It is frequently seen in many fictional novels that the main character in a story undergoes a noticeable change. In the novel The Hotel New Hampshire, by John Irving, the main character John Berry undergoes a strong change in his feelings for his sister Franny Berry. When he is a younger boy he does anything he can to love and protect her from the hardships she endures. These feelings become divergent from his old feelings when he is in his early adulthood, for his love and protection for her is a different kind, that of infatuation. It is this concept along with its consequences that make this powerful novel of John Irving's what it was created to be.
             The childhood of John Berry was one filled with stress and confusion. He has quite emotional feelings for his sister Franny, but these feelings are ones that are normal for a brother to have for his sister. He is very close to her in the sense that they did almost everything with each other, as they were always spending time together. John would go as far as doing anything to protect her, even if was trying to physically defend her in a fight he knew he couldn't win. When the bully football player, Chipper Dove, tried to separate John and Franny so that he could get his chance to sexually assault her, John said to him "She says with me... Franny stays with me" (Irving p.99). While this may not sound like much, it truly was a brazen attempt, coming from a smaller and weaker child, to verbally protect his beloved sister. Another example of his brotherly love toward his sister, in the beginning of the novel, is after she was assaulted, when she was sullen and depressed. The book says, "I listened to Franny, drawing her bath. 'I love you,' I whispered at the locked door" (Irving p.114). At this point John is doing his best, as a brother, to put some more joy in her stride. He knows that she had gone through a horrible experience and he is doing hi...