In the beginning of the novel, Tsotsi's moral judgment can be seen as quite abnormal, compared to a
normal “civilised" person. He was apathetic, had a heart of stone and was feared, ‘hated’ even by the
big men (Pg. 9). He may have not realised it, but he played himself in terms of being his own cause of
the major change in his morals later in the novel.
‘Gumboot was a man' (Pg.11). Gumboot Dhlamini was the symbol of a man who could represent a
civilised honest man. Unfortunately getting himself killed as he stood out of the crowd when he took his
money it of his pay packet. This was Tsotsi's dark side revealed, showing no remorse as he even added a
“revolting reference about his mother” (Pg. 12). Tsotsi killed a man who had good morals, he even did
this with no respect for his dignity. He may have felt nothing from this but one person who felt a sense
of great self-reproach, was Boston.
Boston was an irritant to Tsotsi as he was inquisitive about him. While Tsotsi kept composure, reassuring
himself everything wad the same as always even when it wasn’t (Pg. 16), Boston was losing it. He was so
overcome with guilt he got sick. Boston's rant, later on in the novel, with Tsotsi about decency caused
Tsotsi to feel ‘a palpable movement in his stomach’ (Pg. 16). What triggered him was how he was
questioned about not having feelings, a soul even. This caused Tsotsi's to show his dark side yet again.
Tsotsi was like a robot that only lived by three rules. As long as he lived by them, things - as he said –
would always be the same otherwise ‘trouble would start’ (Pg. 32). His choice to remain by the trees
was the turning point of this man's character. This is because when he intended to take advantage of
the woman he ,ironically, he got a box with a baby in it (Pg. 34).
Four chapters into the book and never had I seen him show compassion and care towards anyone. Here
he is putting his pride away to but milk for the baby. He was considerate to leave him in the shade of the
abandoned building (Pg. 44). The reason for going through all this trouble - “swallowing his pride,
curbing his patience” (Pg. 45)– was because he started to have an obsession of what happened in his
past, since the baby brought up his memory of the yellow female dog. This was breaking rule #2 and #3.
He feels that night was caused by fate or God that intervened as he felt , ‘a strange nameless fear' (Pg.
45), the fear of numinous.
Not only did he allow the sparked memory of ‘light' from the baby to come upon his “dark” life (Pg. 46),
but the fact he wants to know more abbot his past is breaking rule #2 and #3. His wish to remember
came true as he ended up seeing himself as a child tied up to a crippled yellow female dog. He knew that
being involved with the baby was ‘tampering with the mechanism that governed his life' (Pg. 54 and 55).
Another person that Tsotsi sympathized with was Morris Tshabalala. He is completely disregarding his
morals to be someone who is compassionate and caring as Tsotsi sees something in him that exposes his
ability to care. It was his imperfections that caused Tsotsi to relate with him as he ‘moved like the
female dog of his memory (Pg. 76). Morris was the symbol of life that caused Tsotsi to empathise with
him on a more humane level as ‘he did care’ and ‘felt for his victim' (Pg. 79), to the point that he didn't
feel the urge to kill him. He never cared about his victims or had any remorse. It's as if his soul is starting
to heal, that he was going through a ‘metamorphosis' (Pg. 87). He had completely abolished rule #3, all
because of ‘one day in his life'. He is staying to change in ways not expected. He is staying to act more
like a human.
Morals relate to principles of what you believe are right and wrong, like his rules. They can relate to a
compass, directing them to their “North". Tsotsi's morals were brutal and apathetic at the beginning of
the chapter. By the end of chapter seven, his soul has started to regenerate, as a result of Boston's
irritation, the baby, Morris Tshabalala. Could a major influence, directing him to true north, been caused
by fate or an act of God?