51 pages 1 hour read

Michael Williams

Now is the Time for Running

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

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Part 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: “How We Came to a Place Called Jozi”

Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary: “Flying Tomato Farm”

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes scenes of mob violence and graphic depictions of the aftermath of murder.

Eight months have passed since Deo and Innocent first arrived at Flying Tomato Farm. They have been working and living on the farm, and their wages are 50 rand per month. They also get two meals a day and comfortable beds to sleep in. Patson and his father, however, were not allowed to stay. The foreman of the farm did not allow Patson to work because of his missing leg; instead, he handed Patson and his father over to the police. Despite this setback, Deo is happy at the Flying Tomato Farm for a while. But soon, trouble starts. Some of the men on the farm seem unhappy, though Deo does not understand why. A young man named Philani tells Deo that he is too much of a newcomer to the farm to understand everything. Philani works on the farm with his uncle, Benjamin.

On Sundays, Deo plays soccer with boys his age in a nearby village called Khomele. One Sunday, some men from the village harass Innocent and accuse him and Deo of stealing their jobs. The men are very angry.