Being English (Chapter 1-2)

Pisskop’s English ancestry is both a blessing and a curse. In the boarding school, Pisskop is bullied by the other kids and given no slack by the teacher. The Afrikaans hatred of the English is directed at Pisskop. But outside of the school, he lives a privileged life. He rides in cars, which are symbols of wealth and power. The honored medicine man Inkosi-Inkosazi comes to the village, not because someone is deathly ill, but because Pisskop wets the bed every night. The interaction between Inkosi-Inkosazi and Pisskop displays the respect English people are given. Pisskop is invited to sit with him on the indaba mats, an honor usually reserved for chiefs. He says, “These stupid Shangaans think it’s magic, but they don’t deserve to know any better”. Inkosi-Inkosazi, who is considered very wise, believes that a 5-year-old boy is more deserving than grown men and women, purely because the boy is English. He then teaches him a trick with kaffir chickens, and gives him a chicken to practice. Society clearly places Englishmen above natives.

So why is Pisskop abused so horribly at boarding school, but given special treatment everywhere else? First, the children who bully Pisskop are children, heavily influenced by the opinions of their parents. They listen their angry parents talk about the injustices the English inflicted against their ancestors, the children develop a hatred of all English people. The children also aren’t old enough to know many societal norms yet. The English believe that their culture is superior to the culture of the Afrikaans, and they instill the idea in them. The Afrikaans children have not been taught this this yet, so they openly hate Pisskop instead of giving him special treatment. Pisskop’s isolation from other English people means that though he benefits from this idea, no one is there to give him or him tormentors this belief. He is also two years younger than any other child at the school, which makes him more vulnerable, both physically and mentally, and a easy target for bullies. In Pisskop’s home town, English supremacy is well established, resulting in his special privileges.