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
This angers Tom and the second element of his suffering begins. He is an average man who has a typical life. Although he momentarily considers it would be a smart idea to hold up Callahan's bar, he comes to his senses and realizes what a mistake he is making. In this way, the two character's depictions contrast each other. By observing the two characters depictions, the reader may realize any similarities and differences between the two. Tom is faced with dealing with his past, and with help from the right people, is able to turn himself around and begin a new and pleasing life. Once Tom returns home, he feels as though he has traveled through time because ten years has gone by in the world without informing him of what happened in between. As a result of this, the reader may easily assume that the speaker is not of similar status and would therefore never be allowed to be openly together with Porphyria. This fellow just looked more depressed. The external force keeping them apart is social status. The external forces in his life leave him to carry on alone, with no wife, friends, job, or knowledge about the world he is now placed into once again. Because they openly describe their feelings and emotions, the reader is able to understand the deep emotion each feels for his partner. Yet because Tom illustrates to the reader that even though he is distraught and miserable, he remains a sane man and let's those around him help Tom to overcome his problems. 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). Tom agrees to spend the month in a "little fly-speck banana republic called Pasala" (39), and therefore forfeits his own intentions and interests for those of his wife's.
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Acceptance Essays
