* 'Sorrow is better than fear. Fear is a journey, a terrible journey, but sorrow is at least an arriving.'
* 'I am moved by something that is not my own, that moves me to do what is right, at whatever cost it may be.'
* 'Pain and suffering, they are a secret. Kindness and love, they are a secret.'
* '...I have lived my life in destruction.'
* 'It was the white man who took us away from the land to go to work. And we were ignorant also.'
* 'I have seen a man who was in darkness till you found him. If that is what you do, I give it willingly.'
* 'That shall be my desire, that is the desire that will be upon me.'
* 'You save souls, but I save souls also. You see people come into this world and you see them go out. And so do I.'
* The Rev. Kumalo's son, Absalom Kumalo, is in prison awaiting trial for murder when we first meet him in the book (he is later convicted.) He has two co-defendants, one of whom is related to him. What relation is the co-defendant to Absalom Kumalo?
* One of the most forceful themes of the novel is Paton's pairing of the Native (black) peoples' condition with that of what?
* When James Jarvis goes through his son Arthur's possessions he notes the prevalence of a certain American president in his sons' books and writings. Which president is this?
* Afrikaans, one of the two official languages of South Africa at the time of the novel's writing (English being the other) is most heavily concentrated in the northern region of the country. From which European language did Afrikaans develop?
* Who is the main character of this novel?
* In the first chapter, the reverend receives a letter from another reverend. Who is that person?
* Why did the reverend go to Johannesburg?
* Where did the reverend stay in Johannesburg?
* What are the new responsibilities of the reverend when he goes back to his village?
* What was the main theme of this novel?
* What is the language of the village where the reverend comes from?
* What did the reverend's brother do while he lived in the village and in Johannesburg?