Victor Orizondo,
Ryan McNelis,
Sal LaManna
•Brought up by Zulu
• nanny
•Had a rough
childhood
•Becomes a hero due
to his insecurity and
vulnerability
•We can relate to him
as a hero
•Excels in boxing
•German
music teacher
•Becomes Peekay’s piano teacher
then best friend.
•Represents logic and reasoning
•Arrested for being an illegal
alien
•Finds “Crystal cave of Africa”
and makes that the place where
he passes away
•Also
know as “Yellow Peter”
•Peekay’s boxing coach
•Is know as an “artist”
•He is a criminal yet a great friend
to Peekay
•He is the mediator between the
English and Afrikaans boys at
school
•He is murdered by a prison guard.
 Rich
jewish boy
 Teaches Peekay how
to gamble
 They are both
considered
“outsiders”
 Peekay wants to be
law partners with him
 Works
at the prison
 Is a boxing coach
 His brother is a famous
boxer
 Jack Hammer Smit
avenges Geel Piet’s
death for Peekay
which sparks their
relationship
By:Kelsey&Jessica
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

The enactment of the apartheid laws began in 1948
They laws touched every aspect of social life,
including a prohibition of marriage between nonwhites and whites
In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that
all South Africans be racially classified into one of
three categories:




White
Black(african)
Colored(mixed)
The Department of Home Affairs (a government
bureau) was responsible for the classification of the
citizenry.


Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt
with harshly.
All blacks were required to carry ``pass books''
containing fingerprints, photo and information
on access to non-black areas.
Power of One:
Symbolism
Sarah Clements
Matt Finn
Alex Gross
Full Moon
• Death- the loss of a person or
thing, meaning a great deal to someone.
• In both occurrences of death in the book,
Grandpa Chook and Geel Piet, happened on a
full moon.
Full Moon
• Throughout the book we see
occurrence the full moon.
• It is one of the last things that we see in the
book.
• This time when we see it, it doesn’t
necessarily mean death, but a hatred of the
jungle and his life there.
The Snake
• First represent Peekay’s
circumcision
• “Hatless snake”
• Black mamba snake
symbolizes of imminent
danger
Tadpole
• A symbol of Hope.
• Black Mine workers see Peekay as a beacon of
Hope.
• Peekay tried to shun the tadpole.
Power of One: Character
Analysis
Lizzy Stewart, Christina Casella,
Danielle Wong
The Judge
•
•
•
•
•
Cruel and Neurotic
Leader of kids his age
Brain washed by government and family
Unsympathetic towards the weak
Symbolizes: Peekay’s drive to become a boxer
 Small beat Big
Shoves feces through Peekay’s hair
Praises Hitler
Grandpa
• Sweet and calm
▫ But racist towards Afrikaans
• Created a garden in remembrance of his wife
• Tells Peekay unrelated stories
 About wife
• Loves Peekay and respects everything he does
• “Parting, losing the thing we love the most, that’s
the who business of life, that’s what it’s mostly
about.” (p. 135)
Peekay’s Mother
• Born Again Christian after mental hospital
▫ Brought people to God, especially Peekay.
• Rejected Peekay’s actions
▫ because of her brainwashed faith.
• Wasn’t a mother figure for Peekay.
• “’Just a moment! You have not apologized for
your behavior.’ Her eyes were suddenly sharp
with anger.”
Big Hettie
•
•
•
•
Vulgar and Irish
Alcoholic
First mother figure in Peekay’s life
Very influential
▫ Taught him about pride and courage
• Loved Peekay but was very rude to everyone else
• “Pride is holding your head up when everyone
around has theirs bowed. Courage is what makes
you do it.” (p. 124)
Mrs. Boxall
• Librarian
• Caring and generous
▫ Teaches Peekay English literature
• Charitable towards black prisoners
▫ brings them their families food and more.
• Good friends with Peekay and Doc
• She helps Peekay declare Doc innocent
• “She would often sit and read a letter to one of the prisoners
from a wife, written by someone who could write in English,
and as she read it to me the tears would roll down her cheeks.”
(p. 225)
The protagonist is trying to figure out if
camouflage is needed to survive or not.
 Peekay thinks that standing out is not
good for you and disappearing is the
best type of camouflage.
 He learns that his competitive nature is
also a form of camouflage.
 Sometimes the best camouflage is to
blend in while others times it is winning.

Doc is the best example of coexistence
of magic and logic in the Power of One.
 Geel Piet finds a way to combine black
magic and while logic.
 Peekay has a logic narrative.

Peekay questions if there is a difference
between boxing and fighting.
 Peekay wanted to start boxing to
defend him self.
 He is a very good boxer but thinks of it
like a “dead chicken.”

Angie Powers
Pamela Canepa
Conner Dolan
 Describes
a specific good that’s shared
 Beneficial for the entire community
 Positive outlook
 Represents the greatest possible good
 Based
on concepts of human rights and
equality
 Fair and proper
 Treated equal no matter what without
prejudice
 Ronald
McDonald House
 Housing families of hospitalized children
 Social service
 Provides “ home-away-from- home”
 Locations; Walt Disney Pavilion/Arnold Palmer
Medical Center
 Pope
Benedict XVI
 Promotes working for a just ordering of society
 Demonstrate social charity
 Should use the “language” of natural law
 John
Hope Bryant
 From Los Angeles, California
 Spent last 18 years of his life as a social advocate
 For financially disadvantaged
 Opening HOPE centers across the country
 Social investment organization
The Hero’s Journey
HUNTER
SOKMENSUER
AUSTIN STEPHAN
NICHOLAS RAMERIEZ
JAVER REYES
The Ordinary World
 Peekay is a white male in south Africa during WWII.
He is circumcised so he is made fun of for being
different. he is bullied by a kid named "judge"
because of him being different. Only "real" friend he
has is grandpa chook his chicken. however before he
leaves his school grandpa chook gets stoned to death
by "judge".
The Call to Adventure
 Peekay refuses the call because he either thinks that
he wouldn't be able to get the job done or does not to
be a part of it. After Inkosi-Inkosikazi cures his
bedwetting and Peekay returns to boarding school
after the break, Peekay does not do anything else to
change his current situation. The medicine man
instilled the power in Peekay, yet he chooses to do
nothing with it. Instead he manifests himself into his
new pet chicken, Granpa Chook. This is Peekay’s way
of not coming to terms with his situation and not
taking a stand for himself against the older
Afrikaners.
Refusal of the Call
 Peekay ignores Morrie’s idea of taking up boxing.
Meeting With The Mentor
 Supernatural Guide:

Medicine Man
 Sidekicks/Mentors:




Grandpa Chook
Hoppie
Doc
Morrie
Crossing the Threshold
 The first event where Peekay leaves the traditional/
Ordinary world and enters a new world with new
surroundings is when his first boxing match takes
place and when he wins.
Approach
 Hoppie Groenewald gives Peekay the confidence to
begin his journey towards his goal of becoming the
welterweight champion of the world.
The Ordeal
 Uniting the tribes:


Peekay imitates the Spirit
of South Africa
Discovers that race and
skin color does not define
a person’s character.
 When Peekay starts
wetting the bed and they
call the medicine man
and he educates Peekay
to separate himself from
the physical world and
crosses into the spiritual
world.
The Reward
 The main reward that Peekay received was getting
something in return for the hero's journey after he
taught others that lessons that he has learned.
The Road Back
 Is about him learning to box and winning his fights
The Resurrection
 When he fights Judge at the end of the story.
Return With The Elixir
 He continues to box and strives to become the welter
weight champion.
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Inner Journey
Plot Map
By: Noel Gubatan
Chris Hoffmann-Grant
Andrew Torres




Peekay’s hatred towards Jaapie, “The Judge”,
for killing Grandpa Chook.
Inkosi-Inkosikazi introduces “The Power of
One” to Peekay, which helps him in all of his
difficult situations.
Hoppie introduces Peekay to boxing.
Jaapie gives Peekay something to fight for.


Peekay’s terrible childhood which he has to
overcome.
His ongoing struggle to fully understand “The
Power of One”, his ambition to fight through
all of his tough challenges he faces through his
journey.




Geel Piet’s death.
Doc’s death.
His loss of the Rhodes scholarship.
His near death experience in the mines.


The Climax isn't until the very end of the novel.
It is when Peekay meets his arch enemy from
the beginning of the story, Jaapie Botha. He
knocks him out and carves a Union Jack and
his initials over his swastika.



After knocking out “The Judge” Peekay leaves
his body in a pool of blood and vomit.
He avenged Grandpa Chook and the
Loneliness Birds, which have always bothered
him, have left.
His prevailing individuality, hence “The Power
of One” has come out in him and a sense of
accomplishment settles in.



“I had become an expert at camouflage. My
precocity allowed me, chameleonlike, to be to
each what they required me to be.”
This quote pertains to Peekay’s continuous
need to camouflage himself in a group so that
he is not singled out
The removal of this camouflage reveals his
inner spirit, hence “The Power of One”.



“You know what P.K stands for? Piss Kop. Piss
Head…let’s piss on the Piss Kop” –Jaapie
This shows how Jaapie causes many of
Peekay’s problems as a child.
Peekay later avenges The Judge’s harsh
treatment.