Mark Mathabane’s Kaffir Boy

1668 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Research regarding how poverty and disadvantage can affect children and young people's development

In Mark Mathabane’s autobiography Kaffir Boy, he recalls his journey that begins in apartheid South Africa. Being under control of the whites, he witnesses violence, feels pain and suffers hunger with his family. However he overcomes the hardships and goes to college in America. Mathabane as a child is reluctant to go to school although his mother forces him to go but he earns rewards through education in school and tennis. His family is his aid that helps in his journey and sufferings in South Africa. He almost quits school when his friends in his neighborhood put a bad influence over him however his mother is there to support him. In the end of the journey, he earns a scholarship and is recognized for his sportsmanship in tennis and education. Mathabane's journey begins when he reluctantly goes to school but with encouragement from his mother and successes of being the top student at school, he finds the importance of education and achieves fame from playing tennis in apartheid South Africa where he attends college in America.
A hero would be called to an adventure from their ordinary life like they were living before. Accepting the call is the first step to a long period and there are various reasons and ways to accept the call. In any way, it is going to make a change in their usual way of life. The journey of the hero begins unexpectedly and most often they would refuse the call because it is unfamiliar to them. “Accept the call, even though it means leaving the comfort of the known” (Lotze). They will be hesitant to start something new and different in their lives.
In apartheid South Africa, Mathabane witnesses violence in country from the whites and develops hatred and fear. “To me nothing, short of a white man, was more...

... middle of paper ...

... Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [53]-62. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Heroes." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [29]-34. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"The Modern Hero." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [25]-27. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Transformation." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [47]-52. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Racial Microaggressions and Injustice: A Review of Rankine's Citizen

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ranikine’s addresses the light upon the failed judicial systems, micro aggressions, pain and agony faced by the black people, white privilege, and all the racial and institutional discrimination as well as the police brutality and injustice against the blacks; The book exposes that, even after the abolition of slavery, how the racism still existed and felt by the colored community in the form of recently emerged ‘Micro aggressions in this modern world’.

    Read More

  • Hero Journey Essay

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first major step is a call to adventure. In this step, there’s something in the hero’s life that requires them to do something or go somewhere and take some type of action. Second, the hero must enter the unknown. This step sends the hero into a new world, entering something unfamiliar to the hero. By entering unfamiliar territory, whether it’s a place, an event never experiences, there are challenges and temptations the hero must face. With every new world comes new challenges. Dealing with new people or being alone.

    Read More

  • Kaffir Boy

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    “ Sirens blared, voices screamed and shouted, wood cracked and windows shattered, children bawled, dogs barked and footsteps pounded”(7). This scene is from the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. That is one of the scenes he had to live through every morning in apartheid South Africa. Apartheid is a policy of segregation and economic discrimination against non-whites. Apartheid system affected every black person living in South Africa during that time. It forced blacks to become slaves in their own country. The system forced blacks to live in unsanitary environments, work-degrading jobs and carry passes, and receive limited education. Blacks and whites were living in different sections during apartheid.

    Read More

  • The Heros Journey In The Hero's Journey

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hero's Journey Othello

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    The embarkation of the hero’s journey is more than a call, it is taking control of your life and discovering the hero who dwells inside you. Each hero who enters the journey is tested to the very end of the cycle, where the hero must choose rebirth or death. Othello is man of many fortunes, but he does not have what it takes to complete the Hero’s Journey.

    Read More

  • Kaffir Boy Analysis

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the struggle for equal rights, food, welfare and survival were all central themes in both narratives, through this essay one could see how similar but at the same time distinctive the injustices for race relations were in South Africa’s apartheid regime and in the Jim Crow South’s segregation era were. The value for education, the struggle to survive and racism were all dominant faces that Anne Moody and Mark Mathabane faced on a day to day basis while growing up that shaped they their incredible lives with.

    Read More

  • Kaffir Boy

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Kaffir Boy," written by Mark Mathabane, is about his struggle growing up in South Africa during apartheid. When the book begins Johannes, now Mark, lives in South Africa, in a town named Alexandra. The book starts out with Mark being six years old and in his home in South Africa sleeping. He awakes because he is having a horrifying dream that the police's raids are happening in his town; suddenly his dream becomes reality. His mother runs into the house frantically looking for her passbook because the police were coming, in one of their unannounced raids. A passbook is similar to a passport; each adult is required to carry one. Each passbook had to be up to date and among other things must have the person's name, birth date, and job-status. His mother then runs out to try and find a hiding place before the police come. Johannes is left to care for his younger sister Flora, three years old, and his younger brother George who is less then a year old. The story then con...

    Read More

  • Treasure Island Hero's Journey

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    The “Call to Adventure” is the part in the hero’s journey where the hero receives their first

    Read More

  • Desegregation, Busing, and Schools

    2536 Words  | 6 Pages

    Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh: A Mythical Hero

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.

    Read More

  • The Power of Myth

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to The Power of Myth, one of the characteristics of hero is to encounter troubles. He explains, “The trials are designed to see to it that the intending hero sh...

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novels Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness are illustrations of the baser aspects of human nature, both in their content and the manner in which they deal with the subject of subjugation, violence, and suffering during historical interracial confluences. This fact is illus...

    Read More

  • Harry Potter and The Hero's Journey

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in...

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela Worked to End Apartheid in South Africa

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

    Read More

  • Acting and Identity in Sizwe Banzi is Dead and in Death and the King's Horseman

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Swize Bansi is Dead" tells the difficult reality of Africa under apartheid (1950s), analysing the complex issue of identity in that time. The rules of Apartheid meant that people were legally classified into a racial group, mainly Black and White, and separated from each others.

    Read More

More about Mark Mathabane’s Kaffir Boy

Open Document