Mark Mathabane's Kaffir Boy

Mark Mathabane’s “Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in apartheid South Africa”, gives a very bright and broad insight into the life of black South Africans during the apartheid era. From the way he composes the settings into a smooth textured mental-photo to the way he describes himself and makes the story unbelievably inspirational. There were many themes within the book, however only a few main ones: Rules and order, race, suffering, fear, and hate. There was a distinct connection with the blacks in America during this time as well.

Most of the book focuses on the setting of Alexandra, South America from the 1960s’ to the 1970s’. Mark Mathabane wanted to give the readers a very depictable picture to ensure the

Though the whites had considerably fewer rules placed on them, they were still sectioned off and not allowed to go into the black communities. In contrast, the blacks had so many rules and regulations placed upon them that they could not live without out breaking any, which consequentially led to a life full of arrests and punishments. The race was singularly one of the most important themes in the book; it determined where you lived, who you got married to, and what kinds of jobs, houses, and education was available. Throughout the book, we see Mark’s family and many other black families suffer from hunger, malnutrition, and disease. However, the blacks of South America also suffered from many mental and emotional ideologies, such as helplessness, hopelessness, and inferiority. Fear is the first emotion that Mark can remember having. His main fears were fear of the whites and police, “Peri-Urban!” I gasped and stiffened at the name of the dreaded Alexandra Police Squad. To me nothing, short of the white man, was more terrifying; not even the bogeyman” (Mathabane; pg. 8). Fear is actually the dominant emotion in Mark’s life, however, as he gets older he is able to overcome it as he realizes that some white are kind.

Apartheid was a political segregation system in South Africa from 1948-1994. Apartheid literally means separation. The ideology behind the political system was

These two things allowed him to become very intelligent, even before his mother was able to enroll him into school. His parents were in the same predicament as most blacks in South Africa, they were not criminals, however, they still had to run from the police. Like many young men and women in apartheid South Africa, he experienced the hate and fear of white people and police. This fear and hate eventually led to him joining one of the many gangs, however, he soon realized that a violent life is not one that he wants to lead, therefore, he leaves the gang and focuses on his education. “After severing my ties with gangs, I had more time for my studies and books. I continued my above-average work, and was soon promoted to Standard Four, with the highest marks in the class” (Mathabane; 197) Despite the violence and constant beatings, he receives in primary school, he continues his education and manages to finish in the top 1% of his class, earning a scholarship for three years in secondary