Sunrise On The Veld

Just like a Caterpillar bursting out of its cocoon and transforming into a butterfly, It is evident that the transition from childhood to adulthood is a difficult and confusing time for many, but in most cases, the great transformation and lessons learned are well worth the struggle endured. “A Sunrise on the Veld”, written by Doris Lessing is a coming of age story about a boy who goes comes to the harsh realization that all things living, including himself, must die. Lessing uses the incident that triggered the boys realization as a lesson that all things must come to an end, and letting go of the things in life that we cannot control… more specifically, death. The elements Lessing uses to accomplish this realization and lesson are time …show more content…
Lessing uses grass as a symbol of flourishing life, and the ants as a symbol of life simply existing rather than being lived. In the story, Lessing describes the ants as “Like glistening water flowing through the grass.” Two more symbols leading up to the main climatic symbol are the young boys gun and his bare feet. The gun the boy brings along represents his feeling of superiority, and his bare feet represent his feelings of being in full control, because he doesn't wear shoes on his morning journey he believes he is indestructible and in full control of getting hurt. This leads me to the main, and most powerful symbol in the story which is the buck. While the boy is on his journey in the early hours of the morning he comes across a dying buck. At this time, the story reads, “This is how life goes on, by living things dying in anguish.” This buck symbolizes the inevitable reality of death and that all things living must come to an end. This symbol gives great a realization to the boy, offering truth and knowledge that humbles …show more content…
He is clearly over-confident at the beginning of the story with feelings of superiority and invincibility over both his parents and nature. The beginning of the story reads, “But he played with is for the fun of knowing it was a weakness he could defeat.” The boy also feels very much in control of himself and his body where he states, “I can control every part of myself.” He believes he can defeat the tiredness he feels due to his early risings. He also had a sense of satire towards his parents meaning he even felt he could defeat figures of authority. This is ironic because of his young age, he hasn’t yet turned sixteen and is under the belief that he knows all. Lessing uses the incident of the dying buck that triggered the boys realization as a lesson that all things must come to an end, and letting go of the things in life that we cannot control… more specifically, death. The elements Lessing uses to accomplish this realization and lesson are time and setting, symbolism, and irony. She uses these elements to effortlessly accomplish the boys realization of the very real mortality of human and animal life. Along with expressing a similar message to the reader about of the importance of letting go of what we cannot control and to live rather than to just