Crabbe Esssay
By Arabhi Nirmalan-Nathan
Crabbe exceptionally demonstrates the awakening of the human spirit. This is also a book that opens the doors and gives you a clear view of a young mans blurry vision of his future.
The book Crabbe written by William Bell is about a young man running away from what seemed to be the perfect life, in order to find himself. In doing so he encounters a very different life from the one he lead. Three key points that show he grows as a person are him learning not to rely on anyone else, him learning not to only think about himself and lastly him learning how to let someone else give him guidence.
During the devolepment of Crabbe finding himself he learns different lessons. One such lesson is not to rely on anyone else, there are some examples in the book which lead me to believe that this was a lesson he learned. When he runs away from his house he had no help or assistence planning for the trip. Also Mary puts Crabbe to the test by taking him to a place in the forest, she gives him a compass and bearings in order to find his way back. He did all by himself.Another example is in the end of the story when he decides to live with his parents again, only this time he will work for his own money and take care of himself. Pampered at birth and waited on there after Frankline Crabbe was used to relying on whoever put up with "the spoiled little rich kid." Everything was different now he was doing all his own work.
While striving to achieve a sence of finding himself in the forest Crabbe with arms wide open grabs hold of some independence. One example of this is after camping out his first night he is attacked by a bear, but he survives.Crabbe gains independence knowing he can survive much more if he survived that. Another reason I feel this is a lesson learned is after spending so much time with Mary he decides that he can stay with her through winter. Franklin was that confident in himself and his bond with Mary.Also when Mary is caught by drunken men, Crabbe has to work up the nerve to save her. He does save her like sleeping beuty being awakened with a simple kiss by her prince. Letting your inner strength out can make a person float, Crabbe was soaring high with his new found self discovery.
Crabbe also experiences leaning how not to be selfish. One example of this is he learns to listen to others who are trying to help him. To give a better understanding of this before Crabbe would cuss out anyone who would ever try to give him guidence. He acted as if they were robbers who were trying to steel something. The truth of the matter is they were only trying to stop him from robbing his own innocence. Crabbe learns to listen to Mary. Another point is Crabbe finally shows positive emotions towards another human being. This is when he expresses his feelings for Mary and admits to being in love with her. There is one more point and that is Crabbe accepts the fact that his parents want him back, one guesses it is maybe deep down he feels him and they deserve another chance to work things out. "Waiting around for someone else to fix your problems is a fools game." Words spoken to Crabbe by the only mentor that ever made a difference in his life. The forest and Mary teach him what he needs to know to survive not only in the wilderness but also the rest of his life.
It turns out the most promising life for Crabbe was one that would originate in a small campsite in the middle of no where. Franklin Crabbe did find himself he enhanced his independence by going beyond what he along with many others expected of him. Him learning to not rely on anyone else came with Crabbe realising all you need to be able to do is stand on your own to feet, without anyone there to catch you if you fall. Guidence is something Crabbe was begging hopelessly for and it came in the form of a beautiful, intelligent and kind hearted woman. All these transitions from disturbed and hopeless to disciplined, understanding and in control came with Crabbe running away and finding the him he didn't know existed. Although it did and in the end the him that never was seen showed Franklin the life he had always wanted.
