Mark Mathabane’s Kaffir Boy

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In Mark Mathabane’s autobiography Kaffir Boy, he recalls his journey that begins in apartheid South Africa. Being under control of the whites, he witnesses violence, feels pain and suffers hunger with his family. However he overcomes the hardships and goes to college in America. Mathabane as a child is reluctant to go to school although his mother forces him to go but he earns rewards through education in school and tennis. His family is his aid that helps in his journey and sufferings in South Africa. He almost quits school when his friends in his neighborhood put a bad influence over him however his mother is there to support him. In the end of the journey, he earns a scholarship and is recognized for his sportsmanship in tennis and education. Mathabane's journey begins when he reluctantly goes to school but with encouragement from his mother and successes of being the top student at school, he finds the importance of education and achieves fame from playing tennis in apartheid South Africa where he attends college in America.
A hero would be called to an adventure from their ordinary life like they were living before. Accepting the call is the first step to a long period and there are various reasons and ways to accept the call. In any way, it is going to make a change in their usual way of life. The journey of the hero begins unexpectedly and most often they would refuse the call because it is unfamiliar to them. “Accept the call, even though it means leaving the comfort of the known” (Lotze). They will be hesitant to start something new and different in their lives.
In apartheid South Africa, Mathabane witnesses violence in country from the whites and develops hatred and fear. “To me nothing, short of a white man, was more...

... middle of paper ...

... Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [53]-62. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Heroes." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [29]-34. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"The Modern Hero." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [25]-27. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
"Transformation." Work Culture Transformation: Straw to Gold -- The Modern Hero's Journey. Ed. Evie Lotze. Munich: K. G. Saur, 2004. [47]-52. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Print.

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