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 Miss Marriot, while his ultimate supervisor is the Rev. Henry Ransome. Tsotsi, after discussing God with Boston, sits on the sidewalk outside the church, where Isaiah sees him and offers him tea. When Tsotsi asks questions about the church, God, and Jesus Christ, Isaiah gives him a somewhat confused account of Christianity and invites Tsotsi to come to the evening service when he hears Isaiah ringing the bells. Although the novel does not explicitly state this, it implies that Tsotsi takes Isaiah up on his invitation the night before Tsotsi’s death.
Isaiah Quotes in Tsotsi
The Tsotsi quotes below are all either spoken by Isaiah or refer to Isaiah. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
To an incredible extent a peaceful existence was dependent upon knowing just when to say no or yes to the white man.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
‘Come man and join in the singing.’
‘Me!’
‘I’m telling you anybody can come. It’s the House of God. I ring His bell. Will you come?’
‘Yes.’
‘Listen tonight, you hear. Listen for me. I will call you to believe in God.’
Get the entire Tsotsi LitChart as a printable PDF.
Isaiah Quotes in Tsotsi
The Tsotsi quotes below are all either spoken by Isaiah or refer to Isaiah. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
To an incredible extent a peaceful existence was dependent upon knowing just when to say no or yes to the white man.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
‘Come man and join in the singing.’
‘Me!’
‘I’m telling you anybody can come. It’s the House of God. I ring His bell. Will you come?’
‘Yes.’
‘Listen tonight, you hear. Listen for me. I will call you to believe in God.’
