GRADE 11
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE
NOVEL: TSOTSI
STUDY GUIDE WITH
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
,CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER ANALYSIS
,Tsotsi (David)
Tsotsi, Tsotsi’s protagonist, is a young Black man in South Africa under apartheid. He leads a
gang, whose other members are Boston, Butcher, and Die Aap. At the novel’s beginning…
The Baby
The baby is a Black male infant. His frightened, desperate mother hides the baby in a
shoebox, shoves the shoebox at Tsotsi, and runs away after Tsotsi waylays her—seemingly
with the intent of raping…
Boston
Boston—whose full name is Walter “Boston” Nguza—is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which
also includes Butcher and Die Aap. As a child and young man, Boston was small and studious
with glasses. While…
Miriam Ngidi
Miriam Ngidi is an 18-year-old mother of an infant son who gets her water from a public tap
down the street from Tsotsi’s room. During her pregnancy, her husband Simon, who was
participating in…
Morris Tshabalala
Morris Tshabalala is a beggar who plies his trade around a street intersection called Terminal
Place. He lost his legs in a gold mining accident, for which he blames white South Africans,
who under apartheid…
Die Aap
Die Aap is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which also includes Boston and Butcher. “Die Aap”
means “monkey” in Afrikaans (the language of South Africa’s white minority Afrikaner
population), a stereotyped and offensive…
Butcher
Butcher is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which also includes Boston and Die Aap. Tsotsi
recruited Butcher for his gang because of Butcher’s skill at violence, for which Butcher is
nicknamed.
, Isaiah
Isaiah, an elderly Black man, takes care of the church garden and rings the church bells for the
Church of Christ the Redeemer in the Black township. His immediate supervisor is the racist,
condescending…
David’s Mother (Tondi)
Tondi is the mother of David (i.e., Tsotsi when he is 10 years old). She is a comforting
presence who likes to hum and sing. She takes care of David and shares the family’s food…
Elderly Woman
The elderly woman lives with David and David’s mother (Tondi), though she does not seem to
be related to them. David esteems the elderly woman because he notices that adults esteem
her and because
Gumboot Dhlamini
Gumboot Dhlamini works in the mines near Johannesburg and lives in one of its townships.
He came to Johannesburg from far away in South Africa, where he lived with his pregnant
wife, to make
Rev. Henry Ransome
Rev. Henry Ransome is a white priest who presides over a church in the Black township, the
Church of Christ the Redeemer. Early in the novel, he serves at Gumboot Dhlamini’s funeral
but
Marty
Marty runs the shebeen where Boston drank when he first began his criminal career
with Johnboy Lethetwa. Marty liked that Boston had manners, and they became romantically
involved. Their relationship ended, however, after Boston’s
Soekie
Soekie is a 50-something woman who runs a shebeen that Tsotsi and his gang frequent.
Though she is “coloured”—that is, mixed race, which was its own legal classification
under apartheid—she lives in the Black…
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE
NOVEL: TSOTSI
STUDY GUIDE WITH
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
,CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER ANALYSIS
,Tsotsi (David)
Tsotsi, Tsotsi’s protagonist, is a young Black man in South Africa under apartheid. He leads a
gang, whose other members are Boston, Butcher, and Die Aap. At the novel’s beginning…
The Baby
The baby is a Black male infant. His frightened, desperate mother hides the baby in a
shoebox, shoves the shoebox at Tsotsi, and runs away after Tsotsi waylays her—seemingly
with the intent of raping…
Boston
Boston—whose full name is Walter “Boston” Nguza—is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which
also includes Butcher and Die Aap. As a child and young man, Boston was small and studious
with glasses. While…
Miriam Ngidi
Miriam Ngidi is an 18-year-old mother of an infant son who gets her water from a public tap
down the street from Tsotsi’s room. During her pregnancy, her husband Simon, who was
participating in…
Morris Tshabalala
Morris Tshabalala is a beggar who plies his trade around a street intersection called Terminal
Place. He lost his legs in a gold mining accident, for which he blames white South Africans,
who under apartheid…
Die Aap
Die Aap is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which also includes Boston and Butcher. “Die Aap”
means “monkey” in Afrikaans (the language of South Africa’s white minority Afrikaner
population), a stereotyped and offensive…
Butcher
Butcher is a member of Tsotsi’s gang, which also includes Boston and Die Aap. Tsotsi
recruited Butcher for his gang because of Butcher’s skill at violence, for which Butcher is
nicknamed.
, Isaiah
Isaiah, an elderly Black man, takes care of the church garden and rings the church bells for the
Church of Christ the Redeemer in the Black township. His immediate supervisor is the racist,
condescending…
David’s Mother (Tondi)
Tondi is the mother of David (i.e., Tsotsi when he is 10 years old). She is a comforting
presence who likes to hum and sing. She takes care of David and shares the family’s food…
Elderly Woman
The elderly woman lives with David and David’s mother (Tondi), though she does not seem to
be related to them. David esteems the elderly woman because he notices that adults esteem
her and because
Gumboot Dhlamini
Gumboot Dhlamini works in the mines near Johannesburg and lives in one of its townships.
He came to Johannesburg from far away in South Africa, where he lived with his pregnant
wife, to make
Rev. Henry Ransome
Rev. Henry Ransome is a white priest who presides over a church in the Black township, the
Church of Christ the Redeemer. Early in the novel, he serves at Gumboot Dhlamini’s funeral
but
Marty
Marty runs the shebeen where Boston drank when he first began his criminal career
with Johnboy Lethetwa. Marty liked that Boston had manners, and they became romantically
involved. Their relationship ended, however, after Boston’s
Soekie
Soekie is a 50-something woman who runs a shebeen that Tsotsi and his gang frequent.
Though she is “coloured”—that is, mixed race, which was its own legal classification
under apartheid—she lives in the Black…
