The Power of One

(Based on a true story and novel by Bryce Courtenay)

Peter Philip Kenneth Keith was born in South Africa to English farmers who settled in the bush. He was named after his father. His mother called him P.K., the same way she called his father. Being of English decent, P.K. was in a class all his own, and the social conflict he over came through deviance set the foundation of equality and independence for the native South African tribes.
The Social Conflict Perspective focuses on how elements of society promote divisions and inequalities as well as addressing deficiencies of structural functionalism (Newman, 2010 pg.45). P.K. was born in 1930 and in 1948, just eighteen years later, an Afrikaner government was voted into power. The Afrikaners were a group of Dutch, French, and Germans fleeing religious persecution in Europe and settling in South Africa. Due to this Afrikaner government, a system of racial segregation first introduced by the English was declared the law of the land. The English never gave it a name but the Afrikaners called it Apartheid.
According to David Newman’s social conflict perspective, “Social order arises not from the societal pursuit of harmony but from dominance and coercion.”(Newman, 2010 pg.45). Before P.K. was eighteen, he was sent to boarding school due to his mother getting sick and not being able to care for him. Prior to his birth, his father was trampled to death by a Bull Elephant. Due to his economic status (poor), P.K. had to go to the cheapest school available, one run by the Afrikaners. In school he was bullied by the oldest boy, named Botha. Botha was convinced that P.K. was to pay for the deaths of Afrikaners who were put in concentration camps by the English. Botha peed on him, spit buggies in his face, gave him the nick name of piss kop (kop meaning “head”), killed his only friend (a chicken at the time), and hung him by his feet and slung a rock at his head.
P.K. was able to finally leave the school and was sent to live with his grandfather when his mother died. He was schooled by a German Expert on cacti (P.K. called him Doc) who was eventually imprisoned in a camp by the English. P.K. was allowed to visit and for the next five years he learned to box in the prison, and he became friends to all the different African tribes residing in the camp. Those tribes named him “Rainmaker” meaning one who keeps the peace. These experiences in the prison camp and the racism he suffered from in the Afrikaner school taught him to see beyond laws and regulations. P.K. saw deviance at a young age. His social perspective was shaped by his early life.
“Deviance is a form of social control exerted by more powerful people and groups over less powerful people and groups” (Newman, 2010pg.241) In High School he attended a private English school and developed a supportive relationship with his professor. P.K. had made friends with some Zulu tribes through his boxing matches and together they proclaimed the myth of the rainmaker. By doing this they gave the native Africans hope. P.K. was able to set up a school by the support of his professor at school, to teach the natives how to read and write, and by doing this highly illegal act, he was able to start a water fall. A water fall only starts with one drop of water, but culminates into a powerful force that is unstoppable. P.K. was caught teaching and the police beat everyone at the school while accidentally killing P.K.’s love, Maria.
Everyone P.K. ever loved was taken by death in one way or another, but this only added to his desire to change society and he did change it. He was able to teach the adults and they taught the children creating a water fall of unstoppable deviance, ultimately changing the social conflict into a compromise. Today, there is still many conflicts in society based on different racism's and deviance, but with the example that was set forth by P.K. we can know the power of one.
The Movie "The Power Of One" is one of my all time favorite inspirational movies. Standing up for humanity in any situation, even if the efforts are small they will culminate into a waterfall effect over time.
Works Cited
Racism: The Power of One; movie produced by Aaron Milchan based on the true story and book written by Bryce Courtenay.
BOOK: http://www.brycecourtenay.com/book.asp?bid=39
MOVIE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105159/
Social Conflict Perspective: Sociology book by David Newman, 2010 pg.45
Deviance: Sociology book by David Newman, 2010 pg.241