The Power of One

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses child abuse as well as racist violence and language.

Peekay is the precocious, intelligent narrator and protagonist of The Power of One. He is consistently smaller and often younger than those around him. As the novel is a Bildungsroman, his characterization is the central focus. Peekay reflects on his experiences and the various characters that he meets, and his character grows as his point of view expands to include the multiple perspectives of the expansive cast of characters that he encounters such as the Judge, Hoppie, Doc, Geel Piet, and Morrie Levy. After his fight with Gabriel Mandoma, Peekay has a vision of Africa’s future and hears the “voices of the People” (434). Because of this, Peekay is a symbol of racial tolerance that bridges the gap between different characters; at the same time, Bryce Courtenay’s portrayal of a white heroic figure in a novel about Race, Racism, and Power in South Africa reproduces some of the racist hierarchies that It addresses.

Peekay is traumatized at an early age by the violence he suffers at the hands of the Judge.