How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The old man's face was working. He continued to look on the ground, and Jarvis could see that tears fell on it. He himself was moved and unmanned, and he would have brought the thing to an end, but he could find no quick voice for it.
— I remember, umnumzana. There was a brightness in him.
— Yes, yes, said Jarvis, there was a brightness in him.
— Umnumzana, it is a hard word to say. But my heart holds a deep sorrow for you, and for the inkosikazi, and for the young inkosikazi, and for the children. (2.25.57-60)
When Jarvis and Kumalo meet for the first time, Kumalo's tears show that he is sincerely moved by the suffering of the whole Jarvis family. His use of the Zulu terms of address—umnumzana meaning "sir," for Jarvis, inkosikazi meaning "mistress" or "lady," for Margaret and Mary Jarvis—also emphasizes how personal his feelings are, because he is using his own language to express them. At the same time, Kumalo's difficulty meeting Jarvis's eyes and his general expression of upset makes it clear that Kumalo is unsure how appropriate it is for him to share in the Jarvis family's grief, when it is his son who killed Jarvis's son. Luckily, Jarvis seems to accept Kumalo's sorrow in the kindly spirit in which it was meant.
Quote #8
[Kumalo] had come to tell his brother that power corrupts, that a man who fights for justice must himself be cleaned and purified, that love is greater than force. And none of these things had he done. God have mercy on me, Christ have mercy on me. He turned to the door, but it was locked and bolted. Brother had shut out brother, from the same womb had they come. (2.29.139)
Kumalo deeply resents his brother John after the advice John gave to Matthew Kumalo to betray Absalom, his cousin. Because Kumalo is so resentful, he winds up trying to make his brother feel paranoid about the police, who are watching his speeches closely. What Kumalo wanted to say was that John should avoid the corruption of power. But instead of giving him this moral advice, Kumalo shows how human he is by trying to hurt his brother for turning on Absalom. Kumalo's human side makes him all the more sympathetic as a character—the fact that he does things he regrets makes us feel really bad for him.
Quote #9
I have never thought that a Christian would be free of suffering, umfundisi. For our Lord suffered. And I come to believe that he suffered, not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering. For he knew that there is no life without suffering. (3.30.88)
When Kumalo tells his friend back at the village about the fate of Sibeko's daughter, his friend hears the news philosophically. His friend reminds Kumalo that suffering is part of life, and that the point is not to avoid it, but to show God how you manage the pain that comes to you. Cry, the Beloved Country never claims that the goal of reform is to eliminate suffering altogether. The point is to minimize suffering where we can. It's impossible to make life entirely free of pain, but we can "bear suffering" in good and bad ways. Kumalo, this friend, and Jarvis all provide examples of morally good ways to learn from suffering.