52 pages • 1 hour read
Bryce CourtenayThe Power of One
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1989A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book 1, Chapters 9-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1, Chapters 9-15 Summary
Peekay’s Granpa meets him at the station and brings Peekay home where he learns that his mother has found Jesus and sent his Nanny away when she refused to convert. Resentful, Peekay insults God and runs into the hills behind their house where he sits on a large rock, gazing sadly into the distance.
A very tall, thin man with white hair and a camera comes upon Peekay and introduces himself as Professor von Vollenstein. Speaking with an unusual German accent and using made up words like “absoloodle,” the professor instructs Peekay to call him Doc. He tells Peekay that he took his picture and asks for permission to give it a title. Peekay notices that he has a cactus in his bag. Doc eagerly talks about the different plants in South Africa and explains that he is an amateur scientist who catalogues and collects different plants. They become friends.
Doc approaches Peekay’s mother and offers to give Peekay piano lessons in exchange for his help roaming the hills and collecting plant samples for study. Peekay learns that Doc is German and a well-known concert pianist. Doc becomes Peekay’s tutor, teaching him about science, logic, and reason while giving him music lessons. They take trips to the local library for books and further study where Peekay meets the librarian, Mrs. Boxall. Doc convinces Peekay to stop relying on “camouflage” and show his intelligence.
In 1941, a military van comes to take Doc to the local prison in Barberton for failing to register as an immigrant. Doc complies, sadly noting, “The stupidity. Already the stupidity begins again” (165). He gives Peekay instructions about how to care for the plants and asks to shower before leaving. The officers search his home while they wait and take some of Doc’s alcohol. The officer pours alcohol on Doc’s piano. Doc is enraged and strikes the officer’s wrist while yelling, “Do not defile the instrument of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach” (167). The officer begins to beat the professor and seriously injures Peekay when he tries to intervene.
Peekay wakes in hospital with his jaw wired shut and learns that everyone thinks that Doc is a German spy who attacked Peekay. Doc is in danger of spending many years in prison. With Mrs. Boxall’s help, Peekay proves Doc’s innocence. Instead, Doc is taken to the local prison where the commandant recognizes Doc and allows him special privileges as long as he agrees to play a concert for the town on behalf of the prison. Peekay learns that Doc stopped performing and left Germany when he developed a severe case of stage fright; he can no longer perform in front of people. He accepts the commandant’s offer to continue tutoring Peekay, however.
Peekay meets Klipkop and Lieutenant Smit while visiting Doc and learns that the Barberton Prison has a very successful junior boxing league run by Lieutenant Smit. Peekay begs to be allowed to join. He is too young and much smaller than the Afrikaner boys. Peekay realizes that Lieutenant Smit is Jackhammer Smit’s brother and tells the lieutenant that he was at that fight with Hoppie Groenewald. Smit reluctantly agrees to allow Peekay to join the team, but he is not allowed to fight in a match for two years and will only receive training on technique.
Peekay watches as Klipkop beats a Black prison servant for stealing some biscuits. Smit watches silently and eventually says that he was the one to eat the biscuits. Klipkop laughs.
After the weekend, Smit and Klipkop transport Doc’s Steinway piano to the town square. The commandant introduces Doc, insulting the townspeople for imprisoning the man when he has lived amongst them for so long. He accuses them of intolerance, and a fight breaks out between the English and the Afrikaners. Doc begins to play, captivating the crowd. He plays beautifully and overcomes his stage fright.
Peekay travels to the prison every day and receives piano lessons and tutoring from Doc before practicing boxing with the team. He meets Gert Marais, a warder and an older boxer for the team. Gert adjusts a speedball for Peekay to practice his punches. Smit praises Peekay for his speed. Peekay notices one of the prisoners who helps to train the junior boxers is watching him. The prisoner is Geel Piet, a Cape Colored man (a South African ethnic group of African, European, and Asian descent) that knows all about the inner workings of the prison. Geel Piet runs a bootleg market of tobacco, salt, and sugar in the prison. Peekay observes that he is an excellent survivor and a magnificent boxing coach.
Peekay, Doc, and Geel Piet eventually develop a relationship with Peekay at the center. Together they develop a bootleg market plan to pass letters from the prisoners back forth with their families. Mrs. Boxall gets involved and names the endeavor the “Sandwich Fund.” The Sandwich Fund actually provides food, clothes, and other necessities to the families of the prisoners. Peekay earns the respect and admiration of the prisoners for this work and is nicknamed “Onoshobishobi Ingelosi” or the “Tadpole Angel.” Geel Piet explains the name to Peekay. Later, Peekay begs Geel Piet to teach him to fight dirty to win the fights that he gets into at school. Geel Piet refuses, teaching Peekay the difference between boxing and fighting. Instead, he gives Peekay one trick to win his fights.
Peekay practices for two years before Smit finally calls him into the ring to spar with another member of the team, a big bully named Snotnose. Peekay beats Snotnose with a quick combination of punches and footwork, earning the praise of Smit and delighting Geel Piet. Smit begins to recognize Geel Piet’s value as a coach as a result of Peekay’s success. Peekay becomes an important part of the “Barberton Blues” boxing squad. Smit also prizes Peekay’s intelligence and speed as a boxer, teaching Peekay to observe his opponents closely and fight with strategy and skill. The team enters the Eastern Transvaal boxing championship. Snotnose becomes ill and Smit tells Peekay that he will fight.
Later that day, Geel Piet interrupts Peekay’s music lesson to give Peekay a gift from “the People.” He presents Peekay with a beautiful pair of black leather boxing boots. Peekay is delighted and tries on the shoes while Geel Piet, sensing danger, drops to the ground and begins scrubbing the floor. A warder by the name of Borman with a reputation for extreme cruelty passes by and bullies Geel Piet.
Doc agrees to give a concert for an important guest to the prison if he is allowed to see Peekay’s boxing debut. Peekay’s opponent is much bigger but he wins by landing quick punches and dancing away. Impressed by his skills and manners, the referee dubs him “Gentleman Peekay.”
Peekay and the team continue to do well and advance in the championship. Peekay makes it to the under-12s division finals where he faces an Afrikaner named Killer Kroon who is eight inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than him. The referee tries to convince Smit to withdraw Peekay from the match, afraid that he will be seriously hurt. Smit is also reluctant but gives into Peekay’s pleas to fight.
Peekay waits in his corner where he visits the “night country” and watches his opponent. Peekay immediately moves to the center of the ring. He dodges several punches when Killer Kroon finally lands a punch that sends him “spinning across the ring” (251). Peekay keeps fighting, recalling worse hits that he took from the Judge. Peekay lands a hit with the force of his body behind it that shocks Killer Kroon, but the fight continues while Doc, Klipkop, and Smit all watch with silent tears running down their faces. Smit gives Peekay advice to help him out-box Killer Kroon. They continue to fight, and Smit begins to get excited. Peekay wins the fight dramatically, while Killer Kroon’s coach attempts to call a forfeit on a technicality. The referee refuses and announces that one day “Gentleman Peekay” will be a great fighter.
The next day at the prison, Smit praises Peekay and Geel Piet and arranges for a picture to be taken of the team. Many members refuse to take a picture with Geel Piet. Smit takes two pictures. One picture includes Smit, Peekay, Geel Piet, Gert, and Doc. The narrator identifies this as “the exact moment when [he] understood with conviction that racism is a primary force of evil designed to destroy good men” (265).
Peekay has a new teacher at school. Miss Bornstein is well-educated and Jewish. She is impressed with Peekay’s education and expands it to include chess. Peekay falls in love with Miss Bornstein.
Borman is promoted to Captain at the prison. The commandant realizes that Hitler will lose but promotes Borman because he is a leader of the Oxywagon guard, a “neo-Nazi group dedicated to the restoration of independence for the Afrikaner people” (275). The narrator reflects on where the hatred inherent in racism comes from.
The prison begins to prepare for an inspection by the inspector of prisons. Doc agrees to play for the inspector but only if he is allowed to give an outdoor concert for the prisoners. Doc composes a piano concerto made up of each of the favorite songs of the prisoners from various Zulu tribes—including the Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele, Sotho, and Shangaan—called the “Concerto of the Great Southland” (282). Since Peekay will conduct the singing during the performance, the concert assumes “mystical significance” and Geel Piet becomes extremely excited and hopeful that this will unite the tribes under the “Tadpole Angel” (282). Peekay finds the prospect of leading a crowd of Black people unintimidating.
Borman tries to prevent the concert unsuccessfully. Smit likes the idea of the concert. Animosity builds between the two.
Geel Piet suggests that Peekay wear his boxing gear on the night of the concert. Peekay dresses in his singlet and boots with his gloves tied around his neck. He and Doc wait, but Geel Piet never arrives. They go on with the show. The commandant asks Peekay to translate a warning to the prisoners to behave. Peekay tells them to enjoy the show while the commandant praises him for his leadership abilities.
The concert is magnificent and moves the commandant to tears. He praises the music but also the singing. The prisoners begin to chant “Onoshobishobi Ingelosi.”
Peekay goes to put away his boxing uniform and finds Geel Piet, horribly beaten and lying in his own blood in the center of the boxing ring. Smit carries a sobbing Peekay away while promising to avenge Geel Piet.
The end of World War II is announced, and Doc is freed to return home. Doc gives the piano recital for the inspector of prisons, and the prison earns high praise. Doc plays an additional set before finishing with the “Concerto of the Great Southland,” which he renames “Requiem for Geel Piet” (298). A boxing exhibition is held after the concert. After everyone leaves, Smit recalls the boxing boys and forces Borman to fight him in the boxing ring on the same canvas where Geel Piet was found. Borman admits that he murdered Geel Piet and is beaten by Smit. They roll him in the canvas and pronounce him cursed before carrying him away.
Mrs. Boxall tells Peekay that the inspector has approved a letter-writing service between the prisoners and their families to promote recidivism. The Sandwich Fund becomes official.
With Doc at home again, he and Peekay begin roaming the hills to study plants. Miss Bornstein prepares Peekay for entrance exams for the prestigious Prince of Wales school in Johannesburg. Peekay also continues visiting the prison on Sundays to write letters for the inmates.
Peekay is accepted to the Prince of Wales school but is concerned about money for supplies. His friends and family all work together to provide what he needs to attend.
Borman dies suffering from cancer and hemorrhaging, similar to the injuries of Geel Piet.
Book 1, Chapters 9-15 Analysis
Chapter 9-15 are made up of Peekay’s time in Barberton. It begins by introducing the next of Peekay’s mentors. Through Doc, Courtenay explores the Adaptation, Evolution, and the Science of Survival theme to include an emphasis upon logic, reason, and intelligence in aspects of survival. This addition is key to the ongoing development of Peekay’s healing from the traumatic events in Book 1.
The end of Chapter 9 includes an in-depth description of the close relationship that develops between the Germans and Boers in the period between the Second Boer War and World War II, noting that “Germany had covertly helped the Boers during the Boer War” (159). The narrator highlights the division in South Africa noting that “[i]mportant people suggested that the military be brought in to wipe out this nest of Nazi vipers or that the prison be moved to Nelspruit, an Afrikaans town forty miles away” (160). This foreshadows the upcoming significance of the Barberton Prison where Courtenay explores the emergence of Apartheid by portraying the racist intolerance of Afrikaners toward Black people and Cape Colored people; Courtenay uses Nazi ideology as a metonym for racism and xenophobia in the novel. It also provides the necessary context to understand the divisive responses to Doc as a German character living in South Africa, allowing the protagonist to continue reflecting upon Race, Racism, and Power in South Africa.
Doc’s detainment in Barberton Prison begins in Chapter 10 with a violent encounter that displays the institutional violence inherent in the South African military and government even before the establishment of Apartheid. This epitomizes the novel’s portrayal of Apartheid as an evolution of the pre-existing racial tensions and injustices in South African society. Already demonstrating the influence of Doc’s enthusiasm for scientific observation and study, Peekay acts as a witness to Doc’s arrest and Klipkop’s brutal treatment of the Black servant, reserving judgment and allowing the reader to reflect upon his observations. Courtenay uses a fictional observer of a historical context to embed realistic representations of racist violence in the setting of a fictional story, exploring the build-up to Apartheid in contrast to colonialist histories that obscure the truth and brutality of this period. The prison serves as a microcosm that allows Peekay to analyze the racial tensions in an enclosed setting, similar to the scientific practices that Doc teaches him.
By Chapter 13, the narration becomes more episodic with longer periods in between the main action of the novel. Additional moments of historical backdrop are integrated into the narrator’s storytelling during this period as well, the looming threat of Apartheid more evident. This includes the addition of the pro-Nazi element within the prison through Borman. Borman’s threats and Geel Piet’s nervous resignation transition into another lengthy discussion of the racial tension of the 1940s. By this point in the narrative, Courtenay has presented readers with a wide picture of the multiple elements of the South African social hierarchy including the diversity and the ubiquity of racial intolerance. This suggests that the author is challenging the truth of historical accounts by providing alternative methods to understand South African history. Courtenay develops this technique later in the novel through the character of Morrie Levy.
Chapter 11 introduces Geel Piet who becomes Peekay’s personal boxing coach. Geel Piet is another of the protagonist’s important mentors. He actively positions Peekay to begin accepting his symbolic role as the “Tadpole Angel.” Geel Piet recognizes that Peekay will grow and develop in ways that a Cape Colored man cannot due to his race. He seeks to nurture this in the same way that Inkosi-Inkosikazi recognizes and nurtures Peekay’s potential. Peekay is, subsequently, a victor in the under-12 division of the Eastern Transvaal boxing championship. In Peekay’s boxing matches, Courtenay uses the motifs of size and power to portray Peekay’s developing understanding of his own capacities and limitations as a small but skilled boxer. This contributes to the novel’s thematic ideas about The Power of the Individual, as Peekay learns what he can achieve. Peekay consistently impresses those around him with his fighting skills. His first match is also the beginning of a series of successes that lead to a sense of over-confidence later in the novel that threatens to disrupt Peekay’s primary goals.
In these scenes, Courtenay also illustrates the art of boxing while Peekay punches and dances away from his opponent. He hence presents boxing as entertainment, here, that is separated from the brutal violence elsewhere in the novel. He also develops the significance of artistry when Doc plays piano in the town square after his arrest. He presents music as a force for unification, a language of shared humanity. When a fight breaks out at the concert performed for the townspeople, Doc’s music is able to calm the crowd. Both music and boxing share an artistry in the novel that unifies rather than divides.
Chapter 14 functions as a miniature climax to Peekay’s childhood. His time and experiences in the Barberton Prison culminate with a triumph and a tragedy. Geel Piet’s efforts to position Peekay as the “Tadpole Angel” are successfully realized when Doc performs the “Concerto of the Great Southland” for the prisoners. With Doc guiding the music, Peekay stands before the multiple tribes of South Africa in his boxing regalia to unite them in one voice as “the People,” alluding to the symbolic role that he will consciously assume later in the novel. Still too young to fully understand and embrace the symbolism of “Onoshobishobi Ingelosi,” Peekay still embodies the incomplete symbolism of the “Tadpole Angel,” ending his childhood but not yet an adult.
Courtenay portrays Peekay’s privilege as a white person who is selected to unite “the People.” Peekay notes that, “had Doc proposed that [he] assume the role of conductor in front of a white audience, [he] could not have done so” (282). He goes on to clarify that his comfort is not a result of his connection with the people, explaining that “such [was] the nature of white supremacy in South Africa that [he] thought little of standing up in front of three hundred and fifty black prisoners and directing them” (282). This marks a significant development from his misunderstanding of the “Blacks only” sign in the shop; as Peekay begins to understand his own role in white supremacy and becomes conscious of his internalized racism, Courtenay develops his thematic treatment of Race, Racism, and Power in South Africa. He continues to develop this theme when the chanting of the prisoners makes the guards anxious following the concert. Peekay immediately commands silence with the simple wave of a hand. He then contrasts the power that he unwillingly commands when he mentions that the speech that he gives after to the prisoners was delivered in the “thin piping” voice of a child (289), highlighting a developing cognitive dissonance when it comes to his own power.
The discovery of Geel Piet’s brutal murder by Borman just after the concert is a shocking juxtaposition that presents the racist violence in pre-Apartheid South Africa in microcosm, preparing Peekay to face the horrors of Apartheid that he witnesses in a later vision of Africa’s future. The timing of Geel Piet’s death reflects Peekay’s continuing development as a sign that the protagonist has grown beyond the need for “camouflage” and is ready to step into the role of a leader. Doc’s dedication to Geel Piet, renaming the “Concerto of the Great Southland” to “Requiem for Geel Piet,” solidifies the Cape Colored man’s significance to Peekay as a mentor, having fulfilled his role to prepare Peekay to act as a uniter of “the People.” His death functions as the final parallel between Peekay’s two, main mentors.
In the final chapter of Book 1, Peekay takes another train as he transitions to another period of development.
