The census-takers are a pair of men in black hats and suits who forever change the lives of two families when they decide that the white Benjamin is not the rightfully adopted son of the “Coloured” (multiracial) farmers Fiela and Selling but in fact the long-lost son Lukas of Elias and Barta van Rooyen , an Afrikaner family. The census-takers appear polite on the surface, assuring Fiela that they will make promptly return Benjamin if it turns out he isn’t Barta’s son. This all ends up being a lie, however, when one of the census-takers specifically intervenes in the magistrate’s trial to ensure that Benjamin ends up going to live with the white van Rooyens. The census-takers represent institutional racism, showing how people can use the justice system to carry out acts of discrimination and injustice.
The Census-Takers Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by The Census-Takers or refer to The Census-Takers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
‘Listen here, woman, you know as well as I do that there’s something very strange going on here. This can’t be your child but you gave out that he was yours. Where did you get the child from?’
‘He’s my hand-child.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7
Quotes
‘Is this a church?’ he asked the tall one.
‘No. It’s a courtroom. Sit there on the bench and sit still.’
Chapter 29
Quotes
The one wearing the blue shirt.
Get the entire Fiela’s Child LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Census-Takers Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by The Census-Takers or refer to The Census-Takers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
‘Listen here, woman, you know as well as I do that there’s something very strange going on here. This can’t be your child but you gave out that he was yours. Where did you get the child from?’
‘He’s my hand-child.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7
Quotes
‘Is this a church?’ he asked the tall one.
‘No. It’s a courtroom. Sit there on the bench and sit still.’
Chapter 29
Quotes
The one wearing the blue shirt.
