Many stories contain characters who possess character traits that we admire or despise. Identify a hero, heroine or villain from at least two texts on your comparative course and compare which character makes a better role model, and why. Support your answer with reference to your chosen texts.
Plan:
- Par 1: Introduction
- Par 2: Point 1-Bill
- Par 3: Link phrase
- Par 4: Point 1-Andy
- Par 5: Address Question
- Par 6: Point 2-Bill
- Par 7: Link Phrase
- Par 8: Point 2-Andy
- Par 9: Address Question
- Par 10: Point 3- Bill
- Par 11: Link Phrase
- Par 12: Point 3-Andy
- Point 13- Address question and Conclusion
The texts I have studied are The Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. The heroes I am going to talk about are Bill Furlong and Andy Dufresne. I think that they are both excellent role models but I think that Bill Furlong is a better role model.
Bill is a great role model because at the beginning of the text, we see him helping the young Sinnot boy who was out foraging for sticks. Bill gives him whatever change he has in his pocket to help him and Eileen criticises him for it when he gets home. She says that it is the father’s fault for drinking all their money and she has no empathy for them. Bill is much more empathetic and shows kindness and compassion towards the young boy.
This is very like Andy in the Shawshank Redemption when he manages to get beers for his fellow inmates on their roofing job.
The warden sends Hadley and the inmates on a roofing job and Andy overhears Hadley telling the other officers that he has got an inheritance from his brother and that the taxman is going to get most of it. Andy cooly says to him, ‘do you trust your wife?’ Hadley loses his temper and hangs Andy over the roof and threatens to drop him. Andy explains that if he gives the money to his wife, he will pay no tax. He says that he will do the paperwork if his co-workers get three beers each. Andy doesn’t take any beers but is happy to have helped the other men. Just like Bill, he puts other people first and he cares about others.
I think based on these points that Bill is the better role model as he gave away money he could not afford to help a young, innocent child. Andy did a good deed but the money is more important to the Sinnot boy than the beers are to the men.
Another example of what a great role model Bill is, is when he finds the young girl locked in the shed in the convent. He takes her inside and goes to speak to Mother Superior. Many people would not have done what Bill did as he knows how powerful the Catholic Church is. When he rings the doorbell, he realises that he has started something that he cannot back out of. When Mother Superior tells him that the girls were playing hide and seek, Bill realises how bad life in the convent is. When he tells Eileen about it, she tells him to ignore it but Bill is a great role model because he can’t forget about what he saw and he is reminded of what life could have been like for his mother had it not been for the kindness of Mrs Wilson.
This is similar to Andy when he creates a library and helps Tommy to read and pass his exams.
Andy wants to build a new library to help the inmates and decides to write a letter a day to the state authorities, requesting money for a new library. He does this for a couple of years and they finally give in and give him the money. He then writes two letters a day for even more funds. He uses the library to help young inmates like Tommy to pass their high school exams. Like Bill, Andy does this to help others with no benefit for himself.
Again Bill is the better role model as he is risking everything by going against the Catholic Church. Andy does great work for the prisoners but there is no personal cost for him, unlike Bill, who could put his daughters’ education at risk.
The final reason that Bill is a great role model is because he saves Sarah from the convent on Christmas Eve, despite all the threats, bribes and warnings. He makes the decision to go back to the convent and again Sarah is locked in the shed. He picks Sarah up and carries her home through the streets as people look on. He does this even though his daughters might not get into the secondary school, his business will suffer and his wife will be angry with him. He shows that doing the right thing is more important than looking after yourself.
This reminds me of Andy in the film when he escapes and brings down Warden Norton.
Not only does Andy escape and run off with the warden’s money but he tries to make the lives of the prisoners better by sending a file with evidence of Norton’s crimes to a newspaper. Andy didn’t have to do this but wanted to do the right thing. Viewers get to see Hadley be taken away by the police and we see the panic in Norton’s eyes as he grabs a gun and kills himself. Andy did all this to protect the other inmates in Shawshank and ensure justice for Tommy.
Again, I believe that Bill is the better role model as he had so much to lose and the book ends with us not knowing the consequences of what he has just done. On the other hand, Andy heads off to Mexico to begin a new life and suffers no consequences for what he has done. Bill did the right thing despite all the consequences he will face.