Compare and contrast the ways the novel ends “happily” versus the way it ends “unhappily.”

While on the mountain keeping vigil for Absalom, Kumalo spends time thinking of all he has to be grateful for: Ndotsheni will survive, he has a loving and happy family, and he has seen many good people who are working for change in South Africa, including James Jarvis, who proves people can change and do good even after years of inaction. On the other hand, Absalom has not been saved, nor has Gertrude or John Kumalo. South Africa as a whole is still tense and fearful, and the possibility of violence seems inevitable.