Kaffir boy is an autobiographical story of Mark Mathabane of his escape from life in Apartheid South Africa

through education and sports. It is published in 1986 during the height of civil strife in South Africa, Kaffir
Boy quickly became a best seller in the U.S. it is in a first person (Central Narrator) point of view because the
entire book is told from Mark Mathabane's point of view. It happened in Alexandra, South Africa which is off-limits
to whites (except policemen) throughout the apartheid era. Alexandra was one of South Africa's blacks townships,
nestled near Johannesburg. Alexandra was an area marked off for blacks to live, but blacks still needed "permission"
from the authorities to live there. And this permission was almost impossible to get. In order to live there, an
individual black man or woman had to have a job in the city. In order to have a job in the city, they had to have
permission to go job-hunting. Those who arrived from the reserves (areas set aside for different ethnicities) had a
ten-day period to find a job before they were considered illegal squatters, at which point they could be jailed,
deported back to the reserves, or sent to do hard labor on a white farm. Because getting a pass and keeping it in order
was made next to impossible by the authorities, many families were living illegally in Alexandra, including Mark's
family. The story happened in 1960’s and 1970’s.
"Kaffir" is an Islamic word that means infidel. It was widely used as a racial slur against black people in 19th
and 20th century South Africa, in short, it is an insulting and offensive term for a black African. Mathabane's use of
the term here is ironic. He does not think he is a "kaffir" in the manner the term implies. Rather, it is an attempt to
reclaim the word, in much the same way the gay community has reclaimed the word "queer," wearing the
label proudly rather than allowing it to provoke shame.* Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities
who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Originally meaning "strange" or "peculiar", queer came to be used
pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. )
So now, this are some of the characters:
MARK MATHABANE-Mark's journey from childhood to the beginning of college is a journey from fear and
suffering to self-confidence and determination. When Kaffir Boy begins, Mark is three or four years old and lives a
life dominated by fear of the police, who constantly raid their house searching for his parents.
MAMA-Mama is a fighter. No matter how hard life beats her down, she keeps working hard to give her children a
better life. Though she is consistently undermined by her husband, she finds whatever jobs she can in order to put
her kids through school. She realizes that education is the only thing that will create a better life for them.
PAPA-Papa is the polar opposite of Mark, and in many ways these two characters can be considered foils of each
other. Papa is committed to tradition and tribal ways of life. Although he resents apartheid, he has no clue how to
fight it. He's sad when Mark leaves for the U.S., and Mark realizes that his father really does love him after all.
GRANNY-Granny is a source of constant comfort and encouragement for Mark. She believes Mark has what it takes
to succeed in the world, and her belief in him keeps him going. It is also through Granny that Mark is introduced to
tennis – it was at the home of Granny's employer (the Smiths) that Mark is given his first tennis racket.
THE SMITHS-The white family who introduce Mathabane to comic books and tennis.
SCARAMOUCHE-Scaramouche is a mixed-race tennis player who becomes Mark's first tennis mentor and
encourages him through the trials and tribulations of a secondary school tennis career.
WILFRED HORN-Owner of exclusive Tennis Ranch and unofficial sponsor of Mathabane.
STAN SMITH-Stan Smith is an American tennis player who helps Mark receive a tennis scholarship to a college in
the U.S.
What is the author's purpose in writing Kaffir Boy?
Mathabane makes his primary purpose pertinently obvious in the preface to his book. He states:
I have sought to paint a portrait of my childhood and youth in Alexandra, a black ghetto of
Johannesburg, where I was born and lived for eighteen years, with the hope that the rest of the world will finally
understand why apartheid cannot be reformed: it has to be abolished.
In this, one can readily ascertain that Mathabane's book is a form of protest against a heinous, disparaging and
depraved system of government founded on policies of extreme racial prejudice and discrimination against those
who were not classified white.