Similarities and Differences between the Depictions of two C

A detailed Summary of Similarities and Differences between the Depictions of two C

The two characters, Tom Hauptman from Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (The Time-Traveler), and the speaker in Robert Browning's poem, "Porphyria's Lover", may easily be compared and contrasted. Once the reader can understand the two characters, it becomes evident that they are similar, yet easily contrastable. Tom and the speaker are similar in the way each feels towards their wife or lover, and in the way that external forces are able to keep the pairs of lover's apart. Yet, the two characters differ in terms of individual sanity and problem solving skills.

The depictions of the two characters, Tom and the speaker, are similar in the emotion each feels towards his significant other. Both Tom and the speaker sense deep eternal love for their loved ones. Tom's wife of many years, Mary, is his soul mate. His character is revealed to the reader as a man who worships his wife, which is quite apparent when he states "[God] died of malaria in a stinking little town in a stinking little banana republic called Pasala, and his name was Mary" (Robinson 38). In this quote, Tom compares

Mary to God, who Tom considers to be an all powerful and mighty being, as he is a minister.

The speaker in "Porphyria's Lover" illustrates his eternal lo

In this way, both men are shown as feeling intense and sincere emotion for their significant others, and are similarly depicted in this respect.

ve for his lover within the poem; "When glided in Porphyria straight" (6) is an excerpt from the poem which illustrates the speakers' love for Porphyria as he describes her as 'gliding', showing the reader he views her angelically. In line seven, the speaker announces that Porphyria "shut out the cold and the storm," indicating that he views the cold and the storm as two separate entities. The cold, in this case, symbolizes the coldness of his feelings or heart when his lover is not by his side, and as soon as she enters the room, that coldness vanishes. Another instance where the speaker indicates his feelings for Porphyria is when he states that her love for him "made my heart swell, and still it grew" (34). This illustrates to the reader his continually growing love and adoration of Porphyria.

The speaker also feels sorry for himself, which the reader can witness in the beginning of the poem. With lines such as "The rain set early in tonight/ The sullen wind was soon awake/ It tore the elm-tops down for spite/ And did it's worst to vex the lake/ I listened with heart fit to break" (1-5), the speaker projects his mood through his description of his surroundings and atmosphere. The speaker is using pathetic fallacy to relate his mood to the weather outside his cottage. The reader can surmise that he is feeling sorry for himself until Porphyria enters his dwelling, where his mood changes; "Be sure I looked up at her eyes/ Happy and proud; at last I knew/ Porphyria worshiped me: surprise/ Made my heart swell, and still it grew" (31-33). In this same way, Tom feels sorry for himself because he is desperate to feel like he belongs and is tired of feeling pain. The speaker feels sorry for himself at the opening of the poem because he is all alone and is saddened about his situation with Porphyria, which hinders them from being openly together. In this way the two characters are similarly depicted.

way that they emotionally feel towards their wife or lover. Because they openly describe their feelings and emotions, the reader is able to understand the deep emotion each feels for his partner. Similarly, in the way each of the two characters are portrayed as melancholy and sorrowful, the reader is able to make another comparison. Because both characters do not hesitate in describing their predicaments, we may observe that the two find themselves in similar situations once more. However, opposing these similarities, the two characters, Tom and the speaker of the poem, are quite unlike in the manner in which they demonstrate their sanity. Because the speaker kills his lover, and because he does not have a valid perception of reality, he is insane. Contrastingly, Tom is an average man who goes about an average life, and does not allow the reader to witness any strange thoughts or actions, assuring the reader he is a sane man. The two men also differ in the way they go about solving their own particular dilemmas because Tom is able to come to terms with his problems and begin a new life, while the speaker takes another's life, his lover's in fact, to solve his predicament. In this way, the reader can observe that even though the characters of Tom Hauptman (Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, The Time-Traveler) and the spe

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Approximate Word count = 2276
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English