Journey’s are a recurrent and common theme throughout literary novels, providing a foundation for the rise or fall of a character. Two sample novels were provided for their effectiveness at displaying journey’s and the impacts affiliated with them. The first is titled The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and the second is The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. Each story is different in its plot and characters, yet each has striking similarities with each other. Example similarities consist of journeys, particularly those of emotion. The two novels also provide an excellent foundation for a universal truth about humanity, mainly being the nature of negative emotions conquering the positive.
The first comparison between the two texts is …show more content…
His personality transforms from a poised, strong and confident man into one who is fragile and scared. He begins to put his fear and religion before his family. Nathan is affected psychologically, becoming paranoid about the Lord watching him, feeling as though he is a failure of God. With Nathan seeing himself as a waste, he feels as though he must repay his sins of cowardice by taking his family to the Congo to spread the word of the Lord. This not only leads to the eventual breakdown and split of the family but also the death of Ruth May. Similarly, Adrian is affected psychologically when he discovers that the woman he is with is the daughter of a client he is treating. Adrian confirms this when talking with Elias, “He hadn’t allowed himself to think. Of course. Mamakay is Elias Cole’s daughter. For a moment Adrian is quiet” (Forna 281). After this moment, Adrian’s demeanor around Mamakay is noticeably different. Adrian begins to develop obsessive thoughts about informing Elias or breaking up with Mamakay. This impacts Adrian’s character mentally. Adrian begins to show signs of obsessive compulsive disorder, creating circular thoughts and stressing constantly about whether he should break up with her or not. Adrian not only harms himself with negative, unclear thinking, but also impacts his patient’s mental health, and, therefore, physical health, by not keeping a focus on his job. Nathan and Adrian’s journey’s are similar in their nature, both are based on fear, anxiety and obsessive thinking. Humanity’s universal truth of negativity being more powerful than positivity appears here, with both characters unable to control their negative emotions and instead succumb to paranoia and anxiety. Differences can be found as well, mainly the emotion the characters experience aside from their stress and ability to overthink. Adrian suffers from a form of circular thinking and
The first comparison between the two texts is …show more content…
His personality transforms from a poised, strong and confident man into one who is fragile and scared. He begins to put his fear and religion before his family. Nathan is affected psychologically, becoming paranoid about the Lord watching him, feeling as though he is a failure of God. With Nathan seeing himself as a waste, he feels as though he must repay his sins of cowardice by taking his family to the Congo to spread the word of the Lord. This not only leads to the eventual breakdown and split of the family but also the death of Ruth May. Similarly, Adrian is affected psychologically when he discovers that the woman he is with is the daughter of a client he is treating. Adrian confirms this when talking with Elias, “He hadn’t allowed himself to think. Of course. Mamakay is Elias Cole’s daughter. For a moment Adrian is quiet” (Forna 281). After this moment, Adrian’s demeanor around Mamakay is noticeably different. Adrian begins to develop obsessive thoughts about informing Elias or breaking up with Mamakay. This impacts Adrian’s character mentally. Adrian begins to show signs of obsessive compulsive disorder, creating circular thoughts and stressing constantly about whether he should break up with her or not. Adrian not only harms himself with negative, unclear thinking, but also impacts his patient’s mental health, and, therefore, physical health, by not keeping a focus on his job. Nathan and Adrian’s journey’s are similar in their nature, both are based on fear, anxiety and obsessive thinking. Humanity’s universal truth of negativity being more powerful than positivity appears here, with both characters unable to control their negative emotions and instead succumb to paranoia and anxiety. Differences can be found as well, mainly the emotion the characters experience aside from their stress and ability to overthink. Adrian suffers from a form of circular thinking and