In the Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay, an English boy named Peekay comes of age and goes on a journey in South Africa. Throughout the story Peekay runs into a series of characters who shape him into the intelligent, strong-willed young man who fights for what he believes in. The characters who shape Peekay’s moral code the most, transforming him from beginning to end, are the Judge, Hoppie, Geel Piet, and Doc. It is through these characters that Peekay shapes his belief in the power of one, which is that one person can stand up and make a difference.
The first character to truly make an impact on Peekay is the Judge. The Judge is the first enemy Peekay meets when he goes off the boarding school. During Peekay’s years at boarding school the judge torments him by peeing on him, having him do his homework, and the thing that really pushed peekay was when the judge …show more content…
Hoppie and Peekay meet on a train where Peekay instantly takes an interest as to what Hoppie has to say. Though there time together was brief “he had given him the power of one-one idea, one heart, one mind,one plan,one determination”(103) this becoming Peekay's moral code. Hoppie is the first one to show Peekay boxing and this gives Peekay hope by showing him “small can beat big if you have a plan” and that there is a way to fight and stand up for yourself when he sees Hoppie beat a much larger opponent Jackhammer Smit. Peekay also learns the importance of his actions and how often pursuing things without thinking isn't a good idea, instead if you think “first with the head then with the heart” your outcome will be much better(103). Peekay learns this from the letter he receives from Hoppie as they part ways. Overall Hoppie made a big impact on Peekay's moral code by introducing the concept of the power of one to