Calvin And Bearing Up Analysis

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Are Calvin’s and Mike’s Journeys Mostly Similar or Mostly Different?
In both the novel, Calvin by Martine Leavitt, and the short story, “Bearing Up” by Matt Hughes, the reader can see that the two main characters are similar in many ways, but they will likely see them as mostly different from each other. Each story describes a young man’s journey of discovery. However, each journey is very different from the other. Mike embarks on a spiritual journey, experiencing vivid dreams ever since he was a young child . Where as Calvin struggles with a physical journey, experiencing hallucinations due to his newly diagnosed Schizophrenia.
Also, Calvin is awake when his hallucinations happen, for example, when he sees Hobbes on Lake Erie. Where as Mike
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Therefore with one man's journey being spiritual and with one being physical each Young man's Journey is definitely mostly different, from the other.
Another reason why these two main characters are so different is because In Calvin, Calvin is awake when his hallucinations happen. Throughout the novel, Calvin experiences many realistic non-real conversations. Calvin's conversion would normally be between himself and an imaginary tiger named Hobbes. Calvin has Schizophrenia which is a mental illness that causes a person to see or hear things that aren't really there when there awake. Calvin - I was laying in bed…..and than I heard a voice Hobbes- it's me. (Leavitt pg
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In the short story “Bearing up” like Calvin in Calvin the main character named Mike would also experience an animal in his life, but except when Mike would see his animal he would be a sleep - “He would kick and yell his way out of dreams” (Hughes 37) Mike is clearly asleep because in the short story it clearly states that he is actually a sleep. Therefore by one man being awake, and by one man being asleep, the two men's experiences of seeing and interacting with an animal are very

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