Read chapters 30-32 of Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country and write/post a journal: Identify and explain one of the surprises that Stephen finds after he returns to Ndotsheni.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

Answers

Wow! First one to post! Anyway, I think one of the biggest surprises that Kumalo sees on his return is how unselfish Jarvis has become. He gives the milk, and does that wierd stick thing that seems to have irrigation purposes, but I don't know. It almost seems as though Jarvis wants to help, and become more like his son. He cares about the welfare of South Africa now, where before he just stayed on his farm and lived his own personal life.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

One of the bigger surprises that Kumalo finds is Arthur's son. There's more than one thing remarkable about him. First of all, he is bridging a gap between whites and blacks, a gap left unfilled too long. To do this, he is learning their language and making friends with the other race. Also, he actively seeks friendship with the father of a man who killed his father (that sounded weird). At such a young age, these things are quite considerable.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

He's surprised that although people know what his son has done, they still respect him and want him to stay. Kumalo says to a friend, "With a sister who has left her child, and a son who has killed a man? Who am I to stay here? And his friend replies, "I have no desire to live without you."

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

One suprise that Stephen finds upon his return is how benevolent James Jarvis is. He donates milk to the city because they don't have any on account of the drought. This must have been a huge cost on him because of the high price of milk since it is scarce. This shows what kind of man he is.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

When he returns to Ndotsheni, Kumalo is surprised by how much it has changed...or how much Johannesburg has changed him. The things he experiences in Jo'burg make him want to do more for the community, but community leaders (except for Jarvis) seem resistant to change, even though change is something they desperately need.

The chief and the headmaster of the school do not want to follow Kumalo's plan to bring people back to Ndotsheni, and Kumalo realizes that he has grown while his village has stayed the same, perhaps even retrogressed.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

A suprise Stephen K. finds upon returning home is that he actually enjoyed his trip to johannesburg and wishes to return someday. He realizes this while he is reading the letter from Misamangu. This is a suprise because he was originally afraid of johannesburg and not much in his trip stands out as something that would've changed his mind.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

One suprise that Kumalo finds when he returns to Ndotsheni is that the people already know that his son killed a man. This shows the power of gossip and proves that word travels fast. It also baffels him because he thinks that the people will shun him because of what his son did, but the people embrace him.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

Stephen finds the "color blindness" of the child. I think this is very important. The child shows no racial customs, and Kumalo is able to laugh around him and enjoy himself. I think this will help Kumalo to realizr that the races can be equal and that it would not be a problem with normal people.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

Stephen Kumalo finds a more simplistic Ndotsheni. As much as he had regarded Johannesburg as the evil city, he finds himself learning much from the time he spent there, and missing it. Both he and Jarvis, having lost their sons in Johannesburg, have learned so much and are trying to bring their town to a less ancient mode of thought and working, but surprisingly, the people refuse to find a solution.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

There aren’t that many answers that haven’t been taken so far, so I’m going to go out on a limb here. Stephen is surprised that his town needs and misses him so much. On the train home, even a few trains away from his town, people recognize him and greet him and so on. They ask how his journey went and they all know he was on a journey. When he arrives home he finds that the people do not like the replacement parson. His town cares for Stephen in a special way.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

Stephen is surprised to find, or remember, how much different Ndotsheni is from Johannesburg. The people in Ndotsheni are generally a lot nicer. Johannesburg contained criminals, crime, and much racisim. Ndotsheni seems very different, and he may have forgotten about Ndotsheni while he spent so long in Johannesburg. This realization shocks him.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2005

One of the surprises that Stephen Kumalo finds when he returns to Ndotsheni is just how needed he is. This is shown very obviously when he is returning, and everyone exclaims how glad they are that he is back. This can be especially seen on page 255, with this quote: “A child comes into the path and she stands before Kumalo so that he must stop. We are glad that the umfundisi is here again, she says. —But you have had an umfundisi here, he says, speaking of the young man that the Bishop had sent to take his place. —We did not understand him, she says. It is only our umfundisi that we understand. We are glad that he is back.” This shows just how much the people of the village, even the children, need him there, and welcome him back. Even while the valley is a desolate place, filled by the members of a broken tribe do they want him back.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2005

One of Kumalo's major findings is that when he arrives to Ndotsheni, the people there already know that Absolom had killed somone. I wouldn't say he is mad about it but just kinda shocked. And then he is suprised again when he realizes how much Ndotsheni is different from Johannesburg. He feels comfort when he starts to remember all the wunderful things he mssed about Ndotsheni that he forgot about.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2005

When Steven returns to Ngotesheni he finds that the land is dry. He finds that the river is all dried up. Hefinds that there is no more milk left in the cows and the children are getting sick. This is very important for kids are dieing, there is change to come. but

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2005

When Kumalo returns to Ndotsheni he is surprised to find his troubles are far from over. His village is starving and dying because the river has dried up and the land was fallowed and dead. Also to his shock was the fact that the father of the man his son murdered helped to remedy this by contributing milk which there was a great lack of in the village. The Umfundisi thinks that it is very benevolent of man whose blood has committed those kind of crimes against him has helped aid the suffering of those he cares for.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2005

Being one of, if not the, last to post, I'm going to answer with something a little farther out. One of the suprises that Stephen gets is in his answer from God. Stephen says "Into Thy hands, oh God, I commend Ndotsheni." He then finds the milk coming from the white boy's visit. I think the way his prayer is answered proves that all races are equal under God, and that there is no reason to fear. Both of these are essential elements to the main conflicts of racial inequality and fear.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 2005