The Narrow Road To The Deep North Comparison

The film, Traces of The Trade: A Story From The Deep North, by Katrina Browne, is a truly subjective documentary that captures traces the routes and past of the D’Wolf family from Bristol, Rhode Island. Browne and nine other family members went out to explore her ancestor’s lives that at the time were protuberant New England slave traders. During her journey, she embarked in Triangle Trade, which included the illegal trading of human beings in order for profit. This was not only illegal, but was also cruel.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and Song of Myself by (author) follow two diverse men on two diverse journeys that led them to self discovery. As one was forced and the other was a chosen path, they both served the same purpose. As these two men embarked on their journeys a lesson shone through. We were taught to accept what comes out way, positive or negative, because every journey is a lesson and it can lead us to self

Convey adds the saying, “The road to anywhere is really a life to nowhere.” To be headed in the right direction, Convey suggests that we need to be selective with the people that are let into our lives, make sure they have our best interest in mind, and then do not be afraid to borrow strength from those people to get to your final destination. The habit is also about understanding that it is easy to trail off in another direction, but also about understanding how to get back on track. It is implied that to get where we want to go in life, mistakes must be embraced, other people’s prejudgments must be ignored, and learn to never settle. “Begin with the End in Mind” had an impact on me because it is a habit I need to focus on. To implement the habit in my own life, I will write down goals, think about what I need to achieve the goals, and work hard to develop qualities I want but

Sheryl Sandberg once said, “Turning feelings into words can help us process and overcome adversity.” The meaning of this quote, talks about how venting hidden thoughts and feelings by external means, will prove effective if confronted with adversity in life. There is a certain courage required to write about one’s self; in the end the risk often pays off. In the film, “Finding Forrester”, the director Gus Van Sant employs clever use of character development to suggest ideas about the human ability or lack thereof to cope with adversity in one’s life. The movie suggests that in order to effectively cope with adversity, one must utilize their innermost feelings to make sense of their life, leading to self-identity and self-fulfilment.

To begin with, the theme of self-discovery is unmistakable in this novel. Discovering one’s self is an important

Society often fail to understand and see the mental pain that individuals carry throughout their lives. Some people bear its burden, while others suffer greatly because of it, to the point of choosing self-destruction. The narrators from “The Gargoyle” (Davidson) and “Walk to Morning” (Boyden) both experience this pain that ultimately sets them on a course to a deep pit. They survive their near-deaths and later encounter unique life-changing people. As a result, they become better individuals.

Have you ever wondered if the ordeals you went through could become a “rite of passage?” These ordeals could be a big event that could change a person’s entire foundation, such as marriage, or it can be something small, like being inspired to cook because of feedback. The novella, “The Body” written by Gordie Lachance, elaborates about the author’s childhood where he and his friends went through an ordeal that is a rite of passage. This ordeal was considered a journey for the boys as they believed in the frame and glory once they found the corpse of Ray Browser, a young boy around the same age as the author and his friends. The journey started out as an easygoing adventure, a playful type that could be considered as an innocent boy running in the park playing tag with his buddies. However, the journey changes into a more “serious business” for the author and his friends have to face many circumstances where it becomes flight-or-fight situations. In the novella, Gordie reveals many insights into the characteristics of his friends and himself

William F Buckley quoted “If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey most of us would never start at all”. This quote relates to journeys, specifically to inner journeys with the intention that many journeys are difficult and if individuals knew how difficult the journey was going to be, then most of us would not even commence the journey. A journey is simply a movement from one place to another. Physical journeys are gateways to inner journeys, which is a journey of the mind and spirit. Inner journeys take place when an individual experiences events or is involved in relationships that act as a catalyst to gain greater understanding about themselves and the world. Inner journeys can be

“finding out who one is, what he is, what he likes, what he doesn’t like, what is good for him and what bad, where he is going and what his mission is – opening oneself up to himself […] It means identifying defenses, and after defenses have been identified, it means finding the courage to give them up.”

One must form his own identity by himself, not allowing external forces to prevail, or he will detrimentally entangle himself in real and imagined conflicts. Throughout the novel’s beginning,

As individuals, when faced with gruelling or traumatic experiences, we are often compelled to feel a sense of loneliness and seclusion. However, it is precisely these times of isolation, through reflection and a willingness to embrace the situation that can force us to reconsider the original outlooks we hold, often resulting in a greater appreciation for life and a deeper understanding of who we truly are. This idea is clearly communicated in the feature film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ (1999)

Some point in our lives we get lost and search for destiny and hope. This lost can be a search for identity, emotions or decisions. Yet, some people find their paths out while others get more lost as days and years pass. But, do we really find a path out to success and security? Maybe we will always be lost or even born lost. The novel “Timbuktu” by Paul Auster introduces a long journey of a dog that is searching for a path out of his loss of his owner and identity. The author uses literary elements such as conflict, pathos and characterization that creates mood of loneliness, need of identity and reality that contributes to the book as a whole.

Deep within, following a true awareness which is inner self, is a driving force to fulfil the goals. Though there might be potential influence which is inevitable, people should not deny what they have already recognised. The females in Hamlet and Death of a Salesman seem to hide from inner self and deny or did not recognise their reality in order to keep the peace, but fail at reaching their goals.

The journey of self-discovery of identity and culture is a very challenging process because it involves discovering and revealing the good and bad experiences that shaped us as human beings. The effects of self-discovery includes: happiness, disappointment, clarity, enlightenment, and even self-fulfillment. However, it also entails fear, doubts, confusions and misunderstandings. Most importantly, it also means finding our ultimate purpose of life. According to Abraham Maslow’s arguments, in “The Need to Know and the Fear of Knowing,” boils down to finding our inner and outer knowledge of oneself. He concludes that “all factors that permit courage, freedom and boldness will thereby also free our need to know.” He argues that when we safely release ourselves from unnecessary fear and pain, it is one way of freeing ourselves from mental and emotional traps. He asserts that by bravely re-visiting all our choices of life, digging deep into our childhood, and even exposing our unpleasant experiences will eventually make us wiser and stronger. He emphasizes that each approach could be culturally diverse and is also based on individual’s needs. For example: In “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston argues that a ghost haunts her for publicly revealing the family’s secret about her aunt disgraceful past. She recreates the events of her life, both imaginary and factual stories to help her better understand the Chinese culture as well as to figure out what part from her identity is

This can be echoed through what Kichijiro says “ If I was born in another time, I would have been a good Christian”. It is also, in Japan, that Rodrigues indulges in the dialogue with Inoue. Endo uses an allegory where Inoue deems Japan unfit for Christianity and encourages him to apostatize, “ I do not view Christianity as an evil religion”, Inoue says. Furthermore, when Rodrigues encounters Ferreira he echoes the thoughts of Inoue, he says “ I have labored in this mission for twenty years … our religion does not take root in this country”, Kichijiro also refers to himself as a “weak shoot” that “will never grow no matter what you do”. His resolve begins to fade due to the treatment he receives whilst in captivity, ironically it is when he is well treated that he feels the most vulnerable to