Racial Ideology

The racial ideology of South Africa from the 1930s-1950s was one of apartheid and cruelty. Although apartheid was not formally used until the 1960s the ideas still ran strong in the society. This is evident throughout the book The Power of One such as when Peekay is getting takies on his last day of boarding school at the beginning of the book. The shoe store had two entries and sections, one only for the whites and the other only for the blacks. This laid the basis of apartheid, the strong discrimination towards the native African tribes. This is also further displayed once Peekay goes to Prince of Whales Boys School where at the boxing matches the Blacks had to be separated from the whites. This was paired with the derogatory name of Kaffir used to describe all the black tribes as one. The Natives were beaten and used as slaves, even Peekay’s poor family having a Nanny and two servants. It is also evident that the Blacks were harshly treated through the prisons they were kept in, the torture they received inhumane as can be seen through the way Geel Piet died. 

By 1948 Apartheid were already strong, laws being put in places such as no mixed marriages between Whites and Blacks and the distinction between White and Black jobs. Although these laws were in place there were still cases of half-caste children such as the case of Geel Piet; this caused much pain for the child because they were neither accepted by the Whites of the Blacks and suffered severe racism and abuse. However, through this we can see and learn that such racism is not isolated and happens in many countries which have been colonized while natives still inhabited the land. Therefore we should use this evidence, show the world the pain it causes and stop the superior thinking of settling migrants.  

However, it wasn’t only the Natives that were being treated harshly through the mutual hate of the Boers and English. The English, or what were referred to by the Boers as Rooineks, were also hated severely by the Boers, receiving harsh racism. This was caused by the treacherous treatment the British gave the Boers during the Boer War, tensions still strong. 40 years later the hate had transferred to the children and grandchildren of the Boers of 1900, severe hatred being shown to Peekay throughout the book. This can already be seen as he entered the boarding school and was bullied by the Judge and even the teachers feeling hatred towards him as seen with the incident when Miss du Plessis cut Peekay’s ear. This hatred caused much pain for the English children, they knowing themselves different but not being able to change or fit in, suffering unfairly because of the generations before.