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The city is an elegant place to live. It calls to the people from the inferior village life. The well led life followed by the city people offers many opportunities compared to the hopelessness of village surroundings. It offers hope, the chance to be independent, the chance of a job. In the story Veronica by Adewale Maja-Pearce, Okek the ever lasting friend of Veronica is drawn by the attraction of the city for the opportunities he sees for himself. Veronica on the other hand does not desire to leave their decomposing village for the city.
She decides this for a number of reasons. One of the reasons why Veronica decides not to go to the city is due to her lack of education. She feels that the city has nothing to offer her and her place is the village. She says, 'What will I do when I get there, I have no qualifications not even a standard six's he is aware that she needs qualifications to succeed in the city and without them, she sees no point in going. Another reason associated with this is to do with Veronica's expectations. If Veronica's expectations were not so low, she may have gone to the city with Okek.
Veronica says, 'They are my family that is enough' This line is an example of Veronica's low expectations. She feels her family is enough and she needs nothing else. Another example of Veronica's low expectations is when Okek comes back after ten years to find Veronica with a child a husband. Another example is, 'God has blessed us with a son. Is that not enough?' This show's Veronica is still the same after the distant period that the two had been apart.
She is still surviving in the squalor of a village of which Okek had once lived. Her expectations had always been the same. The low expectations Veronica has for herself, compared to the high expectations Okek has for himself throughout the story, show that it is a male dominated society. If Veronica had gone to the city the opportunities open to women are very different to the opportunities open to men.
Okek says, 'You could go to night school and become a secretary' A secretary has a feminine job as where a doctor, which Okek became, is a masculine job. This leads to a very important point about the difference between the roles of men and women. This is a major part through the story Veronica. If Veronica had been male, she would have gone to the city as a child to go to school. This would have put her in a similar position to Okek, but due to the roles of men and women Veronica was forced to live the desperate life of a suffering young woman in a deteriorating village. During the conversation between Okek and Veronica, numerous reasons arouse in association with the roles of men and women.
Veronica says, 'I have no qualifications' One of the reasons why Veronica has such a lack in education is because she is female. Veronica also says, 'I have to go and cook, my father will be home soon' Veronica being a typical female in the society had to do the cooking for her family. This leads to another point about why Veronica does not leave for the city with Okek. Veronica did not wish to leave behind her family. Veronica led her life taking orders from her brute of a father, and from an early age, he beat her. Veronica was very weak just like her mother and could not stand up to the power her father.
Okek says, 'Night after night I lay awake listening to Veronica's screams' If Veronica had been a male, her father would not have beaten her. Despite this, she cared for him and the rest of her family deeply. She says, 'I just can't leave my family' This line expresses how Veronica fells about her family, choosing them over the chance of a lifetime which Okek had offered her. Veronica's family was always very important to her. When Okek came back after ten years and found Veronica with a child and husband. Veronica says, 'God has blessed us with a son, is that not enough?' This line is an example of how important family is to Veronica.
It expresses Veronica's feelings towards her family. She could have left her old life behind her and made fresh break in the city. Another example of Veronica's affectionate feelings is when Veronica says, 'They are my family, that is enough' Veronica's personality is another reason why she does not leave with Okek. Throughout the story, her stubbornness shines though. She is too stubborn to go to the city at Okek's offer. An example of this is when Veronica says, 'Don't talk foolishness's he says this to Okek when he said, he would send her money.
Most of the time when Okek came back to the village he offered to take Veronica with him but she refused every time. The most essential issue of the story and what it all amounts to is Tradition. The life Veronica led was steeped in tradition. Every aspect of the story is based around tradition. It was traditional for men to go off to work and women to stay in the home to cook, clean and look after the children.
This would explain her lack off education and why the opportunity of going to a school as a child was not open to her. There was not as many opportunities open to women because it was unusual for women to go out to work or get a job. By tradition, men have the more dominant role. Veronica was a weak female so this would explain why she took unnecessary punishment of her father when she was younger. This also would explain why women as a whole where expected to stay at home.
These are the reasons why I believe Veronica did not leave for the city with Okek
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