Ada And Inman Character Development Essay

Development of Ada and Inman Ada and Inman clearly both go through important transitions throughout the novel. Inman’s development is more profound than Ada’s because he undergoes a spiritual change to find peace, whereas Ada’s development focuses on her newfound independence. At the beginning of the novel, Ada is struggling to learn how to take care of herself since Monroe died. “Monroe had employed a white man and his part Cherokee wife to run the place, leaving Ada with little to do other than devise a weekly menu. But now the hired people were gone, leaving Ada to make do on her own.”(31) It isn’t until Ruby comes along that Ada learns the basics of how to take care of herself and her farm. However, despite the fact that Ada is learning, she isn’t fully maturing since Ruby is basically a replacement for Monroe. Ruby has become a figure of authority to Ada, taking control of the farm and giving her jobs to do. Ruby and Ada agreed to be equals from the start, but it’s clear that Ruby does not

“His spirit, he feared, had been blasted away so that he had become lonesome and estranged from all around him as a sad old heron standing pointless watch in the mudflats of a pond lacking frogs.” (22) Inman had grown up with Christian views but the war had a negative effect on his faith, leaving him questioning God. Inman had originally blamed human nature for the war and other tragedies going on in the world, however, when he talks to the blind man and discovers he was born blind, he doesn’t know who to blame. Inman undergoes the complicated process of finding himself when he is lost. There had been times when Inman thought he’d be better off alone forever. However, his encounters with people like Veasey, had set him on a more positive spiritual path because he felt better when he saved the pregnant girl’s life. Inman found solace in his good deeds and he began seeking optimism for a better