Compare and Contrast: The portrayal of individuals (Baby and Michael)

Introduction

This study is being presented to compare and contrast the portrayal of the individuals Baby and Michael, from the novels Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Winshaw Legacy respectively. The study identifeis the desires that they had regarding what they wanted to achieve in their lives, what is the nature of the world that they are currently living in, do they succeed in acheinving what they wanted from their lives and if not, did they accept or reject the world that they were part of.

Thesis Statement

Both Bay and Michael from the two novels had certain desires from their lives, which they were unable to fulfill and had to accept the world, as it actually was.

What did they want?

Baby

It can be illustrated from the novel that Baby wanted to cherish her childhood life; it can also be noticed that she did not want to grow old. This perception of Baby as supported by the cruelty in the world (O'Neill, pp. 1-352). Baby realized that childhood is the phase of life in which there is no stress and no other hardship to be faced. Nevertheless, she also knew that none can control time as it passes away; hence, she wanted to cherish the feeling of living her childhood with utmost zeal and happiness. The story portrays another character named as Jules; Jules was the father of Baby and a drug addict. Therefore, it was very hard for Baby to stay happy knowing that her father is a drug addict and this causes a lot of troubles. It can also be realized from the novel that Jules did not pay attention to Baby (O'Neill, pp. 1-352).

Michael

Michael Owen plays the role of a person who wants to analyze the nature of the truth. Therefore, it can be stated that, Michael was a person who was not quite sure of the nature of the truth. Because of this reason, he wanted to explore the nature of truth in order to understand the harsh realities that people. Michael is the person who explores truth because he considers it as a sophisticated phenomenon. Michael perceives that the way beyond truth is the path filled with hardships; the people who adapt the path of lie can easily choose the easy way out (Coe, pp. 1-512).

Did they succeed?

Baby

No, she could not succeed in her goal and objectives. She wanted to live her childhood, for as long as she could. She could not succeed in this objective because the time waits for none, everyone grows with the passage of time and gradually the childhood faded away. In fact, with the passage of time everything changes, the perception of an individual, the mentality and the physical appearance. The people who have passed the childhood phase of their lives can also realize that their perception about the world is also changed as in childhood they used to live in the dream world but when they grow older they are forced to face ...