John Mazaboko is the favored Zulu servant of Mkatie and the narrator. John betrays Mkatie's trust at the end of the story. Mkatie's mother chooses John as a servant because of his Zulu heritage, which is based on loyalty. John likes spending time with Mkatie and her sister, although most of his time is spent cleaning and doing other menial tasks. When Mkatie's father dies, her mother fires all of the servants except John and retreats into herself, which puts increased pressure on him to run the household. As the years pass, John's extreme focus on work causes him to lose his individuality, and he no longer has the same joy in his relationship with the two women, especially Mkatie. He becomes a machine, doing what he is told and performing whatever task.....
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