Amirah Bah

American Lit.

Kaffir Boy
Kaffir Boy, an autobiography, expresses in spellbinding detail the daily atrocities of
South African apartheid. Mark Mathabane expertly weaves together the trials and tribulations he
and his family faced as part of the lower class, and how he rose above that to become the first in
his family to go to America. The word “apartheid”, originating from the Dutch language, literally
translates to “separateness.” Under apartheid, those who were not fully white faced an almost
inhumane degree of human and civil rights. Although apartheid and American segregation are
similar in ways, apartheid held a brutality and maliciousness that we as modern day Americans
cannot fully comprehend. Thus the pure raw honesty in Mathabane’s experiences yields proof
that change can happen, giving this book a lasting relevance for all of eternity. With all of the
racial tension taking prevalence in the world, from the Michael Browns being gunned down by
their white counterparts, this book and others of its kind would be a reality check for the world.
For the supporters for racial inequality, i feel it would do them a world of good to sit down for a
few hours and read this book. See how not just the adults, but also the children suffer.Place their
own loved ones in their place and see just how bad life on the other side can be. Even if they Are
unable for feel a morsel of sympathy or empathy for the oppressed, they could at least feel some
fear in knowing that they can and will react violently. in the later parts of Kaffir Boy, the people
of Alexandra and other ghettos where millions of people were crammed together, the residents
lashed out against the black and white man. Hence, the people of today and future generations
should heed the warnings books of this calibre, and not repress others if they aren't capable of
handling the backlash.

Kaffir Boy begins in one of the many ghettos dotting south Africa: Alexandra. Young
Johannes, as Mathabane was known as then, ran the streets at will without much discipline to
come his way. The only things he truly feared were: his father’s wrath, the corrupt police of his
city, and white man who has taken control of his entire life. Johannes came from a extremely
poor family,barely making ends meet with the 5 mouths to feed, and an ever growing family. For
the first seven years of his life, johannes was free to live as he chose; no school to restrict his
time and focus, no work to exhaust him. With all of that free time, he became a gang member.
Frequently involved in fights,and thieving. Until one day, he was bound hand and feet and taken
to school for the very first time. He met the principal , and his extensive collection of
canes,instilling a fear in Johannes that would remain throughout all of his schooling. On his
actual first day of class, he was dreadfully bored and never wanted to go back.It wasnt until he
arrived home to see that his father,in his blind illiteracy, had savavgely beaten his mother for
taing his son to get a “useless white man’s education”. It was from then on he vowed to stay in
school, for his mother and to prove his father wrong. As the years passed, Johannes proved to be
an intelligent young man, being the cream of the crop in his primary school, and earning himself
a scholarship to continue on to secondary school. Soon for the first time in his sheltered life, he
visits the white world. His grandmother took him to her job as a gardener for a white family, and
they just adore Johannes. The couple give Johannes hand-me-down books to keep him occupied,
and these books serve to strengthen his english. The also give him used tennis rackets, giving
him something new to focus his attention upon.

As Johannes goes around Alexandra hitting balls on the tennis courts, he befriends
Scaramouche, whom he begins to love like family. He calls him Uncle Scary and takes upon the
role of his apprentice. Scaramouche is the one who encourages Johannes to enter the South
African Breweries Open,although it goes against being part of a team of people of his own
likeness. He is threatened multiple times by his own race and the opposite race against entering,
even though a black player is needed to appease the government to show “integration” within
sports. Johannes knows he is being used, but when world renowned tennis player Stan Smith
offers to pay the fee for Johannes to participate in the tournament. Since Johannes breaks the
boycott that the Black Tennis Association bans him from playing on any of their teams for
life,which in the long run actually helps him achieve his success. He continues to play tennis,
even after he flops during the Breweries Open. His courage and resilience are what open doors in
the tennis world for him, while he continued to excel beyond thought in school.Having come
from a family living in extreme poverty and an ever expanding one, being able to leave home
and have his own meal and play against other white people, it was a dream come true.

Once Johannes graduated from high school, he was immediately offered a position as
manager at the Barclay Bank.He began making great money , to where he could affrord to send
his siblings to school and buy their school books and clothes. He is now the major provider for
his family and his heart still longs to leave his mother country and travel to America.He
constantly applies to American universities and writes to his now good friends Stan Smith and
his wife. Although everyone tells him to get his head out of the clouds, and be content with his
job at the bank. Yet, he holds on to the hope that he will be able to leave South Africa and make
it to America. Amazingly, one day a letter from a Limestone University in South Carolina for a
tennis scholarship, on the behalf of his friend Stan Smith. As Johannes prepares to leave his
home and his people, he takes a look around what he has grown up in and what other people,
including his parents and six siblings, still have to face. That is when he steels himself to do his
best at university and take care of his family.