The theme of education in Second Class Citizen centres on the question of female education versus male education. In Second Class Citizen, the theme of education is developed through the experiences of characters like Adah, Boy and Francis.
This tutorial will take you through the essential aspects of the theme of education in Buchi Emecheta’s novel, Second Class Citizen. See below what you will learn about the narrator’s development of the theme of education in the novel.
- Adah’s central role in the development of the theme of education
- The role of education in the development of characters
- How the setting influences the theme of education
- Contribution of education to the development of the plot
- How to write a simple but powerful essay on the theme of education in Second Class Citizen
Adah’s Role in the Development in the Theme of Education
Adah plays a central role in the development of the theme of education in Second Class Citizen. As a little girl of 8, her parents see no need to send her to school.
In her society, the education of male children is given a higher priority as compared to that of females. So Boy, Adah’s younger brother goes to the expensive Ladi-Lak school while Adah remains at home.
School – the Igbos never played with that! They were realizing fast that one’s saviour from poverty and disease was education. Every Igbo family saw to it that their children attended school. Boys were usually given preference, though. So even though Adah was about eight, there were still conversations about whether it would be wise to send her to school. Even if she was sent to school, it was very doubtful whether it would be wise to let her stay long. ‘A year or two would do, as long as she can write her name and count. Then she will learn how to sew.’ Adah had heard her mother say this many many times to her friends. Soon, Adah’s younger brother, Boy, started school.
Buchi Emecheta – Second Class Citizen
It takes Adah’s own resourcefulness to force Ma and Pa to send her to school.
Still, society refuses to see the value of educating girls beyond the basic level., even when such girls demonstrate potential for future greatness.
This is why Adah is left to her own devices to access secondary education.
Girl vs Boy Education
The author appears to suggest that privileged males like Boy and Francis are sometimes no match for females in terms of educational achievement.
One evidence of this is that nothing much is said about Boy continuing to secondary school. On the other hand, Adah’s brilliant performance, resourcefulness and determination enable her to eventually get a high-paying job at the American Embassy.
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The same education has tended to render privileged males like Francis Obi complete failures in all aspects of life.
In Second Class Citizen, the author makes this point clear. If given the same educational opportunities that male children enjoy, girls in African societies can do as much as their male counterparts – if not better.
Adah Demonstrates the High Premium She Places on Education
She does this by sending her children to English schools. In fact, one key reason Adah is bent on travelling to England is to access high-quality English education for her children.
How Education Helps in the Development of Characters
The three most important characters that have something to do with the theme of education in the novel are Adah, Boy and Francis.
Let’s examine the different effects education has had on these characters.
How Education Contributes to the Development of Adah’s Character
For Adah, education is the torch that will light her way to personal development and a truly fulfilling career.
Adah, right from childhood, dreams of emulating the example of Lawyer Nweze. Her goal is to travel to the United Kingdom just like Lawyer Nweze, the illustrious son of Ibuza.
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Adah is acutely conscious of the connection between a good education and the achievement of her dreams. So she leaves no stone unturned to acquire the education she needs.
This will enable her not only to travel to England but also to become a successful career woman and a published author.
Adah realizes at this very tender age that education is the best tool for social mobility. She reckons that the only way to break the glass ceiling is to acquire an education. Education will create opportunities for girls like her in a society that delights in forcing them to settle for subservient roles to men.
Consequently, she is able to go as far as secondary school. She dreams of attending university in the future.
Thus, Adah, with her knowledge, finds a high-paying job. This job enables her to take care of her children, Francis, her inconsequential husband and his entire family.
This is a rare achievement for an Igbo girl from a relatively poor economic background.
Later, Adah is able to stand her ground in her abusive marriage thanks to her education. Though she may not have done much to save herself from the suffering she goes through at the hands of Francis, she is able to, at least, maintain her sanity while caring for the physical and emotional needs of her young children in those turbulent times.
Boy and the Theme of Education
Buchi Emecheta cleverly creates the character known simply as Boy to help her develop the twin themes of gender discrimination and education.
The name ‘Boy’ itself is unique. It underlines the disproportionate value society places on a male child as compared to his female counterpart.
So Boy is the treasured boy. Though he was born after Adah, it is he who is given all the support to attend the expensive Ladi-Lak school.
It is not clear where exactly Boy’s education ends. But one thing is clear. His sister, Adah has achieved more with her education than him.
The narrator, therefore, juxtaposes the education that Adah acquired through her own force of character with the one that males like Boy are given all the privilege to acquire.
At the end of the day, it is obvious that girls can sometimes do much better with their lives than boys like Boy if given equal educational opportunities.
Francis and the Theme of Education in Second Class Citizen
The effects of education on Francis contrast sharply with those on Adah.
Education has done nothing to change Francis’s opinions about the role of women in marriage. Francis still clings to the unhelpful cultural attitudes against the female gender that he was brought up with.
Unlike Adah, Francis sees his limited educational achievement in only one light. He has used it as a ticket to travel to the United Kingdom for the purpose of continuing to molest and abuse the woman in his life.
Clearly, education has made Francis more of a liability than an asset to himself, his family and society at large.
How the Setting Contributes to the Theme of Education in Second Class Citizen
The people of this Igbo community in Nigeria clearly appreciate the value of education. But here is the catch. They believe that educating girls is a waste of money and everybody’s time.
With colonial rule has come western-style formal education in Nigeria and other African societies. Any family that can afford it will gladly send their male children to school.
The Ibuza community has proven, with the triumphant return of Lawyer Nweze from his Law studies in the United Kingdom, that education is a tool for social progress.
At the same time, however, African societies have still not seen the need to give the same education to their female children.
Buchi Emecheta has used her novel to criticize her society’s unfortunate show of bias against girl education.
How Education Contributes to the Development of the Plot of Second Class Citizen
Education plays a pivotal role in the development of the plot of Second Class Citizen.
Here is a brief outline of how the theme of education contributes to the development of the plot in the novel.
- Lawyer Nweze’s education sends him to England to study Law.
- He returns home to serve as a role model to girls like Adah.
- Inspired by Lawyer Nweze’s remarkable achievement, and the special reception accorded him on his return, Adah pushes her parents to send her to school.
Thus, Nweze’s return is critical to the plot of the novel.
The event forms part of the rising action that will usher us into the stage where Adah finds herself enrolled in school after Ma’s bitter experience at the Police Station.
And this marks a turning point in the narrative. From this moment onwards, we see the heroine move from one milestone to the other until she arrives in England to join Francis her husband.
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- Henceforth, Adah’s progression in her educational pursuits opens the doors to each subsequent stage in her life.
- Subsequently, Adah arrives in the United Kingdom to seek greener pastures and to obtain more educational qualifications.
- Also, Adah intends to give her children English education. She considers English education to be of a higher quality than what she got back in Nigeria.
And she believes that this type of education will open the doors to a better life for her growing children.
- Meanwhile, Francis has not been doing well with his own academic pursuits. This turns him into a bitter and jealous man. He will do anything within his power to stop Adah’s visible progress.
- It is this state of affairs that will make Francis burn Adah’s manuscript – an action that speeds up the process toward the total collapse of their marriage.
How to Write an Essay on the Theme of Education
Follow these simple steps to write an acceptable essay on the theme of education in Second Class Citizen.
- Make it clear that education is a major theme in Second Class Citizen.
- Identify the characters that the narrator uses to develop the theme of education.
- Show how these characters’ experiences contribute to the theme of education.
- Explain the ways in which education affects Adah, the protagonist, and any other character of your choice.
- Say how the theme of education contributes to the theme of gender discrimination in Second Class Citizen
- Finally, explain the contribution of the theme of education to the development of the plot.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. I trust that the above explanation on the theme of education in Second Class Citizen would give you the ideas you need to write a quality essay about education in the novel.
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Ralph Nyadzi is the Director of Studies at Cegast Academy. He is a qualified English tutor with decades of experience behind him. Since 2001, he has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature and related subjects. He combines his expertise with a passion for lifelong learning to guide learners from varying backgrounds to achieve their educational goals. Ralph shares lessons from his blogging journey on BloggingtotheMax. He lives with River, his pet cat, in the Central Region of Ghana.
