The entire change in Kumalo results because of his reviewing everything that has happened to him. He thinks about mending the tribe but realizes that too much has already transpired and that it is too late. Instead, he dedicates himself to helping people like his sister and the young girl. Thus, his experiences have enlightened him, and he vows that he will take more interest in education and try to be more active in the affairs of his native people.
The ultimate change in Kumalo comes when he hears Msimangu speak "with a voice of gold." The sermon has such an effect upon the simple Kumalo that it gives him some direction toward understanding the suffering in the world, and it inspires him to devote himself as much as possible to other people. Up to this point, he has been receiving help from others in order to solve his personal problems, but in the example of Msimangu he sees a man who devotes himself entirely to helping others with no selfish motivations.
The novel began with Kumalo leaving his native district to search for his sister Gertrude, his brother John, and his son Absalom. By the end of Chapter 14, he has now found all three. Kumalo, then, faces his greatest test when he is informed that his son has committed murder.
As with Gertrude, there is a barrier between the father and the son when they first meet. As Stephen keeps asking Absalom questions, he and his son grow further apart until both feel tortured. The serious lack of understanding and communication brought about by the different ways the father and son have gone over the last years creates a vast distance between them. Kumalo had looked forward to a great reconciliation with his son, but instead he finds his son a criminal accused of a heinous crime. This fact alone is virtually beyond the simple and virtuous Kumalo's ability to understand. It will be much later before Kumalo will develop a deep compassion for his son.
This chapter also shows what sort of man John Kumalo is. He has been contrasted with the other African leader, Dubula, for John is pompous and boastful, a man who poses as a chief, who is full of words but no action. Dubula, soft-spoken and yet very effective, sacrifices his job and his comfort for the cause. Now John is shown as being quite ready not only to abandon his brother, but to free his own son, by laying all the blame for the robbery on Absalom. He is ruthless, but not for a cause, only for himself. If he can be such a traitor to his own brother and nephew, he certainly can betray the African cause he pretends to uphold.
