06/12/2025
NECO GCE LITERATURE (PROSE) RUNZ
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The theme of determination in Second Class Citizen connects directly to the central ideas of the novel by showing how Adah’s strength, ambition and refusal to give up help her rise above the limitations placed on her as a woman, a wife and an immigrant. Determination becomes the engine that drives her journey from Lagos to London, shaping her fight against poverty, discrimination and oppression. Through Adah, the author explores how personal courage can challenge social barriers, and how persistence becomes a form of resistance in an unfair world.
The main character involved in this theme is Adah, who begins life in Nigeria as a girl nobody expects to succeed. She grows up in a society that values boys more than girls and later becomes a young wife whose husband, Francis, constantly tries to hold her back. In London she faces racism, poor living conditions and emotional abuse. Yet, Adah remains focused on her dreams. Her identity as a mother who wants a better life for her children also strengthens her resolve. Other characters such as Francis highlight the obstacles Adah must overcome because his lack of support and destructive behaviour bring her struggles into sharper focus.
The theme of determination is explored through the author’s use of Adah’s educational ambition, career struggles and persistent attempts to find her voice. Adah’s pursuit of education is an important literary example of her determination, because she sees education as her only path to freedom. Her efforts to work as a librarian and later to write stories show how determination shapes her identity. Even when she faces rejection and discouragement, she continues writing and continues working. The author uses her challenges to illustrate the pressure placed on women by society and by marriage. These experiences reflect the wider message of the novel, which shows how determination can empower people who live in a world designed to silence them.
The significance of this theme is seen in the way Adah’s determination transforms her life and inspires hope. Her persistence teaches readers that survival and progress require courage and self belief. It also shows that determination has a cost, because Adah must make difficult decisions to protect her children and to escape an abusive marriage. The theme encourages readers to reflect on how people can rise above discrimination, poverty and oppression through consistent effort. Through Adah, the novel teaches that determination can break barriers, reshape identity and create a path to a better future even when society expects failure.
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Mr Noble’s character connects directly to the central themes of Second Class Citizen, particularly the struggles of immigrants, the loss of identity and the effects of internalised racism. Through him, the novel shows how living in a foreign land can push individuals to compromise their values, abandon their roots and suffer emotionally while trying to gain acceptance. His experiences reveal how immigrants who once dreamed of success in Britain can become trapped in disappointment, insecurity and the pressure to appear respectable.
Mr Noble is introduced as Adah and Francis’s second landlord in London, a Nigerian man who has lived in England since the 1940s. Years of unfulfilled dreams have shaped him into a man who hides behind a false name and an identity created to impress white people. He is married to Sue, a young white woman whom he uses as a symbol of success, yet his insecurity remains. His attempt to operate a lift manually at work to prove African strength leaves him permanently injured, and the compensation he receives becomes the source of his wealth. He invests the money in a three story house but struggles with tenants because of a rumour he himself spread, claiming that his mother’s spirit had frightened the previous occupants away.
The author uses Mr Noble’s experiences to explore ideas of identity, self rejection and internalised oppression. His decision to adopt the name Mr Noble shows how far he has gone to hide his true self. His marriage, his need to impress white people and his disdain for fellow Africans illustrate the painful effects of racism on the minds of the oppressed. The story of his injury serves as a symbolic moment in the novel, showing how the desire to please others can lead to self destruction. His belief that a new identity and material success will earn him respect becomes a repeated idea that shapes his life and makes him act unreasonably.
The significance of this explanation is that Mr Noble helps readers understand the psychological damage caused by racism and the immigrant struggle. He is a warning about the danger of losing one’s identity while trying to fit into a society that never fully accepts outsiders. His presence complicates Adah’s journey by showing how immigration affects individuals differently and how some respond by abandoning their dignity. Through Mr Noble, the novel deepens its message that true success for immigrants cannot come from imitation or self denial but from self acceptance, resilience and the refusal to be defined by prejudice.
