Introduction
This paper seeks to analyze two characters from a fiction novel by known as the Orphan Train written by Christine Baker. She tells of the story of a young girl (Molly) whose parents died in an accident and her experience with an old woman (Vivian). Although they meet in an appropriate circumstance where Molly was serving a punishment imposed on her by the school authority for stealing a book from the library, Molly finally meets a person whose story is similar to that of her. As such, this paper will contrast and compare the two from the current and past setting as portrayed in the book.
Contrasts
In the novel, Vivian is described as a 92-years old woman who was living in a big room alone. On the other hand, Molly is a young girl who is undertaking her education. This implies that she is in her teen age. As such, the two characters have a major difference in terms of age where Vivian is extremely aged while Molly is a very young girl. In addition to this, it is clear that in the current setting of the Novel, Vivian is a very rich woman while Molly is struggling with poverty bearing in mind that she is an orphan
Similarities
Whereas the two characters show critical differences, it is evident that both of them come from a poor background. In fact, it is established that during childhood they were orphaned but due to different circumstances. This is one of the reasons as to why Molly concludes that the story of Vivian’s childhood is very similar to that of hers. In addition, Vivian’s and Molly’s lives were both full of challenges and difficulties. On one side, Vivian was despised and harassed by those around her business while Molly survives on government aid at school.
Conclusion
In regard to the inherent differences, Vivian is depicted as an old woman who is currently very rich but living alone while Molly is described as a young poor girls whose orphan life is full of struggle. However, the analysis shows that the two were orphaned at a very young age and they incurred critical life difficulties in their early lives.
