Читать книгу Best Books Study Work Guide: Tsotsi Gr 11 HL - Elaine Ridge - Страница 10

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.