Oppression In The Power Of One By Bryce Courtenay

In the novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay and real life, some people stand up to oppression and prejudice while others don’t. Different things allow people to do this and sometimes it can be different for each person. In the novel, We see two main people standing up to the system of oppression in South Africa. Mrs. Boxall stands up to prejudice and oppression by starting the Sandwich Fund, an effort dedicated to giving clothes and supplies to the needy families of South Africa and the families of the prisoners in Barberton Prison. Mrs. Boxall was only able to stand up in this way because of the unique opportunities she had in the first place. Mrs. Boxall had two main things that allowed her to stand up to the system of oppression. She
Boxall simply referred to them as prisoners”(226). The second thing Mrs. Boxall had was good connections. She was able to get people all around the town to donate because she knew many people. In the novel, Peekay also stands up against oppression. He opens up a school on Saturdays for black fighters fighting for Solly. This eventually turns into a school for all of the black people that wanted to come and learn. Peekay is allowed to take a stand because of two main reasons. He has privilege and influence at the prince of Wales school, and he knows in his mind how black people are equal to white people and how the oppression is wrong. He is able to convince the principal of his school to allow him to teach the black Africans. “We'd won! Singe 'n Burn, the senior house master from Winchester School and trustee of the great private school tradition to the colonies, Renaissance man and liberal thinker, had been made to touch the heart and feel the soul of black Africa”(448). In the real world today. It is a lot easier to stand up against oppression than it was in the time when the novel takes place. Not much is needed to allow someone to stand up against