A Hero's Journey

The interactions that one has with their siblings can affect and shape their personalities as an individual. In Lightfinder, the Cardinal siblings, Aisling and Eric, have been reared apart, as Eric runs away from his family members with a mysterious friend of his, Cor. As described by Maria Zappone, Aisling is an “unconventional hero [that] takes on a hero’s journey of her own” (Zappone 1). Aisling acquires this as a part of her personality, and becomes an individual that is caring, determined, and motivated, as she seeks out to find her brother Eric.. As a result of a distant relationship with his sister, Eric relies on Cor, who influences and shapes the characteristics of Eric’s personality. In the beginning of the novel, when Cor gives Eric the rock and Eric uses it to brutally hurt another peer of his, Tommy, he “shivered with sensation, like he was getting colder and stronger at the same time.

Shortly after, Cor notifies Eric that Tommy is in the hospital and compliments him, and Eric “couldn’t help feeling a glow of pride at Cor’s compliment” and shares that “Cor had a way of making things better, of taking away [his] fear and making him feel strong” (Paquette 38). Through these two short passages, it is evident that Eric relies on Cor, and he feels a sense of pride in hurting others, displaying characteristics of a personality that is egocentric, ignorant of others and their feelings and the larger and long-term consequences of their actions. 
 On the other hand, in Kiss of the Fur Queen, the Okimasis brothers, Jeremiah and Gabriel, display more similar characteristics in their personalities. As a result of being sent to the same residential school together, the brothers experience similar situations and challenges, creating similarities in both of their individual