was influenced by his brother-in-law, Arthur Jarvis  

Meeting of Kumalo and Jarvis-  They meet when Kumalo is looking for Sibeko’s daughter, Jarvis displays compassion towards Kumalo at the house of springs although he does not physically help him; he also does not translate his nieces words  

Absalom’s trials- Absalom tells the truth and says he shot out of fear, learn of his attempts to hide after the murder, he admits he has repented because he was caught and is in trial, another native murder of whites occurs just before the verdict is due: Msimangu and Mrs. Lithbe worry that it will affect the verdict, the judge makes a statement about the law, it is the one achievement of a corrupt society and cannot be set aside, it is not the place for a judge to decide how far human beings are responsible for their actions-under the law they are fully responsible, the judge can’t find any extenuating circumstances to grant mercy, the other boys get off, and Absalom is sentenced to death by hanging  

Interactions Kumalo has with his brother, Jarvis and Gertude-  

Book three 

Kumalo and his nephew- Gertrudes son, whom Gertrude left behind with Kumalo to go back to being a prostitute, gets taken in by Kumalo to raise as if his own. 

Kumalo’s homecoming, the condition of Ndotesheni, Kumalo’s congregation – drought has continued when Kumalo returns, the people of his congregation are excited he has returned  

Arthur Jarvis’ son- visits Kumalo unaware of the true conditions the natives live in, first surprised there is no refrigerator and then surprised there is no milk, acts on what he discovers; by the end of the book Arthur’s hope for his children are already fulfilled, small bright boy and he learns to  speak Zulu following in his father’s example, visits Kumalo to say goodbye before he returns to Johannesburg, Kumalo tells James Jarvis he sees the same brightness in the boy as he did Arthur 

Restoration of Ndotesheni: milk, chief, farming improvements- Kumalo prays for the restoration of Ndotesheni, Kumalo visits the  chief to seek help, the helplessness of the chief should remind you of John Kumalo’s description of the chief in book 1, Kumalo prays again, and then Arthur Jarvis’ son sends the milk from his grandfather’s farm for the starving children, Kumalo witnesses the group of men including the magistrate, the chief, and Jarvis placing sticks in the ground-the sticks that seem to possess some unknown significance, a storm arrives to relieve the drought symbolic rain, conversation between Kumalo and Jarvis take place in the Church: will lead to Jarvis’ support for the restoration, Napoleon Letstsi arrives-agricultural demonstrator- he has been sent by Jarvis, Jarvis sends a letter to the Church indicating his desire to build a new Church, agricultural reform continues, a bulldozer works on the dam 

Kumalo’s Bishop-  Kumalo meets with him and the bishop tells him to leave Ndotensheni because he is old and lives right by Jarvis, in the end they agree that Kumalo should stay. 

Interactions between Kumalo and James Jarvis-  

Absalom’s death- because he was found guilty, he was hung.