Beverly Naidoo's The Other Side of truth is based on two cities, London and Nigeria.

It all starts when Sade's mom gets shot by an unknown person that is travelling in a car. This is because Sade's dad had written a news article for Speak about the lack of fairness in the government of Nigeria. Sade and her younger brother, Femi flee to London with fake passports with Mrs. Bankole, when Sade and Femi reach London they are abandoned by Mrs. Bankole and are left to find Uncle Dele by themselves. Sade tries to adapt to London with the help of the social workers and she blindly tries to find her dad through the opportunities and constraints that she is facing. As a result of choosing London , the author tries to make people understand the truth of London through Sade's perspective , even though some people may think that London is a safe haven. Beverly Naidoo creates infrastructural, geographical and cultural opportunities and constraints for Sade. Coming to London gives a good infrastructural opportunity for Sade to travel to somewhere easier and faster . The public transportation there in London makes it easier for Sade to travel there, without even costing much money. While travelling to London Sade utilizes inutilizes in many different types of public transportations. The first sight that she has of London is that of Victoriaof Victoria station, which is stated in this quote, "Victoria...Victoria.Sade repeated the name to herself of the Station where Mrs. Bankole said they would get off. " (40) This quote shows that in London there are train stations that you can travel to somewhere which do not cost much money and will be able to travel in long distances. Another example is that Sade does not need to walk to school as she can just take a public bus which will reach the school easily, like in this quote here, "A red doubledecker bus hurtled past with Avon students clustered on the platform, ready to get out at the next stop."(114).This quote tells us that there are many easy modes of public transportation around London it is also an infrastructural opportunity for Sade which makes it less tiring for her instead of walking to school. It helps make the setting look more advanced which helps Sade to find her father. and also helps save energy which will lead to less pollution. Besides infrastructure opportunities, the peoples culture in London is a constraint for Sade. This paragraph would link to my next one about the culture there in London, where most of the culture depends on the infrastructure there which makes people's change differently. Moving to London also creates cultural constraints for Sade which makes her as she often feels uncomfortable. In London tThe manners, clothing and here are different and the way of their clothing and their understanding of what is what they sort out of inappropriate and appropriate is different from when they were in Nigeria. Even though now that Sade is living in London and tries to adapt to it, she finds it hard because they are way different from when she was in Nigeria,. For example, such as this quote which makes her feel more uncomfortable and unlike what she was brought up by. "Some of the girls here wore makeup around their eyes and most were wearing shoes quite unlike the plain black lace-ups that Aunt Gracie had bought for her on Saturday."(99) This is making her feel like she isn't the same as those people and that they are higher. Another constraint that struck her the most was the names, in London they would be able to call elderly people by their first names, which is quite considered as rude in Nigeria. Such as this quote here , "Yesterday the social worker had simply introduced herself as 'Jenny'. Back home, for children to call her by her first name would be rude." (80) To conclude this paragraph, English people have different manners and ways of living rather than how it would be in Nigeria.

Comment [JH1]: Excellent introduc

Comment [JH2]: I tried to make this bit more clear, as it was hard to follow. to work on getting to the point, instead writing so much, that it takes away from the point you are trying to make.

Comment [JH3]: Excellent work on analysis of these quotes, again just work trying to get to the main point, and not being so wordy!

Most of the culture and infrastructure in London would be based on the Geographical Location, which makes it the culture and infrastructure change due to the seasons and the location in which London is located. As a constraint , the geographical location is also presented as an obstacle to Sade. This is because Sade has not experienced that much through the weather there in London which makes it harder for Sade to cope with. Such as this quote here where you can predict how or what would be the weather each day, "It was going to be a freezing night." (162) The weather forecast is an only opportunity for Sade which also helps her know what the weather will be and what she would where such as "Temperature in London today is eight degrees Celsius" (33) Although Sade tries hard to adapt with the cold as Beverly Naidoo said, " For a while she tried running on the spot to keep warm, but felt her legs becoming heavy with the cold that it was too much effort to move." (168) But even though she tries to do that, she would not be able to fight the cold. This is a conflict which is Man vs Nature which she is trying to fight against the coldness of the city. This would be changing the setting and infrastructure by, if the place is cold the people who built the roads, buildings, etc. would make it able to adapt with the geographical location. Summarizing the paragraphs would be that In conclusion, the opportunities and constraints that the author presents for Sade are that were chosen were that it was an opportunitiesy for Sade that there were because there are many ways of transportation, either public or private. The next thing that was chosen was a constraint for Sade under culture, where the manners are different and how they act is different than when Sade was in Nigeria ,the last thing the was chosen was a constraint for Sade in geographical location because the weather there in London is troubling her and is a problem while she stayed. These opportunities and constraints helps the setting for the author by adding on to Sade's environment, it can be an opportunity for her or something that she also has to overcome. London is important in this plot is because, London has different cultures, geographical location, infrastructure and economy which makes it harder for Sade to adapt or live.

Comment [JH4]: Great point!

Comment [JH5]: Good conclusion.