In “Chike’s School Days”, I believe language, education and upbringing are major themes when one delves into the significance of this piece. From the very start of the story, the reader understands that Chike was the first son born into a family of daughters. It is because of this reason that he was given the name “Obiajulu”, one of three names given at his baptism that means he was either the only child or the only son. It is also important to note that he was raised in the manner of a white man which is interesting being he is Nigerian. However, what is more interesting is the way in which he views his own kind now as he was raised to shun old Nigerian religious and cultural practices. He even goes as far as saying that “we don’t eat heathen food” (pg. 828), as his friends mother offered him something to eat. This resulted in an outrage, as the mother could not believe that this young child had similarities to that of an old white colonist. It is also fascinating to note that his father married a woman of the lowest class in Nigeria. However, as the story continues, Chike finds a love for literature and English words fascinate him even though he doesn’t know what most of them mean. Chike studies the dictionary and quickly picks up on elaborate words such as “periwinkle” (pg. 829) Furthermore, I believe the author moves back and forth in time to show the beauty of his native language as he blends it with the English language. At the end, Chike fantasizes with a song he came up with consisting of random long words. I believe he uses the English language to find an escape from his world into something that relates to him more.

In “Two Sisters” I believe there is a contrast in the way in which the two sisters behave. Mercy is unmarried and materialistic and gets the things she wants from dating older men. However, her sister Connie is married and disapproves with this lifestyle. “They are selfish.” “No, it’s just that women allow them to behave the way they do instead of seizing some freedom themselves” (pg. 997). This shows that Mercy has no problem with this behaviour and a question is raised whether it is ok to use someone in order to get something, even if they are being used themselves. I also believe that there is a fine line between getting manipulated and being the manipulator in this context as they could both be married and know their husband is having affair or date an older man in order to get what they want.

From the first two acts of the play, Hedda Gabbler gets exposed to the reader as her true intentions and manipulative behaviour get revealed.

From the very introduction, Hedda is seen to have very high standards. This can be seen simply from the house George Tesman had bought solely for her pleasure. Ibsen goes in great detail describing each aspect of the house showing the value of what it was worth e.g. “Beyond the glass door, a piano. On both sides of the upstage doorway stand shelves displaying terra cotta and majolica objects” (P 782). This all seems like a very big price to pay for a lower-class scholar like George Tesman. Unfortunately for George, the house basically means nothing to Hedda as her true thoughts surface as the drama progresses.

Hedda’s arrogant mind-set is displayed on numerous occasions as she chooses to stick with her full name Hedda Gabbler to distance herself from those who she believes are beneath her in importance. Aunt Tesman even goes as far as to wear an expensive hat especially for Hedda, but only for Hedda to unintentionally criticise it. This can all be seen as examples of her stubborn relentless personality. In addition, Hedda and George do not have the best relationship. Hedda clearly believes she is of higher class and does not worry about everyday struggles such that of a Tesman’s rival, Eilert, who is back in town and stands between his chance of getting a better job. However, it is fair to say that George does acknowledge her rudeness and would like for her to see his family as her own now they are married.

Furthermore, Hedda’s manipulative behavior can be seen by the way in which she tricks Mrs. Elvsted to speak of her secrets under the impression that she cares about her personal life. However, Hedda is only satisfying her own curiosity to see if she had an affair with Eilert as they both clearly share past experiences with him. By this point, Hedda isn’t even considering the feelings of her own husband as she claims his profession bores her and she plainly views him as a “specialist”, whilst Eilert is very successful with his newly released book. This excites Hedda much more as she uses this knowledge as a gateway to get back in contact with Eilert. This is all revealed in the conversation she has with Brack, which shows a great deal of flirtatious behavior. Hedda even goes as far as to ask Brack if he can convince George to change his profession to something that is more exciting through her eyes. Hedda sates “he’s a very diligent archivist anyway. Someday he might do something interesting with all of it” (P 802), this shows she is desperate to see a change if she is ever going to have genuine feelings for him like the ones she had for Eilert when he was successful. Finally, towards the end, one can see that the woman who Mrs. Elvsted worried would shoot Eilert with a pistol was indeed Hedda. Overall, Hedda enjoys the level of control she has over Eilert, Brack and even Mrs. Elvsted as she keeps their conversations very secretive right in front of their eyes. Hedda is portrayed as a very teasing woman who enjoys company.