Kaffir Boy Sparknotes

Growing up in a lower class home and neighbourhood I experienced many hardships. From only having almost expired cans of mixed vegetables for dinner to people being shot near my house, growing up in poverty in America is no laughing matter. However, I grew up with a silver spoon compared to those living in the ghettos of South Africa like Mark Mathabane. In Kaffir Boy, Mark “formerly known as Johannes” details the struggles of growing up in Alexandra, South Africa, a poverty-stricken ghetto. In Alexandra, Mark experienced some traumatic events. In his adolescence, Mark witnessed childhood prostitution, drunk animal blood to stay alive, and marched in feces. The struggles Mark experienced however taught him life lessons and made him stronger. Growing up Mark never had a lot of funds so when approached with an opportunity to obtain food and money Mark eagerly accepted. At the time, Mark was too young to perceive the danger of the situation. When asked to remove his clothes Mark replied “ I don’t want to take a bath”(72), Mark did not yet understand the severity of the threat . Early in life Mark learned to stand his ground, multiple man threatened him to remove his
This is one struggle I relate to while growing up however, Mark’s resources for food was much worse. Partly molded bread and canned vegetables were the worst foods I ate to fend off hunger. Mark’s mother however purchased more low cost “food”. Mark reluctantly ate grasshoppers, prickly worms, weeds and worst of all; animal blood. Since animal blood was then free his mother created a soup of the blood “My mother would cook the blood in a large saucepan, let it simmer into a thick, pasty, brownish slush. We would then drink the boiled blood as a soup.”(Mathabane 64). These disgusting meals made Mark appreciate the future times where he has quality food. This taught Mark to always appreciate what he have no matter how big or expensive it