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flattened into the dust. Fugard describes the real territory of his work as the world of secrets, with their powerful effect on human behaviour and the trauma of their revelation. Tsotsi’s dark secret, which he suppresses for many years, radically affects him when he begins to remember it.

      Fugard is one of South Africa’s most important playwrights, both nationally and internationally. In 2011, he received the Gold Medal of the English Academy of Southern Africa for his outstanding services to literature. He has also received a number of honorary doctorates from universities, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the UK.

      3. Background

      The novel, Tsotsi, is set in the 1950s in a township near Johannesburg. Life is very hard for people living there. It is difficult to find work because of the apartheid laws, like the Group Areas Act, that severely restrict the jobs black people are allowed to do and where they are allowed to live. They are also restricted by the Pass Laws that require all African (and all other races which are not white) males over the age of sixteen to carry a “reference book”, containing their personal details and employment history. If they are caught without it, they can be arrested and imprisoned. Africans are torn between the need to find work to make a living and the risk of fines or even jail for being in cities without permission. Another hardship is that they often have to travel long distances, often on overcrowded trains and buses, to get to work. Those who attempt to walk to work, boycotting buses because the fares are so high relative to what they earn, face arrest or harassment.

      Gangsterism is rife in the townships. Shebeens provide a form of escape from the grim reality of everyday life. Police raids to find people without passes are common events.

      (The Pass Laws were repealed in 1986, long after this story ends. In thirty-four years they had led to more than seventeen million arrests.)

      4. Approach

      Setting

      The novel, Tsotsi, is set in the 1950s in a location or township called Sophiatown near Johannesburg. People struggle to make a living and their shack homes are constantly threatened by demolition teams. Many resort to crime.

      Narrator

      We see what happens through the eyes of an omniscient third person narrator. We are thus able to gain a good understanding of the other characters. He describes what they look like, what they say, and the effect their actions have on the other characters. We also gain an insight into Tsotsi’s criminal psyche.

      We gain an insider perspective on the changes in Tsotsi as his consciousness of his own identity grows. From wishing to silence Boston, he now wants to hear what he has to say. From enjoying the cruel game of hunting down a victim, Tsotsi chooses not to kill. He gains an understanding of who he really is, and he recovers his values.

      Structure and plot

      In all novels and stories, there is a difference between the story line and the plot. The story line is concerned with the sequence of events (what happens in the story in the order in which it happens). The plot, on the other hand reveals why things happen and the effect they have on people or on the course of events. In this novel, Tsotsi is separated from his mother at the age of ten. He has survived by suppressing any fear, or any feelings of sympathy for others, or any compunction about the crimes he engages in. He avoids establishing any personal relationships. Gangsterism has become his way of life. His security lies in inflicting pain, inspiring fear, and in killing people. The problem or conflict is introduced by Boston who asks searching questions about his identity and inner feelings. Tsotsi responds by brutally attacking Boston. A complication is that when a shoebox containing a baby is thrust into Tsotsi’s hands by a woman he is about to attack, the feelings stirred by Boston return. This is a turning point. Tsotsi begins to change. Instead of simply disposing of the baby as he would have done earlier, he decides to keep it and take responsibility for feeding the child and caring for it. His intense need to speak to Boston, to find answers to the questions that he cannot escape, makes him seek Boston out. The last part of the book describes the falling action (actions that solve the problem) and the resolution, as Tsotsi finds his way back to his identity as David Madondo and dies a happy man.

      Conflict

      Conflict is associated with rising action or the building of tension. Inner conflict arises from the problems that a character faces. Tsotsi has suppressed his emotions as a way of dealing with the trauma of being left without anyone to care for him. Now, his inner conflict is between whether to continue to be cruel and indifferent to the pain he inflicts on others, or to respond to the needs of others, knowing how important nurture and a secure home is.

      Outer conflict relates to verbal or physical action. In Tsotsi, this is related to physical attacks such as David Madondo’s father’s attack on the dog, Gumboot’s death, or the merciless assault on Boston when he asks questions that anger Tsotsi.

      Mood or atmosphere

      The mood in Tsotsi is predominantly sombre or foreboding. Moments of happiness are seen as illusionary or short lived. David’s happy life with his mother is threatened from the start by the police raids and the lack of money. Maxulu and Gumboot’s happiness is cut short by Gumboot’s tragic death. The jubilation of a Saturday street is also short lived in that it is limited to that day. The ending is bitter sweet. David Madondo (formerly Tsotsi) dies, but he dies smiling.

      Tone

      The narrator’s tone usually reflects his attitude to a particular event or emotion. The tone is ironic, for instance, when Tsotsi visits the general dealer.

      In a dialogue, the speaker’s tone can be bitter, angry, mocking, harsh, friendly, or kind, to give a few examples. Miriam’s tone is usually courteous, as opposed to the aggressive tone that Tsotsi often uses, until he starts to change.

      Characterisation

      Main character

      Tsotsi (David Madondo) is the main character (chief protagonist) in that he is central to the action throughout the novel. It is a good idea to build up a profile of each of the characters while you are reading the novel. The table below shows one way of doing this:

      We do not know how old Tsotsi is, but he seems to be about twenty-years-old at the time of the story. He leaves home at the age of ten and joins a group of homeless boys, when his mother is arrested by the police.

What is Tsotsi like?	How do we know?
When he is young, he is timid and dependent on his mother.As the leader of the gang, he is hard.	He hides behind her skirts when strangers appear.He shows that he does not feel the pain he inflicts, or have any sympathy for his victims
He has no clear sense of his identity.	He has decided to call himself “Tsotsi”, a generic name.When he looks into a mirror, he does not register any connection between his features and anyone else’s.He has suppressed any memories, so all he knows is what is happening in the present.
He is a skilled but vicious fighter.	When he attacks Boston, it is clear that he is an experienced fighter and that he is skilled at inflicting pain and serious injury.

      Table 1: Character of Tsotsi

      As you read the novel, you will find you can add to this. It would also be useful to draw up tables on rounded characters like Boston and Morris Tshabalala.

      Other characters

      Miriam

      Miriam is an eighteen-year-old woman with a six-month-old baby, Simon. Her husband, also Simon, disappeared eight months before, during a bus boycott, and has not been seen since. When she starts feeding Tsotsi’s baby, little David, she realises that her husband Simon will never return. She has proved herself very resilient during the eight months he has been gone, taking in washing and fending for herself.

      Miriam

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