This english essay will help <3

My essay is aimed to help other people who are studying the edexcel gcse english anthology, and this is based on a text called 'veronica' from section B. If you want, giving feedback on my practice essay would help a lot, also good luck for any exams you guys are taking.

What do we learn from Okeke in the text?

The writer Adawale creates a massive divergence between Okeke and Veronica in terms of ambitions, lifestyle and education.
It is blatantly obvious to the reader that Okeke is portrayed as a highly ambitious and education-revolved character through the use of his words adressing Veronica, 'think of all the things you can do in the city.' What we learn about him is that he has imaginative dreams and the city attains value to him.
In comparison to Veronica's dialogue, 'but I don't have any qualifications', we can interpret that Okeke is much more positive and confident in his future reinforced by 'when I have qualified...' The connective 'when' full of certainty, provokes his strong belief in his ability to get a qualification.

As time flows through the story Veronica is still stuck in the village and living a poor life whilst Okeke is encountering the luxuries of the city as well as succeeding in his doctor career. Perhaps one of the messages Adawale is trying to convey to the reader is the difference between genders in Africa for example women like Veronica stayed at home to do the chores joblessly, whereas men such as Okeke work to earn the money. In that case maybe Adawale wants to express gender inequality through his writing, or the other message he could be presenting is that if you believe in yourself you can succeed however if you don't strive for your goal then you'll be stuck on the same step of the ladder, just like Veronica is still living the same life in the same village. In addition Okeke has worked hard and it all paid off when he 'won the scholarship.' That's how we learn the fact that he's educated and hard-working.

Throughout the entire context Okeke deeply cares about Veronica due to asking her questions based on her life, encouraging her to seek a better chance, 'but what have your family done for you' as well as constantly thinking about her through the use of Adawale's words, 'I never forgot about her.'

When Veronica passes away Okeke experiences a state of poignance since he 'cried that night for the terrible waste.' The writer chose night as the setting to maybe add to the tone of melancholy as darkness connotes imagery such as lonliness and misery. So in that case the night reflects his mood like a pathetic fallacy. The verb 'cried' refers to Okeke's loving attitude of Veronica and we learn to the touch of his emotive side. Also the noun 'waste' suggests how much he values her life, therefore it was a 'terrible waste' for her life to end drastically.
Moreover we see how the faith in Okeke is shown through the use of this quote, 'I knew my own worth.' The reader knows that he believes his self-worth equating to a better life.

On the contrary he doesn't encounter true love in the city since all the women there are only into cars and money. Although he seems to have a good life and has followed the pathway of education, the reader acknowledges the absence of love in his experience and so forth we realize his life isn't always perfect despite him having a decent amount of money.

At the end when Okeke 'watched the flow of stream' after burying Veronica's corpse he realizes that it's time to move on in life like the river's continuos motion. In a way he grows up and learn to forget about her which implies his sense of strength. It's also interesting how the river from the context could be a metaphorical symbol for life passing by regardless of what's happening. Whether mayhem or good happens the water still flows relentlessly just like life, so one of the messages embedded by Adawale is that it's better to forget some things and just move on.
Lastly the reader could learn another thing which is Okeke's ability to learn quickly like he did from the river.

I really hope this helps your essay skills and you picked something new or interesting from this! x

This english essay will help <3

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