Comparing Two Characters In The Novel Step by Wicked Step

     After studying the novel "Step by Wicked Step", I learned that the novel was about five school children that are different in many ways but have one thing in common. They all come from a dysfunctional family. All their parents faced problems with each other and in the end split up and go their own separate ways. Out of the six characters from the novel, the two the characters who shares a lot of things in common are Richard Clayton Harwick and Colin. They have both similarities and differences between them which can be observed clearly throughout the story.

     First of all, Richard and Colin loves their fathers a lot but they were separated. The death of Richard's father separated them and Richard missed his father a lot since then. He would visit his father's grave and spend some time there. 'Sometimes I sit beside my father's grave and run my fingers over the letters of his name...' page 18. However, in Colin's situation, he was separated from his step-father when his mother just took him away and left his step-father. It was so sudden for him that he did not even realize what happened. His step-father was also not aware that they were going to leave. Since then, Colin missed his step-father everyday and could not stop thinking about him. Richard lost his father forever but Colin's father was still alive and Colin has been searching for him ever since. 'Enough to go back and find him.' page 61.

     Other than that, the similarity that Richard and Colin shared is that they were both ignored by their mothers. After their separation from their fathers, they did not get any attention from their mothers. When Richard was treated badly by Reverend Coldstone, his mother's new husband, she did not even defend him. As for Colin, his mother was not aware of how much Colin missed his step-father. She was too busy working at the school canteen and doing household chores which made him feel like she doesn't care.'...how I feel doesn't matter quite so much'. Both of them did not feel their mother's love.

     Last but not least, both of them wanted to run away as they thought it would be able to make things work. Richard ran away from home with the hope that he would make life more pleasant for everyone in his family. Colin on the other hand plans to run away to find his step-father as he really misses him. In the end, Richard realized that running away does not solve any problems but only make things worst while Colin still plans on saving money to search for his step-father. 'I'm saving up now....enough to go and find him.' page 61.

     In conclusion, the two characters suffered much pain and sorrow when they could not be with their father anymore. Not only that, they had to go through it on their own as no one cares about them and about how they felt. There was nobody to advise them on what to do. We should be aware that running away does not solve any problems. In fact, it may affect the people around us. Therefore, we need to think wisely before making a serious decision in life.