Chapter 13 when Kumalo accompanies his friend, Msimangu,
to Ezenzeleni, the colony for the blind where whites work and help blacks who are blind
or are going blind, is a turning point for Kumalo in lots of ways. Let us remember what
kind of state of mind Kumalo is in before he goes. He has been overwhelmed by the social
problems of South Africa in the cities. He has discovered that his sister has been
working as a prostitute and that he has a nephew who has been born out of wedlock. He
has also heard about the disturbing news of the murder of Arthur Jarvis, and feels a
dread that somehow his son, Absalom, is responsible, even though he has no proof at this
stage.
This puts him into a kind of depression as he comes
to realise a central fact that he had been trying to
ignore:
Yes -
it was true, then. He had admitted it to himself. The tribe was broken, and would be
mended no more. He bowed his head. It was as though a man borne upward into the air felt
suddenly that the wings of miracle dropped away from him, so that he looked down upon
the earth, sick with fear and apprehension. The tribe was broken, and would be mended no
more.
Note how the use of
repetition strengthens the idea of Kumalo trying to convince himself of this fact and
the hopelessness of the situation.
Yet, as Msimangu
preaches later on in this chapter to the community at Ezenzeleni, it is clear that
Kumalo is restored by his words and given a new sense of hope. Although he feels he is
suffering terribly, Kumalo is reminded of the strength of the God he believes him to
sustain him and reinvigorate him for the trials ahead. He resolves to go back trusting
in that strength for what he will face rather than in his own
strength.
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