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The Power of One

 The Power of One
type
TVTItem
 The Power of One
label
The Power of One
 The Power of One
page
ThePowerOfOne
 The Power of One
comment
The Power of One (1989) is a novel by Bryce Courtenay set in South Africa just before and during World War II. It follows the life of an English boy known only as Peekay after his mother suffers a nervous breakdown and he gets sent to an Afrikaner Boarding School of Horrors. After leaving the school, Peekay gets on a train for Barberton and meets Hoppie Groenwald, the train guard and a welterweight boxer. After witnessing Hoppie's match, the young boy is entranced by the sport and encouraged by Hoppie to become the welterweight champion of the world.A film adaption was released in 1992. It scores a 2 on the Sliding Scale of Adaptation Modification. It should not be confused with the second feature-length Pokémon movie, which in English bears the same title.
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DBTropes
 The Power of One / int_184e7708
type
Hands-Off Parenting
 The Power of One / int_184e7708
comment
Hands-Off Parenting: Peekay's mother is rather uninvolved with her son's rearing, even after she returns for him.
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 The Power of One / int_25524784
type
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
 The Power of One / int_25524784
comment
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Peekay gets a long-awaited one with Jaapie Botha at the end.
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 The Power of One / int_2673425b
type
Kid Hero
 The Power of One / int_2673425b
comment
Kid Hero: Peekay, who goes from a timid and friendless child to a resourceful, confident, and stout-hearted young man.
 The Power of One / int_2673425b
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The Power of One / int_2673425b
 The Power of One / int_289008dc
type
Incorruptible Pure Pureness
 The Power of One / int_289008dc
comment
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Peekay himself. He is distinguished by the traits of extreme generosity and a love for people of all races, but he rarely passes judgment on others.
 The Power of One / int_289008dc
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 The Power of One / int_28bf2393
type
Prisoner Performance
 The Power of One / int_28bf2393
comment
Prisoner Performance: In the film, Peekay helps organize a prison concert, in which the African prisoners defiantly Stealth Insult their ignorant white audience. The lyrics to the song they sing are provided below:
 The Power of One / int_28bf2393
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The Power of One / int_28bf2393
 The Power of One / int_297ab1b9
type
Parental Abandonment
 The Power of One / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Peekay's mother suffered a breakdown following his birth, so he was raised by his Zulu nurse.
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 The Power of One / int_317629db
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Embarrassing Nickname
 The Power of One / int_317629db
comment
Embarrassing Nickname: Pisskop (Afrikaans for "Pisshead"), from which "Peekay" is derived. Also Rooinek ("Red Neck"), a disparaging term for Brits.
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 The Power of One / int_4668be6f
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Distinguishing Mark
 The Power of One / int_4668be6f
comment
Distinguishing Mark: The Judge's crude Swastika.
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 The Power of One / int_49fb5ccb
type
Combat Pragmatist
 The Power of One / int_49fb5ccb
comment
Combat Pragmatist: When Peekay's boxing opponent drinks water, he focuses on punching him in the gut. Ouch.
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 The Power of One / int_4a57732a
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Friendless Background
 The Power of One / int_4a57732a
comment
Friendless Background: At the start, Peekay has absolutely no friends among his peers; the only people to whom he is remotely close are his elders. As time goes on, however, he starts to befriend people in his own age group.
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 The Power of One / int_51beab21
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Good Old Fisticuffs
 The Power of One / int_51beab21
comment
Good Old Fisticuffs: As the cover might suggest, boxing is central to the novel.
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 The Power of One / int_545d100b
type
Intelligence Equals Isolation
 The Power of One / int_545d100b
comment
Intelligence Equals Isolation: Peekay is ridiculously intelligent (both naturally and from being tutored by Doc) and as such has no friends outside the boxing squad until he goes to The Prince of Wales School halfway through the book.
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 The Power of One / int_5989e3b6
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Enemy Mine
 The Power of One / int_5989e3b6
comment
Enemy Mine: The Afrikaner boys' support for the Nazis, derived from their shared opposition to the British.
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 The Power of One / int_6b2b3b59
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The Reveal
 The Power of One / int_6b2b3b59
comment
The Reveal: Jaapie Botha is actually The Judge.
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 The Power of One / int_7089d02e
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All Germans Are Nazis
 The Power of One / int_7089d02e
comment
All Germans Are Nazis: Subverted with Doc, and becomes a major plot point when he is sent to prison.
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 The Power of One / int_717d735a
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Suicide by Pills
 The Power of One / int_717d735a
comment
Suicide by Pills: Doc, Peekay's teacher and best friend, decides on a whim that his time has come after everyone else in South Africa accuses him of being a German spy. He dies quietly and neatly by overdosing on pills inside the Crystal Cave of Africa, where he and Peekay used to explore.
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 The Power of One / int_729c69f3
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Politically Incorrect Villain
 The Power of One / int_729c69f3
comment
Politically Incorrect Villain: The Judge, who declares his support for the Nazis, and intends to follow their genocidal example against the English-descended South Africans, as well as obviously supporting suppression of black Africans under apartheid.
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 The Power of One / int_7eebe99c
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The Alcoholic
 The Power of One / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: In a few passages, Doc is noted to be a bit too fond of the drink for his own good. At one point, this leads to him lashing out at a couple of boorish cops (though, admittedly, they deserved it), and he's thrown in the clink as a result.
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 The Power of One / int_9b1e50bd
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During the War
 The Power of One / int_9b1e50bd
comment
During the War: One of the earliest events in the novel is The Judge mentioning Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland. Hoppie is later drafted to fight the Nazis.
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 The Power of One / int_9bcd82c0
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Took a Level in Badass
 The Power of One / int_9bcd82c0
comment
Took a Level in Badass: Peekay, who starts out a meek and put-upon boy, and becomes stronger and more outspoken as the story progresses, standing up for the black South Africans, and finally getting his revenge on Jaapie Botha at the very end.
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 The Power of One / int_9eb11fac
type
Weak, but Skilled
 The Power of One / int_9eb11fac
comment
Weak, but Skilled: Hoppie's strategy to take down the heavyweight Jackhammer Smit is to effectively blind him with punches to the eye. Peekay is entranced by this sort of tactic and uses it when he takes up boxing.
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 The Power of One / int_a4c37cbe
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Mood Whiplash
 The Power of One / int_a4c37cbe
comment
Mood Whiplash: The first few chapters of the book are a nightmarish Boarding School of Horrors story. After that Peekay gets on a train back to home and suddenly the mood and events of the story turn more upbeat.
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 The Power of One / int_c75df49a
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Shout-Out
 The Power of One / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: In the movie Peekay's chicken Mother Courage is a reference to Mother Courage and Her Children.
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 The Power of One / int_da1c8191
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Writers Cannot Do Math
 The Power of One / int_da1c8191
comment
Writers Cannot Do Math: Simon Fenton is credited as, "P.K. Age 12," but the scenes featuring him explicitly take place in 1945. It's not exactly the hardest math in the world to figure out that if a character is born in 1930 and is eighteen in 1948, he should be fifteen in 1945.
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 The Power of One / int_dc057cf3
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Adaptation Name Change
 The Power of One / int_dc057cf3
comment
Adaptation Name Change: The movie changes the name of Peekay's chicken from Grandpa Chook to Mother Courage.
 The Power of One / int_dc057cf3
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 The Power of One / int_ddf56e0a
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Amoral Afrikaner
 The Power of One / int_ddf56e0a
comment
Amoral Afrikaner: Every significant villain is an Afrikaner, filled with violent hatred not only for the black majority but for the English as well. Notably, the white protagonist is an English South African, making him almost as much of an outcast as the blacks. There are some sympathetic Afrikaner characters here and there, but they seem to be exceptions to the rule.
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 The Power of One / int_de89c0a1
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Dating What Daddy Hates
 The Power of One / int_de89c0a1
comment
Dating What Daddy Hates: Peekay would already be inherently unacceptable to Maria's father just based on his lineage (being English rather than Afrikaner), but the fact that he's an outspoken anti-Apartheid activist takes it to another level.
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 The Power of One / int_f25b1ae6
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Unskilled, but Strong
 The Power of One / int_f25b1ae6
comment
Unskilled, but Strong: Jackhammer Smit and Jaapie Botha. The "unskilled" part is their undoing.
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 The Power of One / int_fed07537
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Mighty Whitey
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comment
Mighty Whitey: Having been raised primarily by his Zulu nurse, Peekay is sympathetic to the struggles of South Africa's indigenous peoples, but still, the fact that he tries to solve the problem by himself makes him come across as a "White Savior," which is bound to ruffle more than a few readers' feathers.
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The Power of One

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Power of One
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African Chant / int_9351d16e
 The Power of One
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Boarding School of Horrors / int_9351d16e
 The Power of One
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Circumcision Angst / int_9351d16e
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Excrement Statement / int_9351d16e
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Films of 1990–1994 / int_9351d16e
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International Coproduction / int_9351d16e
 The Power of One
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Invincible Hero / int_9351d16e
 The Power of One
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Mighty Whitey / int_9351d16e
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Pocket Protector / int_9351d16e
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Prisoner Performance / int_9351d16e
 The Power of One
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Scholarship Student / int_9351d16e
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Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up / int_9351d16e
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Someone to Remember Him By / int_9351d16e
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Suicide by Pills / int_9351d16e
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The Power of One