‘Veronica’ and ‘Disabled’

The themes of broken relationships and tragedy can be linked very closely together through the use of symbolism and language. Both themes are thoroughly explored through the poem, Disabled by Wilfred Owen, and the short story: Veronica, by Adewale Maja-Pearce. The structures of both poem and short story use language and symbolism differently to show the themes of broken relationships and tragedy.In Disabled, when the protagonist returns from war limbless and in search of his identity, it is obvious that his connections to, and relationships with, others have been broken by the toll of war. However, in a more symbolic understanding of the theme of broken relationships, we see that the relationship that has been severed the most is the relationship he had with himself.This is evident in the fact that he no longer views himself as he once did – ‘for it was younger than his youth, last year.

Now he is old; his back will never brace.’ The quote shows the theme of transformation through the protagonist viewing himself differently ‘last year’ to the present. This is further emphasized with the symbolism of his back, his back not being able brace, symbolizes his lost in confidence, as he can no longer straighten his back to support his confidence and sense of self worth. Thus, the protagonist has undergone complete personality change, his relationship with his old confident and proud persona broken.Owen further shows the theme of breakdown through the idea that the protagonist has lost what he once enjoyed – ‘One time he liked a blood-smear down his leg.’ – he once ‘liked’ being injured, perhaps symbolizing his masculinity and virile recklessness.

However, time and the experiences of war – being injured - ‘legless, sewn short at elbow’ – have changed the protagonist, as he no longer enjoys the things that once liked, shows how he does not identify himself as how he used too. Ultimately, this shows the theme of broken relationships through the fact that he no longer enjoys what he once did, and may in face resent it completely.Although Veronica is a short story and in terms of structure very different from Disabled they share the common theme of fractured relationships. Where this theme is portrayed more metaphorically in Disabled, wherein the protagonist loses his connection to his past self, Veronica shows a more literal broken relationship, between the characters Okeke and Veronica.The theme of tragedy is explored though the choices of the protagonist: Okeke; very much like the choices of the character in Disabled.

However, at a deeper level, he can also be seen as the antagonist, as his actions is what leads to the broken relationship between him and Veronica – ‘I snapped a twig and threw it into the water. It bobbed on the current and then vanished from sight.’ The theme is shown through the use of symbolism. The snapping of the twig symbolizes the breakdown of the relationship, further emphasizing the point that it was Okeke who snapped the twig and ‘threw it into the water’ and essentially threw his relationship with Veronica away by leaving the countryside.

Another way that the theme of broken relationships in Veronica is explored is through the subtheme of time, as time is proven to be a big reason as to why many relationships are broken. In this story, Okeke’s ties to his hometown are broken as well – ‘I was shocked by what I found. Either I had forgotten about the squalor of village life, or it had worsened during my absence.’ The language chosen seems quite sympathetic to the idea of Okeke being ‘shocked’.

However, Okeke not remembering how his own hometown looks like, as well as referring to it with negative language such as ‘squalor’ and ‘worsened’, shows how severed his relationships with Veronica and his hometown are, as time has made him forget the place that he had grown up in.In Disabled the protagonist is seen to sign up for the greatest tragedy of all – war – by foolish choice. This idea of irony is emphasized with the fact that World War I was infamous for having thousands of young men sign up for war with close to no understanding what they were fighting for, as the young men had entered the war simply for glory and fame, and no ulterior reasons.When the protagonist of Disabled signed up for war he is in search for more glory and fame – ‘smiling they wrote his lie: aged nineteen years’. Tragedy is seen in this quote, as the reader sees he could have easily avoided being ‘legless, sewn short at elbow,’ if he had not signed up for the army. The theme of tragedy is further emphasized with the fact that he was not even supposed to be in the army as he was underaged, as ‘they wrote his lie’, implying that his immaturity was supported, if not encouraged, by the very people who would cost him his limbs.

Tragedy is explored with the idea that he could have easily avoided joining the army and losing his limbs in war.A theme that Veronica shares with Disabled is tragedy. As with Disabled, the theme of tragedy is shown through the idea that the deterioration of Okeke’s relationship with Veronica could have been prevented very easily. This can be seen when Okeke asks Veronica about her and Veronica answers saying: ‘I’m still here, as you left me.

’ The language is the same and nothing has changed. However the implied meaning when she says ‘as you left me’, referring to Okeke’s abandonment of their hometown, shows Veronica’s continued suffering. This implies that all the tragedy that Veronica went through could have been very easily prevented had Okeke not left.Disabled and Veronica share the idea that the events that had occurred were extremely ‘terrible’ and a ‘waste’.

Tragedy is explored in Veronica, after the character Veronica had passed away and the narrator Okeke explains ‘that he cried for a terrible waste.’ Okeke describing Veronica’s death as a ‘terrible waste’ implies that her death was a mistake, a tragedy. The use of language is very similar to the language used in Disabled; the language chosen is very descriptive and disheartening. The descriptive language shows the gravity of how badly affected Okeke has been from Veronica’s death and similarly like the character in Disabled who is affected by the tolls of war.

Although there is a difference in both genre and setting in Veronica and Disabled, they still share the common themes of broken relationships and tragedy. Disabled, a poem of a recovering war victim with a loss of identity, uses symbolism to explore the themes broken relationship and tragedy, while in Veronica, a short story about the deterioration of a childhood relationship, the themes of broken relationships and tragedy are explored through the chosen language. The most appealing aspect of Veronica and Disabled is how the themes are shown through subtle symbols and the sub textual meaning of the writers.