Kaffir Boy

"Kaffir Boy" is Mark Mathabane's 1986 autobiography about life under the South African apartheid regime. It focuses on the brutality of the apartheid system and how he escaped from it, and from the township Alexandra, to become a well-known tennis player.He also depicted how the young black children dealt with racism and stereotypes.

Plot

Mark Mathabane describes his life growing up in South Africa, just outside of Johannesburg. He lives in a township of Alexandra with his mother, father, brother and five sisters. It takes place during the time of industrial colonialism. He is very poor growing up, often enveloped in starvation and brutality from the Peri-Urban (an Apartheid police force in South Africa). He learns, though, that prejudice is not justified, even by the oppressed. Mathabane begins to take his education to new heights, searching for admittance to American universities. His abilities as a tennis player grow more impressive as he progresses from black competitions to the more prestigious white state competitions. He's soon banned by the black tennis congregation, due to this participation in white tournaments. He ultimately leaves with a scholarship to an American college thanks to a well-known American tennis player and other privileged white benefactors.

Characters and Important People

Arthur Ashe - an American tennis player who wins the Wimbledon tournament. His game play encourages Mathabane to become a tennis player.

Mark Mathabane - The author and narrator of the book

Stan Smith - Relocates Mathabane to the United States by finding a college who is willing to give the author a tennis scholarship.

Controversy

"Kaffir Boy" has been banned in a number of schools due to a controversial scene involving child prostitution and sodomy. As a result, Mathabane has authorized a revised version for use in such schools. [Banned author talks to kids http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/02/BAGHPPJ8IE1.DTL] The unrevised book is still used as high school reading material regardless of the controversial scenes.

References