Language of whose

I have been reading Bryce Courtenay's “The power of one” for a while. It's a great read and I take my time savoring each sentence and the happiness and sadness between lines of a little boy’s growing experience. The story itself intrigues me tremendously although I do not have full understanding of South African's apartheid. The fact that I haven't read many books about South African writers also shows my ignorance regarding this issue.

My point is while I was perusing lines of agony and amazing surprises hidden in the book, I suddenly had a question. The detailed description of the oblivious environment, cottages, gardens and cacti, the vocabulary used and the way dialogues flew all made me wonder how those could be conjured up from a five-year-old. Certainly the story might be written as an autobiography with the first person narrating the entire story. Yet, a child's cognition and vocabulary seem impossible to represent what an adult conceives and comprehends in society. So, whose language is the author applied in writing? Perhaps it has never been discussed, or perhaps it's not that of an important matter.

So far, I'm half way through the book but I have a hunch that the main character will be going through some more adversary and dilemmas. Peekay was lucky enough to have an erudite professor from Germany tutoring him all kinds of knowledge, especially in piano lessons and botany. Once again that proves if a child receives early training and stimulation in learning, the brain can efficiently absorb massive amounts of knowledge. Question is: Who should be the mentor? Who can guarantee that pride and greed will not intervene on the way of acquiring wisdom and philosophy of life…