The Way Of The Cross

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Formal Essay Joshua Nguyen The Way of the Cross The Way of the Cross, a short story about a group of pilgrims embarking on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is a superb story that clearly portrays dramatic vitality that is easily believable and reflects issues faced in everyday life. This is achieved by the realistic and serious location of Jerusalem, the flawed characters and the real-life problems that they come across on their journey. To begin with, the short story “The Way of the Cross” displays dramatic vitality because of the realistic location of Jerusalem, a holy city known world wide, and so a sense of down to earth realism is affected onto the reader. By the location, the reader is informed that the story is not a made up one, location wise. Dramatic vitality is also achieved by the chaotic history of Jerusalem. The bloody conflict between the Muslims and the crusaders, ending in the city of Jerusalem, inspires a sense of awe and respect in the present day pilgrims. This is enforced by the multitude of nuns and holy figures shown bowing and worshipping at the holy places around Jerusalem in the story. The quote “ I suddenly found myself being swept away amidst a group of nuns and some holy priests as they stopped to bow at one of the holy churches in the city”, also reinforces the realism and dramatic vitality of the short story. Furthermore the characters in The Way of the Cross also help to display dramatic vitality as they are all flawed in some way or other. Reverend Babcock for example feels that he has to live up to the standards of the sick vicar and so his weak willpower leads him to give up and become disconnected from the group. He is unprepared and unwilling to lead the pilgrims and even states that the position was thrust suddenly upon him. This is proven by the quote “I would rather have stayed in my room back

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