Chapter Analysis
Chapter 1
• There are four members in the gang: Tsotsi, Die Aap, Butcher and Boston.
• Tsotsi is the leader of the gang; Boston is the intelligent, reflective and cautious member of the
gang; Die Aap is the slow-thinking and physically strong member of the gang; and Butcher is the
skilled murderer.
• The gang spends the afternoon drinking beer in relative silence in Tsotsi’s room. Boston
occasionally breaks the silence with stories that no one is particularly interested in.
• Tsotsi clasps his hands as if in prayer and decides that they should rob someone on the train.
• The fact that the other gang members – who are older than Tsotsi – await Tsotsi’s instructions, not
only indicates that he is their leader, but also suggests that he is a seasoned criminal.
• When they get to the trains, they see their unfortunate victim: Gumboot Dhlamini.
• Gumboot is a tall, jovial, hardworking and hopeful man from a distant rural village.
• Almost a year has passed since Gumboot left his pregnant wife for work in the ‘Golden City’
(Gauteng).
• He is excited to return to his room, because he is expecting a visit from the man who will be
helping him to write a letter to his wife, informing her that he will be home in a week.
• Gumboot makes three mistakes: He smiles at Tsotsi; he is wearing a bright red tie, which makes
him easy to follow; and he exposes his pay packet to everyone around him.
• By describing these things in detail the author creates suspense.
• By including the personal details of Gumboot’s life, the author intensifies the senselessness and
appalling nature of his murder.
• Gumboot’s murder: On the train, Die Aap grabs Gumboot’s arms, and Butcher drives a bicycle
spoke up into his heart. The gang members push themselves up against him so that he does not
fall until they have left the train.
• The fact that Tsotsi smiles at Gumboot whilst Butcher is driving the spoke into his heart, and
thereafter whispers an obscene reference about Gumboot’s mother in the dying Gumboot’s ear,
shows how crude and inhumane Tsotsi is; he comes across as a character for whom there is no
hope of redemption.
• The ominous phrases that are used to describe the passing of time (‘the hour when the shadows
were long enough’; ‘the reluctant hour’; ‘ the sun…must be low’) suggest that something horrible
will take place that evening.
• Another very important reference to time is made in the following simile: ‘…the township wore that
hour the way a beggar wears his rags, the cast-offs of a better time, accepted but without
gratitude, worn without pride.’ This comparison suggests that the slum has been left behind by
more developed places i.e. there has been no progress.
Image of a slum
• Tsotsi has definite perceptions of each of the gang members:
1. He feels that he can trust Die Aap.
2. He feels that he should ‘never turn his back’ on Butcher, because he cannot trust him.
3. He knows that Boston is scared of him – ‘Your smile hides fear’
Chapter 1 Contextual Questions
Reading
1. Explain why Butcher does not pay much attention to the stories Boston tells.
2. What mood is created in the first paragraph and what does it lead you to expect?
3. There is something of a contradiction here. Die Aap and Tsotsi are said to listen attentively,
yet they do not seem really interested in the stories. Explain this contradiction.
Post-Reading
4.1 What is surprising about Tsotsi’s hands?
4.2 What is ironic about Tsotsi bringing his hands together as if he is going to pray?
5. The four members of the gang are very different. What do their actions and words reveal
about their chief characteristics?
6. Comment on the effect that Tsotsi has on people when he walks down the street on his way to
commit a crime.
7. Explain why Gumboot describes his year away from Maxulu as a short one in some ways and
a long one in others.
8. Outline the reasons that Tsotsi chooses Gumboot.
9. Explain why a bicycle spoke is Butcher’s weapon of choice.
10. What is particularly tragic about the timing of Gumboot’s death?
