Chameleon
The simile of a chameleon has been used by Peekay to deal with Jaapie Botha. He says, "I had become an expert at camouflage. My precocity allowed me, chameleonlike, to be to each what they required me to be." Peekay faced the atrocities of Jaapie Botha and few other blacks because he was White. Jaapie Botha couldn't see him succeeding in any field of his life. He torments him by calling him names and by compelling him to follow his instructions. Peekay decides to hide his real self and put on a false pretense to avoid Jaapie Botha. He doesn't work hard in front of him and doesn't tell him about his struggles.
Tadpole Angel
Peekay has been metaphorically described as a tadpole angel by Jaapie Botha. This metaphor is used in derogatory sense for him because the blacks think that he has been thrown in Africa by the Whites. Peekay feels embarrassed at the idea of being a tadpole angel. But he converts this metaphor in a symbol of hope. He proves to other that he is tadpole angel but it means that he is an inspiration for others. In the Northern Rhodesian mines, Peekay is considered as a light and hope for the workers. His life story also portrays him as an ideal and hope for all the people who are striving in their lives.
Athlete
The metaphor of an athlete has been employed for mind and it shows Peekay's philosophy of struggle. Peekay believes in the strength of mind rather than the strength of body. He says, "The mind is the athlete, the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit further, or box better.” Peekay endured all the hardships including the bullying at school because he believes in the power of an individual and his mind. He considers mind as more resilient and keeps on working without flinching at any phase of his life. Peekay's willpower allowed him to defeated his strongest opponents and he won all the battles of his life.
Disease
Peekay has called racism a disease and a sickness. He says, “Racism does not diminish with brains, it's a disease, a sickness, it may incubate in ignorance but it doesn't necessarily disappear with the gaining of wisdom!” The society in which Peekay was living, treated him with prejudice owing to his color. Although he never depicted any harmful attitude and he propagated the idea of unity of all races but still he faced much humiliation and bullying. He encountered racist attitudes since the beginning of his school and the discrimination against the Whites led him to suffer at various points in his life. Peekay thinks that knowledge cannot overcome this disease instead there should be make other efforts to eradicate this sickness from people's minds.
