Representation

The author of any novel, story or book constructs characters to show certain attitudes values and beliefs. The representation of characters is used to develop the story line, the conflict, antagonist and the protagonist. In the novel The Power of One the author represents certain groups of people, giving certain groups negative connotation and others positive, according to the authors values and beliefs that he/she wants to present.

Two groups of people that the author represents in different ways, are; adults and children, the author portrays these two groups in conflicting views.

The adults in the novel are represented in slightly different ways. At the beginning of the book the adults are seen in a very negative way. The parents of the children are seen to be negative, through out the first chapters represents the parents of the children as a negative influence. The Boer war had created a conflict between the Boers and the English, although the Boer war was over and the children were not part of the war, the negative conflict between the nationalities is past from the parents to the children. The parents were described as the force that influenced the children to treat Peekay as they did.

Through out the novel the author represents the adults as Peekay’s mentors. The three main adults that the author represents in this positive are Doc, Mrs Boxall and Geel Piet. These characters the author has represented as good, kind and loving toward Peekay. Peekay respect these mentors, and looks up to them to guide him to his goal and through life. These adults also respect Peekay for how he is and they are represented as enjoying to teach Peekay.

The author also represents adults as Peekay’s friends, the maids, Dee and Dum along with Peekay’s Nanny and the prisoners were seen to be Peekay’s loving friends. Peekay builds a relationship with them and enjoys the relationship that he has with them.

There were also Adults in the book that the author represented in a negative way. Certain adult characters like Borman, the character that killed Geel Piet.

Courtenay represents adult, Christians in a negative way, he makes fun of the religion through the book and does not see the purpose of the religion. Through out the book Courtenay shows a negative view to Christian adults, this is probably a personal view of the author that he brings across to his book to express his opinion

The Children in the novel are generally represented in a positive way. Peekay especially is represented as a very nice, kind, and polite child. The bullies for the first few chapters are represented as negative, yet the author also shows that the children get a lot of there negative attitude from their parents. Peekay as a child is represented as a naïve child, not understanding certain aspects of life. The Intertextual references that the author uses to Alice in wonderland shows Peekay’s progression from a child to an adult.

Peekay is represented a determined, and focused to accomplishing his goal. The author represents his to enforce the main theme of the book, the main theme is that through one focus, one determination on one aim, you can obtain what you are determined to do. Peekay is constructed to enforce this them. He is represented to meet those characteristics and he over comes to, give the theme truth and emphasiThrough the construction of the character Peekay the author has attributed certain attitudes, values, and beliefs to the character Peekay. Throughout the book Peekay has a positive attitude. The author does this so that the readers of the book like him as a character. As the protagonist Peekay needs to be a character that the audience likes and enjoys reading about. Peekay’s positive attitude also helps him earn respect among the adults and helps him never to give up, which ultimately leads him to his goal. Through out the book Peekay also develops his own values. These values that Peekay develops are generally also the values that the author wants to impress upon the reader. Peekay values a fair chance, he believes that every one is to be given a fair chance at life, and no matter what there race, background or skin colour is. This is also a value that is shared by the author. Courtenay had similar values like this, he helped the native people and tried to help them have a chance at life, when they were seen to be animals. This is a value that Courtenay wants the reader of the book also to have, he wants to show the reader the importance of this value through how he represents Peekay as a character.

Speech

Through out the story The Power of One the reader forms a emotional relation ship with the main character Peekay. Bryce Courtenay, the author of the novel, describes the many different aspects of the character Peekay very clearly to the reader in his novel. Through explicit detail the reader understands and is able to imagine many aspects to Peekay’s character.

Throughout the novel the character Peekay is often described through his speech. The reader of the novel is given a lot of incite into the character of Peekay through his speech. Through out the Bildungsroman Peekay speaks as an adult looking back on life. He maintains the story of his naïve younger life yet at times in the book we can hear his adult mature voice coming through. At the start of the book through Peekay’s speech about issues and other topic, the reader is given the picture that Peekay is a naïve young boy. This naïve characteristic of Peekay also is expanded upon through the Intertextual references to children novels like Alice in wonderland through out the story. At Peekay grows up and is taught about life, we can see through Peekay’s speech that his is maturing. When he spends time with Doc we can see that his naïve child like characteristic begin to fade away.

Peekay’s speech also helps the readers to understand him as a character. Through his speech the reader of the book is able to understand what type of character he is. An example of this is that through Peekay’s speech the reader can see that he is a polite boy, and that he shows respect to those who are older than him.

Through out the book Peekay also develops in his ability to speak at the beginning of the book Peekay could only understand English. Through out the novel Peekay’s vocabulary and languages develop. Peekay learns several native languages; he learns the Boer’s language as well as Latin and Greek, from his lessons with Doc and the Librarian.

Through Peekay’s actions the reader of the novel is also shown certain characteristics of Peekay. In the begging of the book Peekay was bullied, through his actions he shows that he is vulnerable and that he is unable to do anything about it. through his early years, Peekay acts as though he has to cover up his ability, and his intelligence, to help him in life. He does this by pretending not to understand and to play dumb, and ct like the other students. Through the actions of Peekay, the young, naïve nature that was also shown through his speech is confirmed. Through his actions he shows him self to be very naïve towards Hitler and the bulling by the Judge. The child like nature of Peekay that is show through his actions changes as the story progresses and Peekay grows older. As he grows into adult hood he shows understanding through his actions. He learns to box, by which he can overcome the bulling of other class members. He also earns the respect of his peers through his boxing and is seen as a hero. As a hero Peekay remains humble and continues to have one aim, one desire and one goal. Through his older years Peekay shows through his actions his desire to become the World Champion Welter weight boxer, through his actions he shows that he has one desire and one goal, he shows complete dedication to this goal, through his actions and training.

Through out the book we are not told a lot about how Peekay looked apart from that he was small and white. The author does this for a reason, this could be because he wanted to focus on the, more emotional and the characteristics that defined Peekay as a person. How a person looks does not give such a strong impression on the reader as the character’s speech and its actions.

The author of The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay, constructed the character Peekay with certain views to bring across the message of the book that he purposed. The author uses the conventions of bulling to make the reader sympathise with the protagonist. Through out the novel the author shows how Peekay progressed as a character. Through a theme of determination in adversity, through which determination conquers and comes out, and beats the adversity and struggles that it faces. The author also create him as a like able character, making it easy for the audience to see him as the protagonist and see him as a good character.

The author created Peekay as a ordinary person, Peekay was not the son of a millionaire or the daughter of the president, he was a nobody, it was only through his hard work, determination and goals that he was able to accomplish what he did. The conventions of a novel are that the protagonist over comes the problem of the story, in this novel this is also the case where Peekay is able to overcome the judge and so take a stand against bulling and racism.

Narrator and Tone

Bryce Courtenay is an Australian author; he was raised up in South Africa as a boy. Through out his life he faced many struggles, as he took a stand against the racism in South Africa, after studying at Oxford University he owned a very successful advertising business in Sydney. After retiring at the age of 55 he became an author.

Through out the novel the power of one the Courtenay’s point of view on certain aspects of life are shown. One recurring them in the book is Christianity. Courtenay shows a very negative view toward the spiritual concept and suggests that Christianity is an inward feeling of comfort, yet it is no more than a feeling. Throughout the novel a very negative tone is put upon Christianity and it is shown to be a waste of life. Courtenay gives a very distorted view on what Christianity is. The first time that Christianity is mentioned is in chapter 8 where Peekay arrives at Barberton station and his mother picks him up. Throughout this chapter the author, sets the tone for Christianity for the rest of the book. Peekay is perplexed at how his mother talks always mentioning God and praising him. This negative tone is further expressed throughout the rest of the novel, giving the reader a negative view to both God and Christians.
As a Christian I don’t agree with how the book represents God and Christians. God is to be respected, in the book he is treated as another man, or human being, yet God is greater than that, he is almighty and all-powerful. As a Christian there is great comfort, God is our saviour, and he has forgiven our sins. The book describes Christianity as a waste of life, yet in actual fact it brings purpose to life. We are to live as God’s children to the fear and glory of his name.

Through the book the author’s point of view is also expressed concerning the issue of racism. Courtenay shows through the characters that he wants to make a stand against the separation of races. Through out the book Peekay, the protagonist tries to help the black Natives and the Boers as well as being loyal to his own race. Peekay did not show the same racist attitude that many of the South Africans showed. The author in many ways was similar to the character that he created –Peekay. He wanted to help overcome the difference between races in South Africa by starting a school for the native, but was told to leave South Africa as a result. Through the book the author shows through a negative tone that racism is wrong, yet he also shows a positive tone to helping and caring for the native people.

The Novel is narrated by Peekay the main character and the protagonist of the Novel. Peekay narrates it as in the future, as an adult looking back on his life that has gone by. Looking back on his early years, as a child growing but to manhood. The bildungsroman is narrated form the fist person point of view, from Peekay’s point of view, allowing the author to use the narrators thought, views and opinions to influence the throughs and opinions of the readers. The author uses the approach of stream of consciousness of the narrator. In this technique, the author uses the narrator of the bildungsroman, that through his thoughts processes the author is able to portray to the audience, the value, and attitudes of the character. In the Novel The Power Of One Peekay – the narrator – is presented as the protagonist. Through out the novel the author give the readers an insight to what Peekay’s though processes are and what his views are through his thoughts. An example of this is when Geel Peit Died, the author describes the pain that Peekay was feeling through his thoughts which he shared with the audience as the narrator of the story.

The story is told in a reflective sense, Peekay tells us his own reflections on what he had experienced in his life, looking back from hindsight, this gives the reader the ability to see how Peekay progressed as a character through out the novel and when growing into adult hood. Peekay also uses third person for the detail boxing matches where the reader is told in detail what Peekay’s though process is. This helps the reader to understand what Peekay is going through, and they are able to feel the atmosphere of what is going on. Through this the author is able to create a strong connection between the reader of the book and the protagonist –Peekay. 

Symbolism in the Novel

Through out the book The Power of One Courtenay uses symbolism to refer to various struggles and challenges that Peekay faces.

The first use of symbolism that the author uses in the symbolism of a snake. In this novel the snake symbolises despair and shame. Peekay was circumcised, in this way he was different to the other (Boer) children at the boarding school that he went to. The fact that he was circumcised symbolised that he was English. Being English he was different from all the other students at the boarding school who were Boers. There was a evident conflict between the Boers and the English, this meant that Peekay was bullied because he was different. When he is bullied the Judge makes fun of him that he is circumcised, this causes Peekay to be ashamed for being different in this way. When Peekay goes back to boarding after his holidays he takes Grandpa Chook with him. Grandpa Chook symbolises friendship. Grandpa chock appears to show his faith in Peekay’s ability to overcome this shame by biting off the head of a real snake, symbolising that Peekay can overcome this shame and dare to be his real self.

Peekay himself analyses and deconstructs the symbol of the Tadpole Angel. In Chapter Twenty-One he finally comes to terms with the black people's legend about him, and tells Morrie that the Tadpole Angel is "a symbol, a symbol of hope." This analysis of the symbol's importance is confirmed by Peekay's experience in the Northern Rhodesian mines, where the black mine workers view him as a beacon of hope. Peekay's acceptance of the symbol is an important turning point in the novel- previous to that point, he experienced embarrassment at the idea of being the Tadpole Angel and tried to shun the symbol. Along with assuming the role of the Tadpole Angel, symbol of hope, Peekay has to confront hope's opposite: after the boxing match with Gideon Mandoma he gains foresight to the atrocities that lie ahead for South Africa.

Throughout the novel the author also creates a symbolism of the full moon. Through out the book Peekay associates death with the full moon. When grandpa chook died, it was a full moon, also when Geel Piet dies Courtenay mentions that it was full moon. Yet the full moon can also symbolise hope despite horror and hopelessness. This is because when at the end of the book Peekay fights the Judge and beats him the author also mentions the full moon.

The Power of One has continuous reference to fairy tale, the main reference is to the fairy tale Alice In Wonderland. Peekay refers to the rose garden behind the Barberton house as a garden out of the Alice in Wonderland. The Twins, the kitten maids that worked for Peekay family, Peekay called Dee and Dum, these are characters, the fairly tale. 

The Boer War

As I read The Power of One I was carried into the life of a small, teased Anglo African boy.  Set in South Africa in the 1930s the book follows Peekay, the protagonist during his transitional years till the 1950s.  I was transported to a small Afrikaans boarding school, where I was a character myself through the eyes of Peekay. His suffering due to his ethnicity in post war South Africa made me realise the lasting impacts on individuals that the greed of nations can have. Peekay was teased extensively by his Boer peers solely because of his ability to speak English and his colouring, his status as a son of a rooinek, the derogatory name for the British soldiers who came to fight the Second Boer War (Courtenay, 1989).  

The First Boer War was a result of two nations the Dutch and the English fighting in foreign lands for the diamonds and gold that the Cape Colony held. This extensive wealth deep in the bowels of South Africa meant more to the Dutch and English who were seeking to provide financial support to their ever-growing empires and status as world powers, than the lives of those who inhabited the land.  It also saw the land inhabited with both English and Dutch colonists and soldiers, and yet it was very hard for the 250,000 British troops occupying the huge area to effectively control it. The Boer forces had a lot of freedom and developed a type of offense previously unheard of: guerrilla warfare. This method of fighting allows the relatively small Boer force to maximise their advantage of knowing the terrain and being able to mobilise quickly.  This method worked for a short while, but the constant supply of British troops being imported from the various colonised frontiers proved to be too much. In 1901, over fifty thousand British troops marched against Boer capitals, as the British abandoned their own methods of fighting, by burning down the farms and homes of their opponents. It is estimated that 26,000 Boer women and their children, were placed in concentration camps with estimates of another 14,000 of varying ethnicity. These vulnerable members of society were to die in inhumane and appalling conditions.  The devastating blow to the Boers saw them surrender to the British only seven months after the co-ordinated attack. In May 1902 the war ended with a singing of a peace treaty in Pretoria. But as the Power of One indicates individual battles are still being fought. Peekay is still suffering the effects of the greed between two waring nations with conflicting interests.

Racism in the Novel

Amongst the South African communities, racism was extremely prevalent. Racism can be defined as “differentiating between races, distinguishing them as inferior or superior to another race/races.” These racist attitudes amongst South African people included different treatment of certain people, simply because they had different physical traits. This treatment extended into social and legal spheres, and was recognized as acceptable by the offenders.

The Power of One deals with the topic of racism in South Africa and distinguishes between three main groups: the Afrikaners (white people from Dutch colonies, also known as Boers), black (African) and coloured (Asians and Indians). The African government was run by Afrikaners; this government established the Apartheid. Apartheid is an Afrikaans word which means ‘apartness’. This word embodied what the regulation was about: maintaining segregation between the whites and the blacks. This was decided during the country’s industrialization in the 1930’s to 1940’s. Due to the rapid change that urbanization caused, ideas also developed, and the Apartheid was meant to give whites a better chance in the workforce. It was the sentiment of the white working class that they were being disempowered by the English-speaking, working black Africans.

Any types for protest from the black Africans against the segregation measure was punished, often by means of imprisonment and forced labour.

The effects of the policy made by the white government included separating territories for black and white people. The political rights for black people in white areas was stripped from them, and the black people were given separate areas of the workforce. Prejudice was also expressed through the language of the white Afrikaners, who disrespectfully called them “kaffirs”, or heathens. The idea that they were heathen was also strong, since the Afrikaners believed that it was impossible, impractical and ungodly for the different races and cultures to live together.

Context of the Novelist and Popularity of the Novel

Bryce Courtenay, the author of the classic novel The Power of One experienced a lot of struggles and hardships throughout his life already from a young age. The classic story The Power of One includes loose links to the struggles that Courtenay experience through out his life.

Courtenay was born in 1933 in South Africa.  At the age of five he was sent to a boarding home, at this boarding home  

St five years of age Courtenay was sent to boarding school, after spending the first part of his childhood in the country on a isolated farm in the Lebombo Mountains. Courtenay found it difficult at this boarding school as he did not fit in, and was bullied. At the boarding school he learnt to box in order to survive the torture of his fellow school members. Later in his childhood he moved to Barberton in the north Eastern part of South Africa and met a germen music teacher who he referred to as Doc. Courtenay spent much time with Doc in the bush of Africa wandering around. During his time in Barberton he studied at a private high school, upon finishing Courtenay studied journalism.

Courtenay was exiled from South Africa when he set up a weekend school to educate the black, native Africans. He went to England where he did further studies and fell in love with an Australian. Courtenay married his wife – Benita- in Australia in ………. And he set up a highly successful advertising business in Sydney, because of the business success Courtenay was able to retire at the age of 55 and took up the art of a novelist. Courtenay’s first book The Power of One was published in 1989 and was his first best selling classics that were embarrassed by many people throughout Australia and al over the world.

What makes Courtenay’s novel –The Power of One – such a classic?  The story that Courtenay shares with his audience is a very simple story, about the life of a young boy as he make the journey to manhood. The way the Courtenay write the novel make the novel so intriguing and attractive to the audience. Courtenay is the master of description, throughout his book. The amazing description and the novels appeal to the audience, has caused the novel to be sold world wide with more than 1 million copies being sold globally.

Courtenay wrote the novel for a particular audience, the book was particular written to the Australian people, as Courtenay is considered an Australian author. Yet the book also is written to a much broader range of audience, that is not characterised by any nationality or race, the book encourages and helps people to see that through determination, and perseverance goals may be accomplished. The book tells a very encouraging story and so it’s audience can be very broad to all sorts of people, in their separate circumstance in life.