The Power of One

Chapters one through three tell us that the judge and the jury hate Peekay because he’s a Rooinek and is English.   Boers hate Rooineks because at one time the Rooineks held the Boers in concentration camps and abused them while they were there.   Many Boers died in the camps as well.   In the Boer War I, the Rooineks were defeated and those held in camps were released.

The lesson or theme that the author wants us to learn is that humans can be cruel to one another.   As humans, sometimes we judge others without really getting to know who it is we are judging or even really why.   Some people take a superior attitude over others and think they are better then certain people.   This can often lead to hatred and abuse of those one feels superior over, which is what happened between the Boers and the Rooineks.   In the book, Peekay is judged because he wet the bed.   The Boers called him “Pisskop” because of this and were very cruel to him.

In chapters four through six, Peekay learns to hide by camouflaging himself.   He camouflages himself in order to stay out of the way of the older kids who pick on him.   Camouflaging helps him survive life at school and in general.   Adapting and camouflage are related to the power of one by Peekay having to adapt to a new life and family, but having to camouflage himself in order to not get picked on and fit into his new life.

The power of one is the idea that one person, one mind, one heart, and one soul can conquer anything.   The idea of the power of one allows this one little boy to stand up to all the older kids simply because he believes in himself.   In other words, if you believe in yourself (the power of one), you can do anything.

Chapters 7 through 10, Peekay first befriends a woman on the train ride home who ends up dying right in front of him. While this was devastating for him, there is a much bigger loss that he faces upon arriving home.   He finds that due to religious differences, his mother fired his nanny, the...