Life’s Uncontrollable Aspects in Lessing’s By: Michael S “A Sunrise on the Veld”
As kids we all experience important moments in our lives, whether they’re times of grieving or celebration. It is those moments that may alter or influence the dreams we once had. “A Sunrise on the Veld” by Doris Lessing, portrays the human experience of a young man that changes his perspective of life and its purpose. He comes to realize that there are some things in life we cannot control and as unpredictable life is, everything happens for a reason. We can analyze the story of Doris Lessing and his theme that life is uncontrollable through three elements, setting in early morning African veld, symbolism of the buck and diction of…show more content… That is what living is (Pg.4).” Though he is angry and upset at the fact he could have stopped the suffering of the innocent buck, he was able to accept the uncontrollable and natural demeanours of life. The death of the buck was unpredictable, and it shows the young man that it easily could have been him being eaten away by ants. He learns an important life lesson that he will continue to try and become comfortable with. Every living thing in the world will die one day just like the buck. Whether it is predictable or not it happens for a reason, which is how life goes on. The buck is a powerful symbol used in this story to represent the life of all living things and how its fate is unpredictable and cannot be controlled. The final element that Lessing uses to support the uncontrollable aspects of life within his story is through diction. From the beginning of the story to the end, there are transitions of emotions and feelings that are related to temperature shifts. In the beginning, the boys describes himself lying abed huddled down to escape the cold of the early morning chills. As he rises and stretches his limbs he says, “Even my brain-even that! I can control every part of myself… legs and fingers waiting like soldiers for the word of command (Pg.1).” He feels the ability to control his actions both mentally and physically, as his ability to overcome the chilled morning by ignoring the
