How Many Miles to Babylon Essay

Describe Alecs journey and discourse the valuable penetration or lessons that you gained through the survey of the subject of the journey?

The fresh how many stat mis to Babylon by Jennifer Johnson high spots Alec Moore’s tragic journey. We see his journey true childhood to adulthood. Interestingly. the fresh Begins at the terminal of Alec’s journey as he waits executing “because I am no officer & A ; a gentlemen they have given me my notebook. ink. write. paper” and comes full circle. Immediately we wonder how Alec person so high up in the war is being executed. so as we read on we begin to gain how his journey through life has left him stray and cold. returning to his prison cell at the stopping point of the novel. Despite Alec’s privileged background or instead because of it. I now realise that the bosom interrupting stoping was inevitable.

Having studied the supporters journey I have gained many penetrations into how stray kids can be despite holding a privileged background. isolation and command his female parent had over him was a major obstruction. with the support of friendly relationship obstructions can look meaningless. psychological science and Alec’s get bying schemes. the impact the journey had on the supporter and how people dealt with the injury of war otherwise.

Alec led a really controlled and confined life due to his female parents control and rein over him. Throughout the novel we see how Alec’s female parent has really small love for him which makes Alec the manner he is. Alec has a dysfunctional household and a cruel cold hearted female parent who shows no sense of maternally love towards him. He grew up as a alone immature male child “As a kid I was alone… I was isolated from environing kids of my ain age” . Alec one time said “if I were to be born once more I would take to be a castle.

They lead such joyful. public lives” unlike him. from this we can observe that Alec is really unhappy in his life. Despite Alecs privileged life with no deficit of material goods he was deprived love and compassion from his female parent. His parents were merely together for visual aspects and position. We know this from when Alec says “My father’s face would demo small emotion” . The penetration I gained from send him to this was that “money truly can non purchase you happiness” .

During the novel we see how isolation plays a major obstruction in Alec’s journey. Alec wasn’t allowed travel to school “he is delicate. Frederick my dear” From this quotation mark it is clear how controlled Alec is by Alicia and the power she has over her so. she isolates him. As we know his female parent controlled his life and had a large influence on his journey. Alec was cut off socially in many facets. Alicia was non happy about him doing friends this is clear when she sends Europe to halt his friendly relationship with Frederick. In her eyes it is an “unsuitable relationship” .

Alec’s female parent Alicia had a powerful upper manus over her boy. Whatever she wanted was done. Her orders were obeyed. It wasn’t until the terminal of the novel that we see Alec seeking to acquire back at his female parent which costs him his ain life. Alec went to war because his female parent wanted him to “I desire you to travel for all the right grounds every bit good as a few of the incorrect ones” . From this we can observe that Alicia has the last say in everything and is the determination shaper. She forced Alec to travel to war merely so she could tout to her adult females friends over tiffin about holding a boy in the war. But that didn’t work out every bit good every bit planned as Alec intentionally orchestrated his ain executing. Therefore Alicia couldn’t glee about her boy being off at war and most surely couldn’t state them how he died as this was something to be ashamed of in her eyes.

The power of friendly relationship between Jerry and Alec helped the supporter through his journey. The penetration I gained from this was friendly relationship is critical. it can assist you through some of the hardest things in life and we see this at first manus in the fresh “How Many Miles” . Alec for the first clip experienced love ; he had ne’er experienced this emotion before up to this point he was a really passionless character.

Alec and Jerry were so in sync and understood each other so good “the whipping of our Black Marias was like the checking wings of a swan” . Jerry and Alec were similar “tweedledum and tweedledee” . They both were highly close and really guiltless “ever had a swallow before? ’ I considered my opportunities of acquiring off with a prevarication and so agitate my head” . “I’d of idea you’d have been with a girl” . From this we can take that both of these characters were really guiltless and unfastened with each other. they have great trust in one another and can confide in each other.

Their friendly relationship was the lone thing Alec had ; they ne’er let each other down and ever supported one another. From my reading of the novel I learnt that Alec and Jerry ever had each other’s backs “of class I’ll speak for you but my voice is non really loud” . From this quotation mark it certifies that my above statement is true. With the support of Jerry on Alec’s journey. his obstructions of isolation. Alicia. Glendenning. no male parent figure and his Anglo/Irish category all seem meaningless and in ways we can see Alec’s life improve after he befriends Jerry. I gained a really valuable penetration that friendly relationship is critical in every walk of life and it truly can do jobs seem meaningless when you feel you have person else on your side willing to take the autumn with you.

I learnt a really valuable lesson on psychological science trough out this novel. From the really get downing right up until the terminal we see how distorted and oblique Alicia is. She is willing to set her lone child’s life at hazard by coercing him off to war. his sentiment does non count. The manner Alicia’s head maps is really interesting. I personally was engrossed with Alicia’s character. I had ne’er even considered the fact that one’s female parent could hold such a negative influence on her ain child’s life particularly in these fortunes where Alec’s mother present and the affluent background they had. Alicia besides deliberately sets out to upset her kid when she drops the bomb shell “Perhaps he were non your father” . This truly helps me understand how cunning and oblique Alec’s female parent is. I had ne’er even anticipated how cruel a female parent could be to her ain flesh and blood. She was so blunt and unworried.

I besides found it teasing on how Alec evoked his female parent. He obeyed her wish about traveling to war but intentionally left early so Alicia could non observe his going with the neighbors like she had planned. Besides how Alec did non compose to his female parent at the start. he rejected his female parent. Alec besides made certain that Alicia did non acquire her manner at the really terminal when he orchestrated his ain executing. He felt he had no more ground to populate. nil deserving to populate for “I love no life person” . This truly emphasises how Alec did non hold any love for his female parent. I learnt a valuable lesson on psychological science and an penetration into how Alec and Alicia feel about each other. How their relationship is non a usual mother/son type. Alec dealt with issues in his life a really different manner than most. he would seek his extreme best to disregard the job and bury it even happened.

Alec was like a kid in the manner he dealt with his jobs ; he didn’t stand up and confront the face job caput on like most work forces. The rubric “How Many Miles to Babylon” is a perfect illustration of this ; it is a baby’s room rime which hints to us that Alec is non really mature with his get bying schemes. He besides uses escape as a manner to barricade out the existent issue. a perfect illustration of this is his program to open up a siting school with Jerry. Which he knows deep down is non traveling to go on but forces himself to believe so. He focuses on the physical hurting of war non the world of it. Alec’s journey had a major impact on him. Throughout the novel we can see Alec’s character grow and mature. We see Alec connect with emotions we didn’t believe he had for illustration he felt love for the first clip. we know this from when Alec says after Jerry has died “ I love no life thing” .

From this we can observe that Alec had deep feelings for Alec as a friend. he loved him like a brother. Alec journey makes him more of life. he led a really secured and protected up conveying he did non cognize the immorality of this universe they lived in. In ways traveling to war helped him understand and acquire a better appreciation of life. Alec’s journey besides allows him to open up more. We see this chiefly with Jerry they express feelings and ideas to each other. As I mentioned above we saw him love and care for another human being but we besides saw him show choler “ I picked up the fire hook and round at the fire” . All in all this journey had a major affect on Alec in legion facets. but one got an penetration into how it allowed him to link with his feelings and allowed him to open up more.

In decision. after analyzing this novel I gained an penetration into many different facets of Alec’s life which I would ne’er hold considered before. I learnt how Jerry assisted Alec on his journey and that with a friendly relationship like that you get the feeling like you are in control and nil can halt you. I besides learnt a batch about how Alec and Alicia feel about each other after reading more into the novel.