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Obstacles In A Bridge To Wiseman's Cove

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In the novel “A Bridge to Wiseman’s cove” which is written by an author called James Moloney. It is a very interesting story about a dysfunctional family for young adults. The story is based on two characters including Harley Matt and the most important character Carl Matt who is suffering from physical and emotional problems after his mother's disappearance on one of her holidays. The question to be answered is, “What were the obstacles that Carl Matt faced in the book A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove and how does he overcome them?” this is a very difficult question due to the fact that he had to face many obstacles but somehow manages to survive all of them leaving him with problems. A normal boy his age would be facing obstacles like studying …show more content…

The first crime Harley committed was in chapter 5 where he steals from a local shop. In this chapter, Carl is told by his aunt that Harley is his responsibility after Aunt Beryl hit Harley three times before Carl stepped in to stop her. Later Carl was forced to either stop school or start working otherwise if he doesn’t stop school Harley would be put in an Oran phage. In chapter 16 Harley who was in a fight rips off an earring of the other kids ear. Carl was caught between the two (Aunt Beryl and Harley) he was there to protect him. Which suspended him for till next term. In chapter 18 he sprays painted which got him it to trouble again with Aunt Beryl who hit at first then later in the next chapter chained Harley like a dog with Bruce. Carl overcame this obstacle when Joy Duncan started taking care of Harley. This was why taking care of Harley was one of the obstacles he had faced through the novel because If it hadn’t for Carl, Harley would have ended up in a foster care home or even worse in a juvenile …show more content…

Carl’s is very aware of his body as seen throughout the novel.It says in one of the chapters that he is too self-conscious to swim, afraid of what others might think and say. In page 44 there is a quote, He wore a t-shirt as a paltry ruse against public humiliation. Carl would always but himself down when it somehow was related to his body and would compare on why his body to the others peoples body. In Birds of Prey, he was ashamed of his fleshy bulges in front of the war-painted lifesavers and the little kids who might point at him and say “hey mommy, look at the whale.”At the start of the book, Carl described himself as a bloated pincushion on sturdy legs.He started overcoming this obstacle when he and Justine started talking because how similar both of them were. He realized that If Justine wasn’t afraid of her own skin he shouldn’t be either. This was finally put into action when the Duncan family, Justine, Harley and Carl went to the pools.There Carl removes his t-shirt and swims with the girls it is a huge turning point for him.This was why I included Carl body image It seemed to play an important role in seeing him get over his

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