Comparison of a New Novel and a New Friendship

Comparison of a New Novel and a New Friendship

A new friend is always a mystery just like a new novel. There is the cover which everybody can see and judge but the content takes time to uncover. The process of unraveling the mysteries of a novel is similar to the process of knowing a new friend in depth. One cannot possibly tell the next thing they will find out about a new friend or a novel that they have not read ahead of time. Discovery is part of the process. New characteristics are shown as friends get to know each other. Most of the time friends have to tolerate characteristics in each other that people cannot tolerate or understand how the friends get along.

Friendship can be compared to a new novel on the lines of characters and their traits. A new friendship entails finding out new characters of the friend just like in a novel new characters are understood as the story unfolds. The characters are supposed to play a given role in the development of the novel. The same way the new friends acquired serve a given purpose in the friendship. The new friends could help bring out the best aspects of an individual’s personality (Steinbeck, 18). There are ways in which people relate with friends based on their personal characters and how they match with their friends’ characters as well. In a new novel, however, the reader does not have to relate to their favorite character’s personality. A friendship can potentially lead to bad behavior while a novel cannot possibly influence an individual to engage in bad behavior. It may however give the reader a new profile as they are immersed into the culture of the novel. As the novel proceeds, the reader gets a better understanding of other people and cultures. However, any activities that one may engage in as a consequence of reading the novel has undergone a proper and complete decision making process as opposed to activities influenced by a new friend.

Sociologically, a new friendship is dictated by the environment in which the people exist. A new novel develops the setting and introduces the characters. The two scenarios are not similar because the novel is a controlled environment where free will is not given much room to thrive. On the other hand, despite people being in a similar environment, their characters are made distinct by free will (Carrigan, 2014). People behave the way they deem fit irrespective of what the environment requires, the society is diversified by such characters. The new novel is fed the plot and how it turns out depends on the creativity of the author. However, friends get along based on their individual characters and needs in the society.

Psychologically, friends are made out of the need to escape loneliness, the need to be with people who have similar characteristics as the individuals as well as having a common history among other factors. Friendships are always based on one of these factors (Pisharody, 2016). A new novel on the other side can be read by an individual escaping loneliness and boredom. A new novel and a new friendship differ because a new novel cannot come from the individual having a history similar to it. There are no common grounds for the novel and the reader except the reader wanting to unravel the mysteries as put down by the author.

To conclude, a new novel and a new friendship have some similarities and differences. They can be similar in terms of being mysteries that are unraveled with time while they can differ in terms of the environments in which they thrive. A friendship is a story within an uncontrolled environment, something that the novel cannot achieve. A novel is less likely to have negative effects on individuals as opposed to friendships where the individual has no control over circumstances.

References

Carrigan, M. (2014, February 12). The Sociology of Friendship. Retrieved from The Sociological Imagination: http://sociologicalimagination.org/archives/14889

Pisharody, A. V. (2016, July 3). What is the psychology behind friendship? Retrieved from Quora: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-psychology-behind-friendship

Steinbeck, J. (18, August 2016). A Comparison of the Friendship and Isolation in the Novel of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Retrieved from Paperforu: http://paperforu.com/a-comparison-of-the-friendship-and-isolation-in/

Grading Forms – Week 1
Assignment: Comparison-Contrast Topic Selection
	Points Possible	Points Earned	Comments
	2	2
Topic selection from the list or approved topic by instructor
A discussion of your application of your writing process and chosen prewriting method (freewriting, brainstorming, listing, etc.) to begin exploring and writing about your topic.	3	0
350 to 700  words	1	1
	2	2
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Subtotal	8
Late Penalty	10% per day		submitted on time
Total	8	5	Good work on the Week 1 assignment!