The Other Side Of Truth
The Other Side of Truth
Beverly Naidoo’s interesting novel ‘The Other Side of Truth’ shows how telling the truth at all times may become an issue in certain scenarios. In this novel two Nigerian children, Sade and Femi, have to flee to England without anyone else they know, after their mother is shot by the Nigerian government, in order to be safe. Naidoo emphasises the difficulties that always telling the truth can cause, through the theme of problems with the truth. I will explain how Naidoo conveys this message in this essay.
Throughout the novel, the characters experience a lot of drastic changes which alter their attitudes towards the truth. Sade, a Nigerian school girl, is the main character. Her and her younger brother Femi have been brought up with their father Folarin’s a strong belief that lying is unacceptable and that the truth must always be told no matter what the circumstances are. However Sade’s opinions towards the truth change when she flees to England without her parents. Sade is upset by having to lie but she understands what the consequences may be if she tells the truth. Therefore Sade is left confused whether she is doing the right or wrong thing. “Sade’s mind crashed again”, shows how overwhelmed Sade feels.
Meanwhile Femi feels entirely different. He blocks himself out of the situation and refuses to talk to anyone. However this just makes the situation worse as it creates a tense atmosphere between Sade and Femi and makes Sade feel as if she is alone. Femi didn’t want to be part of all the new changes that were taking place in his life. “Femi wasn’t trying to make sense of things” shows how setback he was from everyone else and how unwilling he was to change.
Although telling the truth in Nigeria could be fatal, Sade and Femi were brought up to never lie. Folarin, their father, was a journalist for a newspaper that published antigovernment articles. Even though the articles were truthful the journalists frequently found themselves in
Beverly Naidoo’s interesting novel ‘The Other Side of Truth’ shows how telling the truth at all times may become an issue in certain scenarios. In this novel two Nigerian children, Sade and Femi, have to flee to England without anyone else they know, after their mother is shot by the Nigerian government, in order to be safe. Naidoo emphasises the difficulties that always telling the truth can cause, through the theme of problems with the truth. I will explain how Naidoo conveys this message in this essay.
Throughout the novel, the characters experience a lot of drastic changes which alter their attitudes towards the truth. Sade, a Nigerian school girl, is the main character. Her and her younger brother Femi have been brought up with their father Folarin’s a strong belief that lying is unacceptable and that the truth must always be told no matter what the circumstances are. However Sade’s opinions towards the truth change when she flees to England without her parents. Sade is upset by having to lie but she understands what the consequences may be if she tells the truth. Therefore Sade is left confused whether she is doing the right or wrong thing. “Sade’s mind crashed again”, shows how overwhelmed Sade feels.
Meanwhile Femi feels entirely different. He blocks himself out of the situation and refuses to talk to anyone. However this just makes the situation worse as it creates a tense atmosphere between Sade and Femi and makes Sade feel as if she is alone. Femi didn’t want to be part of all the new changes that were taking place in his life. “Femi wasn’t trying to make sense of things” shows how setback he was from everyone else and how unwilling he was to change.
Although telling the truth in Nigeria could be fatal, Sade and Femi were brought up to never lie. Folarin, their father, was a journalist for a newspaper that published antigovernment articles. Even though the articles were truthful the journalists frequently found themselves in