In the short story "A Sunrise on the Veld" by Doris Lessing the main character is a fifteen year old boy who goes on a journey through the African bush. The boy's age is important in the story because he feels he is on the brink of adulthood and feels all powerful. However, Lessing uses the main incident in the story, a buck being eaten alive by ants, to show the boy has a lot to learn and she uses this incident to explore the notion of taking responsibility for your actions.

From the beginning, we are aware of the boy's arrogance of youth. His sense of complete power and invincibility is effectively conveyed by Lessing in the slightest of actions, such as "Triumphantly pressing down the alarm knob" of his clock: Here Lessing suggests the boy believes he can control his sleeping pattern and outwit his alarm...