The Journey By Estevan Character Analysis

Every story has to have an element of “The Journey” within it. this is the most important plot pattern archetype in literature. The journey in a novel or story isn’t always an actual movement from one place to another; the journey can be internal (mental/emotional). Often the journey can be represented as either a struggle or a desire to achieve a goal and most stories start off with the main character in search of something.. In the three novels read this summer we see this archetype, both internal and external journeys. While these three novels possess similarities in their journeys, they are also unique in their own way. The main similarity about these novels is the physical journey they all endure. All of these stories travel the United States in search of something, they end up experiencing things in different places of the U.S. In the Bean Trees, Taylor is dead set on leaving her rural Kentucky home and avoiding pregnancy, something that most teenagers end up being in her hometown. This caused her to save up and buy a car, then drive until she runs out of gas. This is similar to the Glass Castle because the Walls family is constantly moving from place to place in search of a place to settle, but because of the father’s drinking problem and paranoia of organized society, things tend to fall apart. The book is separated into four sections recounting the places they stayed. The last book, A Walk Across America, is about a young man named Peter who has a longing to rediscover what America is all about. Peter struggles to decide whether or not it is worth staying in America and is in a constant battle he can not make sense of with a hollowness inside. He has tried all sorts of things like drugs, beer, and college but it only intensifies his loneliness, so he decides to go on a walk from New York to Washington D.C. to answer his questions about America and to get to know America. Although the physical journey is similar, there are major differences between them. Peter in A Walk Across America has a set journey with a specific goal I mentioned earlier. Taylor in The Bean Trees did not have a set destination only high hopes heading west stopping only when her car runs out of gas. Their struggles were similar though because they struggled with money and food while traveling, also they had only one companion, Peter’s dog and Taylor’s adoptive daughter, Turtle. The Walls family and their journey was entirely different because instead of having a destination, the journey was their lives. They were constantly moving …show more content…
Peter, while traveling lost his dog Cooper which had a huge impact on him. With Cooper gone, Peter realized how much he had changed throughout his walk. He longed to be in cities and with people because he was walking alone. While in the Bean Trees there was a cast of strong females in the book, one male Estevan had an important role in Taylor’s life. When Estevan was required to leave, she was devastated. She told her mother that the she had just lost someone she loved and she would never see him again. It was then she realized that Estevan was never hers to have, but she learned that she had hit her low point and survived. The number “1-800-THE-LORD” was always a backup plan in case she hit rock bottom and failed, she discerned that her friends are her “fountain of faith” and the number was not necessary. This maturation Taylor has comes from her loss, much like Peter. Jeannette also experiences loss throughout her entire childhood, she was constantly having to give up all she had because of her parents mistakes. At first, I do not think she saw it that way, but later and into adulthood she comes to this realization. Her main loss was that of her childhood, because of her father’s drinking and her mother’s inability to hold a stable job, she was forced into maturing rapidly. She attempted to budget for her family, she took care of her siblings, and she fended for herself for most of her life. This loss still seems to haunt Jeannette even into