The Power Of One By Bryce Courtenay

Bryce Courtenay‘s The Power of One is based on a boy named Peekay as he grows up in a discriminated South African society. Peekay is a different person from the beginning to the end of the book. Throughout the story Peekay learns from mentors and rivals on different empowering life lessons to help him become a strong young man in a prejudiced South African society. As Peekay journeys from his early childhood to his young adulthood he meets many different people who have eternal positive and negative effects on him. Through friends, mentors and an enemy, Peekay learns to embrace his intelligence rather than to hide it.
Peekay is told by the Judge to embrace his intelligence for the good of the Judge not Peekay. Peekay uses his intelligence …show more content…
“To be smart is not a sin, but to be smart and not use it is a sin”(162). This was the first time someone told Peekay to use his intelligence for himself and not for someone else. Doc taught Peekay a variety of subjects from arithmetic to different plants. The most significant was the morals to being a good person. Peekay isn't just intelligent in math, he's intelligent as an all round person because he sees people for who they are not just the color of their skin. Doc had an influence on this part as well as Geel. “ Your brain Peekay has two functions; it is a place for original thought, but also it is a reference library. Use it to tell you where to look, and then you will have for yourself all the brains that have ever been”(157). At the time Peekay didn't understand what this exactly meant. As he got older he soon came to realize that in order to win a battle you have to be mentally tougher not just physically. Doc taught Peekay how to take on that mental block and to face it not just to run away from it. Doc wanted Peekay to use his intelligence the most because he saw the potential Peekay had in him to become a good person. Doc wanted Peekay to embrace his intelligence the most for the greater good of