Overcoming Obstacles in Kaffir Boy In the book Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathebane there are many obstacles that Mark the protagonist must overcome. The first of his problems was going to school in his poor South African ghetto. The second was to achieve his goal and receive a tennis scholarship to an American college. Mark's father is one of the main antagonists, he was against anything having to do with Mark getting an education in a school. He was a very traditional man and didn't like anything that had to do with “the white man”. He thought it was foolish to get a white man's education and would not provide the money needed to send Mark to school. Mark was helped in this situation by his mother, who was the person who so desperately wanted Mark to attend school. He decided to go against Mark's father and send Mark to school. She then had to find a job which was illegal for her because she did not have the required permit from the South African government. With the little money his mother earned and the money his grandmother gave him, he managed to pay for his studies, or at least part of it. He was often without necessary materials such as school uniform and books. This then led to Mark being beaten up at school. These beatings became so intense and frequent that Mark considered dropping out of school. His mother helped him decide that he should stay in school because she knew that education was the only way out of their life of poverty. Thanks to the support of Mark's mother and grandmother, Mark succeeded in school. He almost always ranked at the top of his class and received scholarships to continue his studies. At the end of his studies Mark receives a job offer in South Africa as a company director. He decides to take this job for now because his family needed money to send his brothers and sisters to school. Mark ends up successfully passing school and ends up being one of the best in his class. The second major conflict in the book was that Mark wanted to get a scholarship to an American college..