Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Power of One Midterm Response

In The Power of One, written by Bryce Courtenay, Peekay is more influenced by the negative people and experiences in his life rather than the positive ones. If Peekay hadn’t experienced the horrible boarding school and the Judge when he was just a young kid, he might not have had the same determination and strength as he did. Although all the experiences were followed by a positive one, the negative experience remained in his memory throughout his life. “In my mind, although I’m certain at the time I would not have been able to articulate the idea, the mines represented a return to the fear of that first boarding school. But this time it was I who would win. The grizzly I worked would be the Judge, but this time I would not be broken.” (495) The terrible experience at the first boarding school scarred him for life, but also made him who he was; a strong, independent guy. If Peekay’s life was all positive and happy, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to be a boxer, nor would he have the high threshold of pain to stand being punched. In a way, the negative people and experiences helped Peekay become a kind and fair person towards others. He knew how it felt to be the bullied or to sorrow, so he wouldn’t judge or discriminate. Peekay knows both the good and the bad, but the bad sculpts him more than the good does.

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