Journey- Ashley Shepherd

In the first pages of the prologue the protagonist is discussing the advantages of accepting his “invisibility” one of these advantages he discuses is living “rent-free in a building rented strictly to whites” (5). He also discuses how he found this new cave hole of his which was abandoned. The protagonist says he found the area when he was trying to escape Ras the Destroyer. He realizes that he has gotten to far ahead of himself though and says “ but that’s getting too far ahead of the story, almost to the end, although the end is in the beginning and lies far ahead”(5). This quote gives a sense of time, the prologue is not at the beginning of the journey but rather at the end. The quote allows for the “journey” element of the story to set in, it is understood from this quote that the rest of the novel will be told after the transformation that occurs in a Bildungs Roman novel. This quote also gives more personal insight into the character of the protagonist, “lies far ahead” means that the protagonist knows that when he first started the story he is a much different person than he is now because of this journey that transformed him.This gives personal insight into the protagonists character because this statement puts him in a vulnerable spot. It is never easy to admit personal growth, and this is exactly what the protagonist does. He admits that he grew and transformed. He becomes vulnerable to the reader which allows for the reader to feel comfortable and for the idea that the reader could transform through hearing the protagonists journey to become a true possibility. 

The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being.-Dag Hammarskjold