The train acts as a "state of nature." Inside the carriage, the laws of the outside world do not apply. The tsotsis hold power not through law, but through raw violence and intimidation. This mirrors the broader Apartheid regime, where power was enforced through brutality rather than moral authority.
: A character described with "exaggerated features," serving as a symbolic representation of the physical and psychological toll of the apartheid system. Context of the Work Dube Train Short Story By Can Themba
The word slithered through the crowd like a mamba. Jacks. The tsotsis. The thieves who ride the Dube train not to go home, but to take your home from you. The train acts as a "state of nature
: Ironically, it is a woman, not the men on the train, who eventually confronts the : A character described with "exaggerated features," serving