Peekay Analysis

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You Are Who You Surround Yourself With Throughout the different parts of Peekay’s life, he seems to have a lack of true parental influences. From growing up without his parents and always moving around, Peekay has been shaped by people that have entered his life. Whenever some sort of adult figure would come into the picture, such as Hoppie and Doc, he would immediately consider them to be his idols. Since he didn’t have a true parental figure, he would try to emulate any adult he met. By looking up to these people, he would learn from their guidance. This eventually shaped who Peekay became because most of his moral values are advice from past idols. Peekay’s achievement of the power of one and development as an individual is caused by the …show more content…

Out of everyone that he had left behind to go to boarding school, he missed her the most. Peekay thinks of her as a warm, comforting person that he can always rely on. With this great respect for his nanny, he learned to have deference for people of all cultures. Peekay was young when he learned this attribute, so it stuck with him throughout his life. This was a very important character trait, as Peekay was respectful to the cultures and races through the entirety of the novel. “‘We’re going to start a school for Solly’s black boxer,’ I announced to Morrie on the tram back to school after training. ‘Christ, Peekay, isn’t that going a bit far? Educate the blacks, and before you know where you are they’ll want to take over the country.’ ‘It’s as much theirs as it ours. More, actually.’” (444) This quote shows how Peekay believes that everyone should be equal and is very against racism. Racism was a major theme throughout the story; in a world full of racism, Peekay showed civility towards everyone, regardless of race. This attitude most definitely comes from his early origins of respect for his Zulu nanny. By acquiring this attitude early on, Peekay was able to distinguish racism in his everyday life. He had been exposed to it …show more content…

He taught him very useful advice and was the person who became closest to Peekay. Being his first true teacher, Doc had taught Peekay more than he had ever learned at school. “‘Always listen to yourself, Peekay. It is better to be wrong than simply to follow convention. If you are wrong, no matter, you have learned something and you grow stronger. If you are right, you have taken another step toward a fulfilling life.’” This piece of evidence that Doc had given Peekay was a very prominent lesson to him. Peekay applied this to himself through the course of the story and it helped him to achieving the power of one. He learned that it is important to be an individual and listen to yourself, as it will help you grow strong and live a fulfilling life. Originality was important to Peekay and he showed individualistic values throughout the book; such as his anti-racist attitude and his boxing methods. Doc had also become the person who Peekay was closest to. He felt that he could go to him for anything, Doc was his most important teacher, and he was supportive of Peekay’s boxing. “Doc’s death left me completely numb. I went through the motions, but it was as though I had lost my center of gravity. Everything seemed topsy turvy. People would speak to me, but I wouldn’t hear them.” This passage shows just how much of an impact Doc had left on Peekay. Since Doc was so emotionally close to him, his

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