Blog Entry 8

Blog 8

The author of The Power of One Bryce Courtenay represents many different characters in his book, among which there are the adults and children. By writing about this boy Peekay, Courtenay also puts forward attitudes, values and beliefs. The adults in the book are all different. Some are kind and help Peekay, such as Doc, Klipkop and Hoppie. I also noticed that the adults, who are nice towards Peekay, are not perfect. Take Hoppie for instance; when he takes Peekay to get some new shoes, Hoppie treats the Indians who own the shop like they are dirt. I find this a bit different. It makes it more realistic because these ‘good’ people are not shown as perfect. Then there are also the children that Courtenay represents. Firstly there is Peekay the protagonist of the book. He aspires to be the champion welterweight boxer and follows his dream throughout the whole book. Whatever comes up he seems to push through. He is bullied and made fun of by some, but also loved and cherished by others. Everywhere he goes things seem to go his way and everything works out. He started off with nothing as a child and ends up going to Oxford University. On the other hand there is the Judge. He picks on Peekay and bullies him because he is a Rooinek. However, from what we can see from the Judge, he started in a position of power and ended up loosing everything. He ends up getting beaten by Peekay, his arm is mutilated and he is unfit with a large gut at the age of twenty five! What I believe Courtenay is trying to put forward here is the fact that kids have dreams and you should be careful of what you do with those dreams. If you nurture them, anything can happen. On the other hand if you put them down and try to force them to do something they don’t want to do, they may turn on you later in life. There is also the theme that is already given in the title: The Power of One. There is an independent spirit within every person and if they fuel that spark, it will become a raging fire and anything is possible. Peekay’s attitude that is shown throughout the entire book is one of determination. However we must also remember that when we read this book, Peekay is a very unchristian person. He hates the Lord it seems, with all his might. His attitude towards God is completely heathen and very offensive. Instead, Peekay believes in the power of himself; the power of one. This is a very humanistic point of view. We must always remember that whatever we do, we cannot do without the will of God. He is the one in control of our lives, not us, insignificant human beings.