Journey the quest for self-knowledge.

. The idea that journey is the overcoming of obstacles and achieving goals is encompassed in the two texts: Emma by Jane Austen and Legend by Judith Wright. With these concepts, these texts deserve to be in the collection. In Emma, the protagonists greatest obstacle is her own blindness and arrogance. Austens satirical omniscient narration of Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich with very little to distress or vex her immediately establishes Emmas complacent personality. With the unequivocal approval of her father and her privileged status, Austens authorial intrusion satires Emmas power of having too much of her own way and a disposition to think a little too well of herself. We can see that this obstructs her journey as, according to Emma, everything must occur as she wishes. When she attempts to match-make Mr Elton and Harriet, she fails to realise that her motives behind this are rather self-serving than altruistic. In Legend however, the protagonists principle obstacle is that he is a blacksmiths boy. We are instilled with the impression that he cannot amount to anything. Yet with Wrights personification and natural imagery of cobwebs snatched at his feet, mountains jumped in his way and rocks rolled down on him, the boy repeats I can break branches, I can swim rivers, I can stare out any spider I meet - portraying his resilient determination that he will overcome his challenges - thus proving that Legend is a worthy text for the collection. We see that in Emma, her distorted perception of the world is ridiculed by Austens satirical omniscient narration. Emmas views hinder her aspirations and goals making them both ultimately unrealistic and unachievable. Of all the materialistic ambitions Emma has, only one is achieved I will never marry unless I love someone that someone being Mr Knightley. In her assertion that I was a fool, she reflects upon her misconducts and finally begins to properly acknowledge others. On the other hand, the blacksmiths boy confronts his hurdles: He ran like a hare, he climbed like a fox - and then when he caught it in his hands, the colours and the cold, he had caught never-ending perfection a ring of gold. He hung the rainbow on his shoulder the rainbow symbolising hope, showing us his success of surmounting his challenges, with a triumphant tone in the last stanza and ultimately achieving his goal. Overall these two texts, Emma and Legend demonstrate the ideas of journey. Overcoming obstacles and attaining goals are attributes that help to find oneself in the course of inner journey and are therefore worthy to be in the collection.