Character Analysis Of Nate O 'Reilly In The Book The Testament'

The Testament by John Grisham The American Dream defined by dictionary.com states, “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by people in the U.S.” The American Dream indicates what the people should aspire to become, but very few actually succeed in achieving the American Dream. Nate O’Reilly in the book The Testament by John Grisham has fulfilled the American Dream. He has more than enough money and possessions, and would seem to appear happy from a materialistic point of view. Although Nate has superficially accomplished what every American desires, he has many flaws and obstacles he must overcome throughout his journey. These weaknesses include his obsession with his job and material things, his drug and alcohol problems, and lack of motivation and spirituality. Throughout the novel, Nate struggles with these hardships and must overcome them to complete his redemptive quest. A major weakness of Nate is his love for possessions his job. He spends so much time focusing on his job, that he didn’t spend time with his families when he had them. He is so focused on getting money that he forgot that he needed to spend time elsewhere, or maybe he never learned to …show more content…
Everyone accepts Nate as being an alcoholic and drug addict, but Rachel tells Nate that he can defeat these hardships. Rachel believes in Nate when nobody else did, and she changed his life. She becomes the motivation Nate needs, and it works. He vows to turn his life around, but still nobody believes he can actually do it. Not only does he have to actually overcome these hardships, but he also has to do it while people are saying he cannot. Rachel gives him the motivation to defeat these challenges, but Father Phil becomes Nate’s supporter throughout his redemptive quest. Father Phil listens to Nate and helps him in any way he can to overcome these difficulties Nate