The Power of One

Peekay the main character of The Power of One has gotton of the train and he moves in with his grandfather and his mother who is no longer having her mental breakdown/being in an internment camp (it isn't entirely clear if she was both in an internment camp and having a mental breakdown or some variation of that.) He meets new characters in the town such as Doc a german piano teacher who is also a biologist, and he pursues his new dream of becoming the welterweight champion of South Africa but he is taught boxing by a guard at the local prison and he is by far the smallest kid there. He constantly quotes Hoppie saying "first with the head then with the heart" which I believe is a concept I haven't explained. Overall the quote means that you must come up with a plan in your head then go through with that plan with you heart. I haven't gotton to any major conflicts yet but he is taking piano lessons from Doc who is a German man and the nation of South Africa is officially at war with Germany at the time so I predict that his nationality will create problems for him and Peekay later on in the novel.