The work is not their own: it is summoned. The time is not theirs: it is seized. The ordeal is their own
-- The Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: In this quote, the narrator describes the group of men cutting grass, explaining that they are cutting grass not from their own will but on behalf of someone else. The juxtaposition of the first two sentences and the third sentence highlights the cruel irony of what does and does not belong to this group of men. While neither their labor nor time belongs to them, the cruel and brutal experience of working long hours in the field does belong to them in the sense that it is their work to do.

If not freedom then rhythm"
-- The Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: Here, the narrator indicates the reason why kwela music has become so popular in the Makokobo Township. Unable to be truly freedom, the people there have turned to "rhythm" both for solace...