How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The native policemen are smart and alert. They stand at their posts like soldiers. Who knows what they think of this talk [of John Kumalo's], who knows if they think at all? The meeting is quiet and orderly. So long as it stays quiet and orderly, there is nothing to be done. (2.26.19)
Here, the narrator portrays John Kumalo giving a speech about equal wages while white and black police officers look on. The white police officers all murmur to each other that Kumalo is dangerous. But the narrator does not try to tell us what the black policemen are thinking. The narrator only asks, "who knows if they think at all?" Are there other moments where the narrator does not seem to know what his characters are thinking? What are the limits of the narrator's power? Why does he step back from putting words in the mouths of these black police officers?
Quote #8
But a Judge may not trifle with the Law because the society is defective. If the law is the law of a society that some feel to be unjust, it is the law and the society that must be changed. In the meantime there is an existing law that must be administered, and it is the sacred duty of a Judge to administer it. (2.28.11)
The judge seems to imagine himself as nothing more than the human arm of the Law. He can't make the laws or change them; all he can do is execute them. But is it possible for a judge to make decisions with absolutely no regard for his personal biases and opinions? Can judges be that objective? Why do you think Paton might be emphasizing that judges are not to blame when "the law and the society […] must be changed"?
Quote #9
— Inkosana? That's little inkosi, isn't it?
— It is little inkosi. Little master, it means.
— Yes, I know. And what are you called? What do I call you?
— Umfundisi. (3.31.61-4)
As Kumalo trains the youngest Jarvis in Zulu, there is still a subtle acknowledgement of this boy's status because of his family and because of the color of his skin. So, Kumalo calls the boy inkosana, meaning "little master." It's a term of affectionate respect for the child of a chief or boss. But Kumalo does not call the little girl who comes to deliver the letter to him in chapter 2 anything of the kind. This conversation between Kumalo and the youngest Jarvis presents some interesting power dynamics, because it seems that the youngest Jarvis has a lot of power, even though Kumalo is so much older than he is.