The Power of One is a novel written by Bryce Courtenay. It is about a boy named Peekay aged 5 to 17, and his troublesome life. In this essay, we will be discussing Peekay’s relationships with Doc and how it helped me as the reader to understand him as a character. Peekay and Docs relationship helped me understand oppression, it also helped me understand the need for hope.
In the novel, Peekay first attended an Afrikaans speaking boarding school at the age of 5. During his time there he was called Pisskop. Kop means head in Afrikaans. Unfortunately, Peekay used to wet his bed this is why the pupils at the school used to make fun of him.
However, later in life, Peekay uses his name to his advantage he tells his mother “It’s my new name. I-I haven’t told you about it yet,” I said flustered.
Peekay attended an Afrikaans speaking school consequently he often felt confused because he didn’t understand what the other kids were saying. This would have made Peekay feel very isolated because he couldn’t talk or interact with other people. This would have made his self-esteem very low while he was attending this school.
Peekay had no experience in the outside world other than school holidays, which were probably pretty great. Because he had quite a rough start being bullied and never really feeling welcome this would have made him very tough and resilient, but also would have made him pretty nervous to go into the real world.
However, his story showed that his experiences early on in his life had a massive impact on how he would grow, change and develop as an adult.
The Power of One demonstrates to me the reader of the story, that even if you had a bad start you can turn your life around. Peekay would have developed the skills to build good strong relationships and be self-reliant. One of the relationships he made was with Doc.
Doc and Peekay met in the hills behind Peekays home in Barberton. When they met it was obvious to me the reader that Peekay and Doc would have a good relationship
“ I think we can be friends Peekay’ Doc says. From that moment on they were best friends.
When Peekay’s mother first meets Doc she is horrified because he is german, but Doc soon wins her over, He tells Peekays mother that he thinks Peekay is a genius.
They agree that Doc will give peekay music lessons. Peekays mother is delighted at this.
The result was a relationship that developed now between Doc, Peekay and Peekays mother, Which is great for all three of them.
This relationship and what Peekays learns through and with Doc shows me that there is always hope that things can get better. Their relationship was built on trust, respect and loyalty between two completely different people; a young man and a German adult man from quite different backgrounds.
My thoughts after reading this book are if you find someone that believes in you and encourages you to overcome the difficulties you are experiencing you can do anything you want. Peekay is a fine example of this, he found Doc and Doc found him and together they achieved great and amazing things. Such as being awarded his colours for 1 rugby award and boxing 3 boxing awards. He was also a top student in pretty much anything he did, also Peekay was an undefeated boxer. But in saying this he wasn’t great at everything he was also a bit naughty and got into trouble. Considering his background and early life this isn’t surprising. So in conclusion, I didn’t really enjoy this book at the beginning but as I progressed through the story I started to enjoy reading this book. “ But I was still alive, and in my book, where there’s life, there’s hope” Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One.
By Will
Recent Comments