Everyone in the book The Power of One is represented in a certain way. In regard to adults, there are three main groups. First there is the group of adults Peekay respects, e.g. his teachers and mentors. The second group of adults consist of the adults Peekay despises and fears. The third group consist of the born-again Christians, who confuse Peekay.
Hoppie Groenewald was the start to a long line of mentors for Peekay. Hoppie treated Peekay like he was his own son, buying him food, and spending his spare time with him. It was Hoppie who first gave Peekay the idea that small could beat big, that he could beat the Judge and the rest of the world. To prove this thought, the welterweight boxer Hoppie beat the Heavy-weight boxer JackHammer Smit. This was the turning point of Peekay's life. Here, he stopped being the small vulnerable, dependant character, and started out to become the independent hero featured at the close of the book.
Doc was also in the first category. He taught Peekay a lot, both about cacti and life. Doc became the father-figure for Peekay in the years Peekay took to grow up. Doc was portrayed as a calm, wise figure, who was always right, both in his views and his actions. He was extremely kind to Peekay, taking him under his wing, even when he was in prison. Peekay loved Doc a lot, and was greatly saddened when he died.
Geel Piet was a yellow skinned man, despised by both the white people and the black people. He had the blood of every African tribe, as well as white blood. Geel Piet was the man who taught Peekay the basics of boxing. He was always bullied by warders in the prison, and, much to Peekay's despair, ended up being tortured to death. Peekay worked with Geel Piet to give the black people tobacco and sugar, and let them smuggle letters out of prison to their families.
Lieutenant Borman was a man despised by Peekay. He prided himself on the way he hurt and treated the 'dirty Kaffir' black people. Lieutenant Borman kills Peekay's faithful friend Geel Piet. This makes Peekay, and even his boxing master, Captain Smit, extremely sad. Later on in the book, the reader is glad to find out that Captain Smit beat up Lieutenant Borman, and Borman ended up dying in hospital from a dreaded disease.
The representation of children changes throughout the book. In the first part of the book, the children at the boarding school believe every word their parents say about the 'sinful Rooineks', and about Hitler coming to save them from the oppressive English. The children use this information to legalise the bullying of Peekay and his 'English chicken', Grandpa Chook. Later, when Peekay is revealed as a smart student, and a excellent fighter, he becomes popular, both among the African, and the English children.
Peekay's attitudes, values and beliefs are transferred to the reader, strengthening or challenging his/her own beliefs. At the beginning of the book, Peekay loves his nanny so much, he even prays to her instead of God, when he needs help. Later on, when he learns about God, he is confused. He doesn't understand that God is a spirit and not a man. When he finally realises that there is a spirit called God, he asks Doc about HIM. Doc states that God is certainly there, but he is too busy making the world to round to worry about pathetic little sins. Peekay decides that he 'liked Doc's God better than Mother's'. The way Peekay treats black and white people alike shows that he values equity, and despises racism. This is another value which strengthens the readers viewpoint. By making the reader become attracted to Peekay, Courtenay forces the reader to either refute Peekay's beliefs, or agree with him.
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