Analysis

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Wednesday 4/9 page: 44
“The journey had begun. And now the fear back again, the fear of the unknown,”
From the passage this quotation is located in, the reader can hypothesize that throughout this novel Stephen Kumalo could become an epic hero. One could especially foreshadow him being a hero due the description of Johannesburg being “the great city where boys were killed crossing the street” (44). To be an epic hero, a character must undergo an event that leads to an adventure or quest, the hero must prove himself many times, and the hero is rewarded after the journey. Stephen has many of these qualities, for example, an event that leads to the quest is his sister’s sudden illness. Another example is how the hero must prove himself many times would be similar to when Stephen found his sister then began looking for his son and kept looking despite the fact that nobody knew his exact location. Also, the reward Stephen receives at the end of the novel would be a grandchild.
Thursday 4/10 page: 71
“And Kumalo followed him silently, oppressed by the grave and somber words”
This quotation foreshadows Absolam becoming corrupt and getting executed. Absolam’s corruption, or the voice he heard that told him to go to Arthur Jarvis’ house, occurred after Absolam fell in love with his girlfriend/ Fiancé and got a job. Absolam’s corruption, possibly brought on by love and money, is foreshadowed when Msimangu said “When he gets them [power and money] why, he enjoys the power and the money. Now he can gratify his lusts…and because our desire is corrupt, we are corrupted, and the power has no heart in it” (70). Absolam’s execution for the murder of Arthur Jarvis is also foreshadowed when the author chose to use the words ‘grave’ and ‘somber’ to...

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...he sun tips with a light the mountains of Ingeli and east Grigualand. The great valley of the Umzimkulu is still in darkness, but the light will come there”
Not only does this passage use imagery to display the idea of dawn in the valley, it follows the theme of describing landscapes that began in the first chapter, “there is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it” (34). Despite the fact that these two passages describe the morning, they are very different because the passage at the beginning of the book describes a brighter, cheery morning through the use of words like singing while the end of the book describes a darker, gloomy morning “But when that dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why that is a secret” (312).

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