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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSStephen Kumalo is a quiet, aging Zulu pastor in the remote village of Ndotsheni in Natal, South Africa, where the land is eroding and the young are leaving for Johannesburg. When a letter arrives from a fellow minister in the city, telling him that his sister Gertrude is gravely ill, Kumalo uses the family's meager savings and makes the long train journey to Johannesburg for the first time. He finds Gertrude living as a prostitute and liquor seller in the slums, and she agrees to come home with him. But the deeper fear driving Kumalo is the search for his son Absalom, who left for the city years ago and has stopped writing entirely. With the help of the young minister Msimangu, who becomes his guide and protector, Kumalo follows Absalom's trail through reformatories, shanty towns, and crowded townships, uncovering a city that has swallowed up his family and broken the world he thought he knew.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Cry, the Beloved Country
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Cry, the Beloved Country. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a tall young pastor named Msimangu welcome a confused old umfundisi to Sophiatown?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Reverend Theophilus Msimangu opens the door of the Mission House and greets Kumalo warmly. Their friendship and Msimangu's guidance through Johannesburg shape the entire first book.
- First half
In what book does a grieving priest visit a settlement where blind workers weave colored baskets?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
At Ezenzeleni, white volunteers help blind Africans weave baskets in osiers of different colours. The peace and purpose of the place restore something of Stephen Kumalo's spirit before the next blow falls.
- First half
In what book does a Zulu father question his arrested son about why he carried a revolver?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Stephen visits Absalom behind the grim high wall and presses him with question after question. The boy says he carried the revolver for safety, that he was frightened, that he did not mean to kill, that it was the devil and bad companions.
- Second half
In what book does a father discover his murdered son's study filled with hundreds of books about Abraham Lincoln?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Sitting in Arthur's chair, Jarvis is astonished to find an entire bookcase devoted to Lincoln. He takes one volume down and reads the Gettysburg Address, then slips the book into his pocket, beginning to understand the stranger his son had become.
- Second half
In what book do three accused murderers stand before a judge for shooting a man at his Parkwold home?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Absalom Kumalo, his cousin Matthew, and Johannes Pafuri are tried for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. The trial occupies several chapters and becomes the moral center of the second half.
- Near the end
In what book does a wealthy farmer arrange daily milk deliveries for the youngest children of a starving village?
✓ Answer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
After learning about Kuluse's dying child, Jarvis sends shining cans of milk to Ndotsheni in a cart. The milk is reserved for children too young for school, with wet sacks placed over the cans to keep them cool.
