Kaffir Boy Character Analysis

Introduction: In Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane, the main character Mark goes through tough times during apartheid and attempts to make a life and visit America. As he goes through his life, Mark starts to understand the importance of knowledge and language. Mark’s ability to learn and to speak several languages gave him power within the Apartheid system because it enabled him to speak in white people’s language, to make a living, and be able to meet whites who helped him.

Body Paragraph One: The first way that Mark used language to have power within the apartheid system is when he goes to court with Ndalmini. In the court Mark helps out Ndalmini by speaking to the judge in Afrikaans and telling him lies to get him to judge nicer. One example of how Mark used Afrikaans to lie to the judge is “The truth was: black students without exception hated the language. But to please him I said… [We like it better than English, sir]” showing that Mark is able to use his knowledge of languages to get power in Apartheid (251). Mark knowing that the judge would like it if he spoke in Afrikaans to

Mark was able to travel outside his hometown and travel to different places and hang out with whites all because of his knowledge and education. Mark was gifted to have Stan as a sponsor because when “Stan told Owen that he would pay for all my expenses to the tournaments in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. …[it] cost about six hundred rands” showing that Mark was able to make connections with whites who opened his opportunities (312). Mark being able to speak english was able to tell Stan about his dream to go to the US. When Mark got a letter from Princeton saying “Stan told me about you and your intention to obtain a tennis scholarship to an American university” shows that Stan tries to get Mark into a better situation