MPHO’S SEARCH

SUMMARIES AND QUESTIONS

Chapter 1
Mpho is fired from his job as a shepherd at Baas du Toit’s farm because some sheep went
missing. He gets paid for his work, and he decides to leave the next day to go to Egoli to find
his father.
1. What is Mpho’s job?
2. Why does baas du Toit tell him to leave?
3. How much does Mpho get paid?
4. Is the following statement true or false? Give a reason for your answer.
5. Mpho’s Gogo was a Christian woman.
6. How do we know that Mpho is honest?
7. What does Mpho decide to do?
8. What kind of man do you think baas du Toit is?
Chapter 2
Mpho starts his journey to Egoli. He buys some supplies from Mr Patel’s shop and then
goes to Witbank on the back of a truck. From there, he goes on a taxi to Soweto. Once
he arrives in Soweto, he sits down to eat some food but somebody steals his blanket.
1. What does Mpho buy from Mr Patel?
2. How does Mpho get to Witbank?
3. How much does the taxi to Soweto cost?
4. Why does Mpho not buy the fruit or sausages?
5. What is stolen from Mpho?
Chapter 3
Mpho finds an old woman in the squatter camp in Soweto who reminds him of his Gogo.
She gives him a place to sleep, but in the middle of the night he is woken up by a
terrible noise. There are soldiers in the squatter camp who are trying to get the
residents out. There is a lot of shouting and fighting, and Mpho leaves when tear-gas is
released.
1. How do we know that Mpho likes beautiful things?
2. What are three signs that the people in the khayas are not wealthy?
3. Why does Mpho go to the old woman for help?
4. What does Mpho wake up to?
5. What is inside the cans that the soldiers throw on the ground?
6. At the end of this chapter, we see that Mpho has a good heart. What evidence
is there of this?
Chapter 4
Mpho runs until he can’t run anymore, and then he falls asleep on the pavement. The
next morning, an old man finds him. He drives him to Hillbrow, because he says that
many people live there. Mpho is amazed by how big and busy Hillbrow is. He admires all
of the shops. Just when he is worried about how little money he has left, a woman gives
him some change and he realises that he can get money like this.
1. What is a fracas? Look up the meaning in a dictionary.
2. Is the following statement true or false? Give a reason for your answer.
The man who helps Mpho has probably never had an education.
3. Where does Mpho get dropped off?
4. What do you think is the dark shop that has tables with flickering lights?
Chapter 5
Mpho gets picked up by a young white man named Jan. He takes Mpho back to his
place and promises to play fun games with him and to look after him. While he is there,
we realise that Jan intends to molest Mpho. Mpho manages to run away when Jan falls
asleep after smoking a zol.
1. Do you think Mpho is wise to follow Jan to his flat?
2. Do you think Mpho learns a lesson from this experience? Explain your answer.
Chapter 6
Mpho is now a street child. He manages to get just enough money from begging to eat a
little bit, but he is often hungry. He walks into a huge supermarket one day and sees a
woman picking up some fruit and eating it, so he does the same. A security guard
catches him and throws him out, threatening to throw him in jail. This really scares
Mpho. When he runs away, another young boy finds him.
1. Why is Mpho compared to a “windball being blown aimlessly about”?
2. Why does Mpho eat the grapes in the shop? Give two reasons.
Chapter 7
The young boy introduces himself as Themba. Themba also ran away from home, which
was in Soweto, because his stepfather was abusive. He and Mpho promise to help each
other. Themba teaches Mpho how to beg more successfully and they are able to eat well
together. One day, Themba tells Mpho that he would like to start a business. They
decide to start a shoe-shining business and they also agree to work at Mr Naidoo’s café
every morning. Mr Naidoo agrees to pay them for bringing in the milk and bread and
sweeping the shop.
1.1. Why does Mpho like Themba’s smile?
1.2. Whose smile had Mpho not liked?
2. Why did Themba fail his test?
3. Why are they not allowed inside Hillbrow Tower?
4. What are two reasons that Mpho and Themba decide to start a business?
5. What do they need to do for their first job?
6. What do they earn at their first job?
Chapter 8
Mpho and Themba impress Mr Naidoo with how well they work, and he allows them to
buy the things they need for their business. He says that they can pay him back as they
work for him. Their first day is successful, and they decide to go to the games-shop at
the end of the day. While they are there, a boy named Steven offers to take them back
to the shelter he comes from.
1. How do they get what they need for their shoe-shining business?
2. How much do they earn on their first day of shining shoes?
3. How do Mpho and Themba meet Steven?
Chapter 9
Father Roger, who runs the shelter, welcomes the boys and gives them a place to sleep.
They are very happy to be able to shower. The next day, they earn even more with their
business than the first day, but Steven takes some of their money because they are part
of his gang.
1. Who looks after the boys at the shelter?
2. What are the rules of the shelter?
3. What does Mr Naidoo say about the boys being late?
4. Why does Steven take some of their money?
Chapter 10
Father Roger says that he wants Mpho and Themba to go to a bridging school. They are
very excited, and Father Roger promises to arrange with Mr Naidoo for them to come
after school to work. They both do well their first day of school, and they learn
arithmetic, reading and practical subjects. After they work that day, Steven tells them to
meet him the next day because he has something important happening.
1. Why do the boys need to attend a bridging school?
2. What is different between this school and Mpho’s old school?
3. What year is this novel set in?
4. Which practical classes do Themba and Mpho attend?
Chapter 11
During the night, Mpho is woken up by somebody crying. He and another buy, Vusi, get
Father Roger’s help. They take the boy to the hospital because he has been sniffing glue
and has gone into a coma. That afternoon, Mpho and Themba meet Steven for a braai.
On their way back to the shelter, Steven and his friends break into a weapons shop and
run away. Mpho is left behind and gets caught by the police. They see that he has a
knife, so they assume he stole it.
1. What is wrong with the boy who is crying during the night?
2. What do the boys do on the koppie?
3. Why does Mpho get arrested? Explain what happened, from when they were
looking in the shop window.
Chapter 12
Mpho sleeps in a police cell and goes to court the next morning. The magistrate agrees
to have the court day moved two weeks later so that witnesses can be found. Father
Roger comes at the end to take Mpho back to the shelter.
1. How do we know that the children Father Roger looks after often cause
trouble?
2. Why do they insist that Mpho is guilty when he is at the magistrate’s court?
3. Why do they let Mpho go into Father Roger’s custody?
4. “Father Roger said to him, ‘Mpho, you’ve got a great deal of explaining to do!’”
Do you think that Father Roger believes that Mpho is guilty?
Chapter 13
Mpho explains what had happened and Father Roger believes him. He is impressed that
Mpho does not want to blame anyone, but he already knows that Steven is involved, and
he is glad that Steven is gone. He tells Mpho that he is grounded until he goes to court
again, so he has to come back every day straight after school. He will help Father Roger
around the shelter. Mpho organises with Themba for Vusi to help him with their
business.
Father Roger organises a lawyer for Mpho. When he goes to court, he tells his story
again. When the prosecutor is questioning the shop owner, he shows the knife that they
found with Mpho. He says that he does not sell such cheap knives, and so Mpho is
released.
1. How does Father Roger know that Steven was involved in the break-in?
2. Father Roger says that Steven is not really Mpho’s friend. Do you agree with
this? Why?
3. Who takes Mpho’s place cleaning shoes?
4. How is Mpho proven innocent?
Chapter 14
Vusi is now a permanent part of the business, and all three boys work together after
school. One day, Father Roger tells Mpho that he wants him to go to a proper school.
Mpho is excited, so he goes with Father Roger to the school. When he meets the
principal, Mpho realises that this is the man who stole his blanket. However, Dr Nkosi
explains that he had run after the man who had stolen the blanket, and he actually go it
back for Mpho. He gives Mpho the blanket that he had been keeping.
Then, Dr Nkosi tells Mpho a story about a friend of his who had gone into exile with him.
He had hoped that his wife and child would be able to join him, but his wife died and his
son was taken to work on a farm with his grandmother. When they were allowed back
into the country, he asked Dr Nkosi to find his son on a farm owned by Pieter du Toit.
Just then, Mpho realises that he is the son Dr Nkosi was looking for. Dr Nkosi tells Mpho
that his father is still working in America but will come back for him soon.
1. Why do the other boys treat Mpho like a hero?
2. What good qualities has Father Roger noticed about Mpho?
3. In no more than 50 words, summarise why Dr Nkosi was looking for Mpho and
what happened in his search.
Chapter 15
Paulus Mapanga comes and fetches Mpho. The two of them live in Hillbrow together.
Mpho says that he wants to be an educator like his father. His father suggests that
maybe Themba can also go to Dr Nkosi’s school with Themba.
1. Why does Mpho first say his father’s name tentatively?
2. Where do Mpho and his father live?
3. Why will his father ask Dr Nkosi to help keep an eye on Mpho?
4. What is Paulus’s job?
5. How will they help Themba?
Chapter 16
Mpho and his father discuss the elections that will be the next day. His father explains
why they are so important. Mpho thinks it is unfair that he cannot vote. The next
morning, Mpho, his father and Themba all go to the polling station. Themba announces
that he is going to become a builder. They wait in the queue for a long time, but at last
they reach the voting station. Mpho’s father goes in and votes. He says that it is the
greatest thing he has ever done.
1. What date is Election Day?
2. Why is Mpho not able to vote?
3. Why do they need to get to the voting station so early?
4. Why are Mpho and Themba not in business anymore?