Henri's Big Change

Author's Note: I wrote about Salt because I think that the main character took a huge change and we had to write a character development essay.

In the beginning of Salt, by Maurice Gee, Henri's father is taken away to Deep Salt, a place where no-one ever returns from. Henri begins to hate everyone and has the urge to kill. He is determined to kill all of Company, the people who stole his father, and save his dad, Tarl. These are only a few things that prove how Henri changes.

Throughout the story, Henri comes across a Company girl that ran away and her maid/friend. when he first sees her he tries to kill her, but her friend stops him and steals his knife so he can't kill anyone. He has to go though a large chunk of the story without killing people to save his father, which begins to force him to lose the urge to kill innocent people.When the company girl's-- Pearl's --maid Tealeaf gives Henri his knife back, Henri realizes that killing isn't the answer and that there are other ways to solve their problems. Many people could say that this is the catalyst but I think it changes when he finds out that Tarl got the disease in Deep Salt.

Since Henri changed, he influenced his father to not give up on defeating Company. If he didn't change they might not have defeated Company and saved all of the burrows people. Henri changing could affect the balance of the entire land and the people who live there. Not only did Henri change the fate of many people, but so does his public image. Image in a place like that will make you famous for a long time. So, if Henri doesn’t have a good image, it can take really big affect on the future. His image can also reflect in on whether they will remember Company or not.

I may not know of any books that the character changes in such a way, but I think that in The Lightning Thief Percy goes though a huge change too, from being a dyslectic shy hometown kid to understanding who he must be- a strong demigod. I compared them because they both go through a complete personality change.

There are many reasons why Henri changed. Mainly, though it is because he has realized that his father needs his help and killing isn't the answer. When someone realizes how much someone really loves them it can really make a difference in the relationship they have with each other.