Holy Cow An Indian Adventure Analysis

An individual’s journey is a powerful catalyst that challenges perceptions of their worlds and themselves, instigating the need to embrace change and growth. In Sarah Macdonald’s travel memoir, “Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure”, her hatred for a country that is challenging and contradictory ironically nurtures her understanding and acceptance of the foreign culture. Similarly, Saeed Fassaie’s opinionated article published in the “S.M.H” (21/3/17), “Lessons from my arranged marriage for a happy relationship”, explores a journey that deals with new experiences that force him to grow and adapt. Both texts reveal growth as an individual that is accentuated by the unique experiences which facilitate self-discovery and change.

Unexpected encounters

In Saeed Fassaie’s opinionated article, “Lessons from my arranged marriage for a happy relationship”, he explores the transformative power of journey that highlights the issues associated with marriage. Fassaie presents his views about the wide scope of marriage by beginning with a recount of his personal journey towards the symbolic bond: “For the first and second year of our life together, marriage was like a cold war until we both gradually adapted to each other.” His deliberate use of simile depicts his insight regarding the challenging and complex nature of marriage. Guided by Fassaie’s words, the reader is drawn into his interior landscape as he unfolds the journey known as marriage. Fassaie broadens the scope of his understanding as he examines the dilemma of the clash between one another: “I witnessed each couple’s vain struggle to preserve their marriage before the final collapse.” The harsh and imperative tone he adopts reveals his growth as an individual as he writes with the assumption of his newly gained insights that allow him to actively participate in the transformative nature of journey. Fassaie reinforces this as he states that “A marriage that can’t accommodate change is doomed to fail”, successfully embracing the inductive notions of change from his journey. His newly gained perception along his journey facilitates his capacity for individual growth, allowing him to adapt to and perceive the world with greater understanding. Macdonald also experiences dilemmas of negativity that challenge her during the early stages of her journey. However, the imposing elements of India’s culture similarly catalyses Macdonald’s journey as she gains new insights that prompt her to overlook the repugnant physicality of India and accept