Compare and contrast the characters of Sayuri and Lucy and the ways in which they deal with the situations in which they are placed.

Authors Avatar

Manal Siddiqui

13BY

Compare and contrast the characters of Sayuri and Lucy and the ways in which they deal with the situations in which they are placed.

Despite the obvious cultural differences between Sayuri and Lucy Honeychurch, there are more similarities in their circumstances than one might initially think. Both stories begin with them finding themselves out of their depth in a place that is unfamiliar to them, not only physically but also culturally.

Lucy is in Florence, a young girl who has not yet been moulded into the ideal young lady, and susceptible to the exotic values that Italy has to offer. Similarly Sayuri is in Kyoto, almost a different world from her home in a fishing village, and she is also a young impressionable child.

However where as Sayuri’s immaturity is physical- she is only nine years old- Lucy’s immaturity is mental. Having lived in a small community all her life, she has never tasted culture different to that prescribed to her by society, the culture that states what is acceptable and what is unacceptable for a woman to do, who should marry whom, and what occupations and past times are suitable for a person of a certain class to partake in, to name but a few of the restrictions that are the norm among the people of Summer street and the like. It is hard for Lucy to break free from these values as not only has she been brought up with them, but also she is going to be living with them for all her life.

Join now!

Sayuri is thrown into a situation, which is out of her control yet she displays more common sense and adaptability than one can imagine Lucy showing, should she have been in the same boat. Her determinedness and resourcefulness get her into trouble more than once but she is steadfast in getting back home and will not give up, a remarkable trait in some one so young and far away from home.

On the other hand Lucy displays a transferring of values that would not have been expected of her or indeed any one else who has not only had that ...

This is a preview of the whole essay