Power of One Essay

In the novel, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay Peekay, in his small world filled with hate and oppression goes through some major, life altering changes. He starts his life as a shy boy who is considered an outcast, to gaining confidence and understanding to end up being a self expressing adult with an abundance of knowledge. These changes are important to the text as a whole because removing one’s camouflage is central to the idea of the power of one which is the driving theme of the novel.

Near the beginning of the novel Peekay goes to a boarding school at a very young age. The boarding school he attended was a mostly Afrikaner school meaning that as an english boy he was seen as an outcast. Peekay was often bullied for being different. This is why he adapted a way of blending in, he called this his camouflage. At one point in the novel Peekay said “I quickly realised that survival means never being best at anything except being best at nothing.” With his high intellectual skills Peekay soon realized the less that people noticed him the less he would get bullied and harrassed. He tried to hide his intelligience by acting dumb and trying to blend in with the other less academic children; “I was becoming the perfect stick insect.” The feeling of being different and not fitting in are issues that many readers can relate to in this part of the novel.

Peekay grew older and left boarding school to start a new life with his family in the town of Barberton. He met many influential people on his journey to becoming a more confident person. A very important character in the novel was a german music professor who went by the name of Doc. Doc helped Peekay by challenging and expanding his mind to explore new ideas and perspectives. Doc taught Peekay music, languages and botany, he also taught Peekay many life lessons. The most important of which helped Peekay to remove his camouflage and embrace his full talent, “To be smart is not a sin. But to be smart and not use it, that, Peekay, is a sin. Absoloodle!”. During the period of time Peekay spent in Barberton, he learned to box at the Barberton prison. This was a dream he had wanted to follow after Hoppie, a train conductor he befriended, told him that he could one day be the Welterweight champion of the world. It became clear that Hoppie had greatly influenced Peekay as he expressed that “Hoppies words were like seed pods with wings”. With Peekay now being able to box he was able to stand up for himself going into a new chapter of his life, emotionally and physically.

Two other characters had also influenced Peekay in the novel, Mrs Boxall and Miss Bornstein. They taught Peekay other aspects of his academic curriculum. He excelled at school thanks to both of these teachers as well as Doc and with their combined help he later earned a scholarship to a school he could not otherwise have been able to attend. This new school opened up a new stage in his life. Going to this new boarding school, Peekay vows that this time he is going in on his own terms. He explains that “It wasn’t until I went to boarding school the second time that I learned that survival is a matter of actively making the system work for you rather than attempting merely to survive it.” It was clear in this part of the novel that Peekay had started to realise that his camouflage had been holding him back. In order for him to reach his full potential he had to accept who he was. Peekay’s boxing talent brought a new hope to the school following their repeated loses and this earned him a popular reputation. He was also matched with people at the same level of intelligence as him allowing him to be himself in the classroom.

In the novel, The Power of One by Bryce Courtny Peekay became a confident and self believing young adult who was able to stand up for himself and his friends. He went through this journey with the help of many people and would not be who he has ended up to be without them. These were all changes that affected the text as a whole because without them Peekay would still be a sad, lonely person whose only goal in life was to blend in with others. As readers follow his journey they see him grow and succeed and I believe that this is the message that Bryce Courtny wanted to share with the readers.