Pivotal Event In Patrick's Life example essay topic

In Jonathan Hull's book Losing Julia the main character, Patrick Delaney, was a complicated man. At the age of 18, while still very much an innocent boy, he was sent to Europe to fight in a bloody and terrible war. This exposure to the worst of humanity changed him in many ways. During the war he made some of the best and closest friends he ever had in his life. He also watched these friends die a gruesome death while he was only a hundred feet away, unable to help or save them. His entire outlook on life changed.

Before the war he was hopeful and optimistic. Afterwards, life didn't seem as important. He went home and tried to be normal, but he couldn't. He married, had kids, and returned to an everyday job as an accountant, but something inside him was missing. He left an important part of himself on the battlefield. It wasn't until he met Julia, that he felt alive again.

Through her he was able to open his heart and his soul. Her presence helped to heal the wounds that the war had left behind. There was a lot that happened to Patrick, love, war, loss, and regret, that made him the type of 81 year old man that he was. World War I is a pivotal event in Patrick's life.

It was during this event that Patrick learned what it meant to be a man. He was forced to look inside himself and find the courage that was needed to fight. He questioned his morals, values, and faith, and discovered things about himself that he never knew. For the first time in his life he was completely alive and understood how valuable that life was. During this war, he met and became friends with Daniel Mcguire. Dan became like a big brother to him and Pat clung to him for security and used him as a pillar of strength.

He was Patrick's lifeline and when he was killed, Patrick was lost. For the rest of his life Patrick would never be able to get over Dan's death. He would always feel guilty that he lived and Dan died. This experience left him very cynical, especially about God. He couldn't understand how someone who was supposed to be all powerful would let something like war happen, and allow a good man, such as Daniel, to die. Patrick returns to life a changed man.

He gets married but it's a marriage of convenience not passion. He does find some happiness with the birth of his children, but even his love for them can not heal him completely. It wasn't until he met Julia that he really starts to heal. Julia had been Daniel's girlfriend and the two of them had a child together. He had tried to find her after the war as part of Dan's final wishes, but was unsuccessful. Ironically he meets her in France at Daniels grave.

Together, they are able to help each other heal and get past Daniel's death so they can appreciate life. Patrick feels that Julia is his soul mate and with her he feels as alive as he did during the war, only this time there is no death around him. Unfortunately, he is married and Julia is unwilling to stand between him and his family. She leaves him, but takes a part of him with her. Like Daniel, Patrick is unable to forget about Julia and will spend most of his life thinking about what could have been.

His wife eventually divorces him and Patrick never marries again. He doesn't think that he will ever be able to replace Julia, and while he dates other women, he never can give them his heart. He wonders if Julia ever really loved him or if he was more like a one night stand to her. Near death, Patrick travels back to France where he meets Julia's granddaughter and learns that Julia did love him and never forgot him. This knowledge frees him and he is able to finally heal, mind, body, and soul. He dies content in his knowledge that he has lived a full life and will be joining the people he loves.