Peekay
Encyclopedia
Peekay, is the name of the main character in the Bryce Courtenay
's novels The Power of One
and its sequel Tandia
.
Boarding School, where he was tormented by his elder peers and teachers because he was English (the English fought against the Boers during the War
). The Afrikaner
students constantly tortured and mocked Peekay, going as far as to urinate on him and kill his pet chicken. They gave him the nickname "Pisskop," ("Piss" or "pee" head) which would later turn into Peekay (a friendlier nickname that stood for Pisskop, given to him by a salesman from a shoe store).
Peekay was met while on the train from his boarding school to the town of Barberton where his grandfather had moved to, Hoppie Groenewald. Hoppie Groenewald was a train conductor and a boxer and took Peekay under his wing and taught him that small could beat big through the idea of the "Power of One". Hoppie inspires Peekay to take up boxing and to become the Welterweight champion of the world.
When Peekay arrives in Barberton, where his Mother and Grandfather have moved to, he is 6 years old, traumatised by his boarding school experience and determined to become the Welterweight Champion of the World. He soon after arriving, meets Professor Karl Von Vollensteen who, inspired by Peekays obvious intelligence, takes him under his wing to teach him. Over the next several years he teaches him (among other things) classical piano, chess, botany, geology and the importance of truth.
At age seven, when living in Barberton, after his friendship with Hoppie Groenwald, he decides to do boxing at the Barberton Prison, where Doc (professor Karl Von Vollensteen) is interned.
Peekay eventually, through 'The Power of One', manages to find closure on a few events of his young life, including his relationship with his mother, his friends he made, his schoolyard tormenters, and the professor.
Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay AM is a South-African-born naturalized Australian novelist and one of Australia's most commercially successful authors.-Background and early years:...
's novels The Power of One
The Power of One
The Power of One is a novel by Bryce Courtenay, first published in 1989. Set in South Africa during the 1930s and 1940s, it tells the story of an Anglo-African boy who, through the course of the story, acquires the nickname of Peekay. The Power of One is a novel by Bryce Courtenay, first published...
and its sequel Tandia
Tandia
Tandia is Bryce Courtenay's 1992 sequel to his own best-selling novel The Power of One. It follows the story of a young woman, Tandia, who was brutally raped and then banished from her own home...
.
Overview
Peekay was born in South Africa in the 1930s. He was sent to an AfrikaansAfrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
Boarding School, where he was tormented by his elder peers and teachers because he was English (the English fought against the Boers during the War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
). The Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
students constantly tortured and mocked Peekay, going as far as to urinate on him and kill his pet chicken. They gave him the nickname "Pisskop," ("Piss" or "pee" head) which would later turn into Peekay (a friendlier nickname that stood for Pisskop, given to him by a salesman from a shoe store).
Peekay was met while on the train from his boarding school to the town of Barberton where his grandfather had moved to, Hoppie Groenewald. Hoppie Groenewald was a train conductor and a boxer and took Peekay under his wing and taught him that small could beat big through the idea of the "Power of One". Hoppie inspires Peekay to take up boxing and to become the Welterweight champion of the world.
When Peekay arrives in Barberton, where his Mother and Grandfather have moved to, he is 6 years old, traumatised by his boarding school experience and determined to become the Welterweight Champion of the World. He soon after arriving, meets Professor Karl Von Vollensteen who, inspired by Peekays obvious intelligence, takes him under his wing to teach him. Over the next several years he teaches him (among other things) classical piano, chess, botany, geology and the importance of truth.
At age seven, when living in Barberton, after his friendship with Hoppie Groenwald, he decides to do boxing at the Barberton Prison, where Doc (professor Karl Von Vollensteen) is interned.
Peekay eventually, through 'The Power of One', manages to find closure on a few events of his young life, including his relationship with his mother, his friends he made, his schoolyard tormenters, and the professor.