Discuss the similarities and differences in how Pat Barker and Jim and Rachel Britts portray/depict the personal journey of the main characters, Danny Miller and Jake and how they overcome struggles in their texts Border Crossing and To Save a Life?

In the novels Border Crossing and To Save a life, a common theme between the two was the main characters (Danny Miller- Border crossing and Jake Taylor-To Save a Life) having an urge to recover from the struggles of their past. However both did so in completely different ways as they were recovering from different circumstances. In this essay I will be discussing the similarities and differences in their past struggles, the similarities and differences in how they went about solving their issues in the past and the main difference that separated Danny and Jake.
In the two novels, both Jake Taylor and Danny Miller had an underlying issue in their past, and both involved a death. For Jake, he dealt with the suicide of his childhood best friend Roger. This was especially significant as you learn the story of their friendship. It all started back when they were young boys and best friends. Roger pushed Jake out of the way of a car, saving him but crippling himself forever. Years later Jake joined a new popular group of friends, Amy became his girlfriend, and he became star of the basketball team. Jake grew further away from Roger, who became more of a loner due to his condition which he was bullied for. Three years later as a high school senior, Roger came in with a gun and began to shoot. Jake, knowing what Roger was going to do, tries to stop him, but Roger tells him that “it was too late” (Page 25, To Save a life, Jim and Rachel Britts). Jake watches in horror as Roger shoots himself. This caused Jake and the reader to wonder if Jake had treated Roger better, would he still be alive. Although the story of Danny Miller was also a death, it contrasts significantly. When Danny was ten years old he murdered an elderly woman by the name of Lizzie Parks, smothering her with a pillow before "play[ing]" with her deceased body. Based on Tom's testimony in court, Danny was tried as an adult, and served seven years at the Long Garth correctional institute. At the age of 18, Danny was transferred to an adult prison, where he was allegedly harassed and sexually abused. Once Danny was finally released into society, he struggled mightily to fit in. This lead to him suffering from symptoms of depression and attempting suicide. Ironically, Tom saved Danny from suicide, however Danny still had some problems with Tom, as he believed that he was the one who caused him to be in jail for so long.

Despite the differences in journeys between Danny and Jake Taylor, they also have similarities in their ambitions and how they are attempting to move on from their past. Jake Taylor aspires to play basketball for the University of Louisville, even claiming as a freshman “[he was going] to play hoops there some day” (Page 25, To Save a life, Jim and Rachel Britts) which is a massive accomplishment for anybody, him included. This is similar to the dreams and aspirations of Danny Millar, who aspires to become a teacher. He even told his phycologist, and the narrator of the book Tom, that “I really though teaching was what I was going to do” (Page 67, Border Crossing, Pat Barker). Again, just like Jake’s aspirations, Danny’s goals were massive for him. However, the main underlying difference that separates Jake and Danny is their circumstance and their ability to achieve their goals. In Jakes case, as Rogers death wasn’t his fault by law, he wasn’t legally effected by Rogers’s death and so he was free to peruse his dreams of playing Basketball for Louisville, which he eventually achieved. Danny on the other hand had to deal with his murder accusations of the past, as he “wasn’t allowed to work with children” (Page 67, Border Crossing, Pat Barker). This is due to the fact Tom points out that “if you were a parent, and you found out your child’s teacher was a Murderer, how would feel?” (Page 67, Border Crossing, Pat Barker). This shows a clear contrast between both main characters and their ability to create a future, without being held back by their past.
Jake was also different in that he tried to ‘rectify’ what he had done. Jake does this by befriending a kid (named Jonny) who didn’t have any other friends. Jake goes out of his way to ‘save’ Jonny when he was at rock bottom and this saved Jonny’s life. Jonny even wrote Jake a letter claiming “I don’t want to think about where I’d be if you hadn’t done that.” (Page 315, To Save a life, Jim and Rachel Britts). This shows that Jake was portrayed as remorseful as he had the desire to recover from what he had done.
In the Novels Border Crossing and To Save a life, the main characters both had struggles involving deaths in their pasts and they both had to deal with these in different ways with Jake being able to deal with it better due to his case not having legal effects.