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>Thanks for sharing Lucas. > >Yes John 'Spud' Milton is 13 years old when the novel >opens. He turns 14 part way through the novel and his >birthday prank is to have black shoe polish rubbed on >his genitals. I might post more about the birthday >pranks. Troye turned 15 when the film was in post >production. > >I believe in the film they get six strokes ('six of >the best'). But in the book it is 4 strokes. Clearly >all the boy's backside are well marked. > >Spud describes Gecko and Vern as 'two easier victims >than me'. Spud first introduces Gecko: >On the way down the stairs we pass the whitest human >being I have ever seen. In the dim light of the >stairway, his paleness creates a strange luminous >light...[LATER] >...the luminous boy that I saw on the stairs earlier >who still looks like he's on the verge of death. >(There must be healthier looking corpses). Thanks to >this sickly looking dude I escaped being the smallest >boy in the house. [Page 6-7]. > >Luthuli is head of Spud's house. My understanding is >each house has a head of house and four prefects. The >prefects are Julian (prefect assigned to Simon & >Boggo), Bert (prefect assigned to Mad Dog & Fatty), >Grant 'Earthworm' Edwards (prefect to Spud), Gavin >(prefect assigned to Rambo - Gavin is often described >as the weird prefect that lives under the stairs and >has unusual pets). Luthuli is assigned as prefect to >Vern and Gecko. Luthuli is quite serious and is also >kind to Spud. > >Luthuli is tough but fair. After Simon and Pike have a >fight he gave them both three sessions of hard labour >(washing Sparerib's car and chopping firewood). >Luthuli becomes Head Boy for the following year. > >The haka is mentioned very briefly in the book it is 1 >line and it says New Zealand. Being from NZ I caught >this. Although the book doesn't mention the All Blacks >(NZ rugby team) I think this where Luthuli would have >learnt it. The All Blacks do the haka before a game. >The All Blacks often play the Springboks. A dark part >of NZ and South African history is the 1981 Springbok >Tour - protests against the Springbok tour because of >the Apartheid. My grandfather walked in the protests >with his motorcycle helmet - police hit protesters >with their batons. I think most South Africans would >be somewhat familiar with the haka. > >Personal anecdote about haka. At high school we were >in four houses (called them canoes - waka). At >athletics day and spirit week boys would face off >against other canoes performing a haka. We also had >haka practices. Girls would sit on the floor and >watch. Female teachers walked around spreading the >boys out so no one was hiding and everyone was seen. I >hated haka practices. In my second year of Uni I had a >flatmate that went to an all boys school and they had >regular haka practices and they had to take their >shirts off for haka practice. > >Innocence is the family's domestic worker. Spud's >father thinks she is running a brothel from their >garden. She sells booze illegally and Spud's father >eventually takes a cut from her sales. > >Pike the school bully is a third year boy. > >Earthworm is described as quite tough on Spud: >Severely reprimanded by Earthworm for making his bed >with the duvet buttons at the top. He says the cold >buttons keep him awake and give him a rash [Page 29] > >Despite savagely beating Spud's fingers with the >blackboard dusters he is quite protective of Spud. > >One extract I missed: > >Witnessed my first beating during Afrikaans class. >Fatty's non-stop farting finally drove Mr van Vuuren >over the edge and he gave him a furious beating of two >lashes with a sawn-off hockey stick in front of the >class. I found the whole experience shocking. Fatty >was wickedly brave and took the beating without so >much as flinching. This angered Van Vuuren even more, >so he gave Fatty detention and the whole class extra >homework. [Page 30]. > > >Might do a part II post later.
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