Rite of Passage Comparison Essay
In order to accomplish or gain something one normally has to pass a challenge that may require many different qualities. Throughout the short story, "Brothers Are The Same" by Beryl Markham, a young Masai boy, Temas, is in conflict with his own self-thoughts. He's not sure he can accomplish his goal of slaying a lion to become an unoto (junior warrior). A similar situation comes to another young boy named Jerry, from the short story, "Through The Tunnel" by Doris Lessing. He is determined to go through an underwater tunnel that he saw some older French boys going through. He wants to accomplish this goal before another summer passes by. While the qualities needed to accomplish the tasks are similar, what is needed to be done, and how each individual changes after accomplishing their challenge is different. In both stories, both youths need courage and strength to get their goal done sufficiently. Both youths, when not facing their task, have these attributes, but when the real "battle" comes everything changes. In "Brothers Are The Same", Temas knows that to be able to slay the lion, he must have lots of courage and be strong. In dreams he had, he "...confronted the lion with casual courage and....with steadiness born o
f brave contempt -- and always he had won the swift duel with half a smile on his lips" (Markham 361). When he fights the lion in his dream he has all the qualities that are needed but when the situation comes in real life this differs. Temas starts to fight the lion and, "Now it was different. Now as he watched the place where the real lion lay, he had no smile...He was Masai, and legend said that no Masai had ever feared. Yet in his mind Temas now trembled" (Markham 361). Also in the story "Through The Tunnel", Jerry knows that in able to go through the tunnel he must have the courage to actually venture through and also have the breath strength so he can stay under the water for that long. The first time that Jerry went to the tunnel he was scared that there were octopuses' tentacles and giant masses of seaweed so he retreated. Then he thought of how would it even be possible to hold his breath for that long a period of time. Then finally, after a couple of week's preparation he felt he was ready. Now that the task was finally upon him he got scared again and thought "...he would return next summer, perhaps, when he had another year's growth in him - then he would go through the hole" (Lessing 382). Finally Jerry got enough courage to go through the tunnel. So both youths had to have different personal qualities in order to accomplish their tasks. After each bo
Some common words found in the essay are:
It's French, Brothers Temas, Finally Jerry, Tunnel Jerry, Doris Lessing, Markham Masai, , markham 361, stories youths, qualities accomplish tasks, learns lesson, qualities accomplish, rite passage, story tunnel, situation comes, jerry tunnel, accomplish goal, fight lion,
Approximate Word count = 934
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
