Literature - Comparing Two Characters

Based on the novel I studied, Step by Wicked Step, by Anne Fine, there are many characters that share distinct contrasts and similarities in their actions and general persona. The characters I have chosen to compare are Richard and Colin.

            The obvious similarity is that they are both children that come from broken homes, with both of their fathers being unavailable to help their children for a majority of each of their stories. Both of them had a strong bond with their fathers, making them at times inseparable. The difference is that Richard’s father passed away, while Colin is still out there somewhere. Richard has lost all hope with reuniting with his father, while Colin made it his mission to find his father, saying, ‘One day, I’m going to have enough to go back and find him.’ 

            Besides that, both of them have mothers that ignored them. In Richard’s case, his mother did not try and help or defend Richard and allowed Reverend Coldstone to abuse him. Colin’s mother was quite oblivious to the fact that her son was mourning the death of his father because she was too busy attending to the household chores and her career. Both of these mothers should have been the most supportive people in the world in that instance because a broken family is a very bad environment for a child to be in.

            Finally, both of them had the same idea, run away from home. Richard and Colin were convinced that, them running away from home would solve the problems that they faced. Richard ran away to make life better for his mother and sister, with that having the opposite effect in the end. Colin however, wanted to run away in order to reunite with his step-father, saving up money and everything to aid his search, 'I'm saving up now....enough to go and find him.'

            In conclusion, even with all the similarities these characters have, they encounter very different paths. Both characters embody bravery and fear while coming out on opposite ends by the end. What we can learn from this is that we must be careful making a decision because it could have one of many different outcomes and we would have to pray that it is a good one.