Lesson 2:
Novel and Plot Structure
THE STRUCTURE OF THE NOVEL:
The novel moves from the beginning to the end with flashbacks to give clarity to each character’s history.
1. Plot:
Tsotsi tells the story of a young gang leader’s journey from a life of crime and senseless killings, to a period of compassion, care and sacrifice, and to discovering those aspects that define him as a human.
2. Setting:
i) The novel is set in the 1950s, in a township near Johannesburg.
ii) People in the township are marginalised by apartheid.
iii) People struggle to make a living and their shack homes are constantly threatened by demolition teams.
iv) Many resort to crime to survive.
v) People live without a sense of hope, decency or love.
3. Narrator:
i) The reader is witness to the story through the eyes of an omniscient third person narrator.
ii) The reader gets to know the characters, their biographies and their thoughts, without them being present.
iii) The reader accompanies Tsotsi on his journey to redemption, by getting insight into his thoughts, dilemmas, conflicts and personal traumas.
4. Conflict:
i) For Tsotsi to achieve redemption he has to resolve his conflict.
ii) He carries the trauma’s associated with his childhood.
iii) He has to revisit his memories to redefine himself as David.
iv) He can only fulfil his spiritual journey when he embraces love and compassion, and when he amends his acts of violence.
5. Mood and Atmosphere:
i) The beginning of the novel is dark and threatening.
ii) While there are some moments where the characters appear to be happy, this happiness is questionable against the backdrop of the oppression of apartheid.
iii) Moments of happiness are short, because they are often followed by tragedy.
POWERPOINT: PLOT STRUCTURE
1. Summary:
i) Learners to create a timeline for Tsotsi as a summary of the novel.
ii) At the end of every chapter discussion, learners should add significant evets to the timeline.
iii) Learners to find images that depict apartheid in South Africa. This will be shared in Lesson 3.