Friendly Bonds in Novels

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“Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice,” is a quote from the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, it can be interpreted as sacrifices are made in order to prove loyalty to a friend (Iz Quotes). This is seen in the novel Black and White, by Paul Volponi. Volponi’s Black and White is a realistic fiction novel written in the two point of views of two talented basketball teammates and best friends named Marcus and Eddie nicknamed Black and White for Marcus is black and Eddie is white. They are desperate for cash and decide to take Eddie’s grandfather’s gun so they could threaten people for money (Volponi 3). One day, Eddie presses the trigger on accident and they end up shooting someone, which they were not planning on ever doing (Volponi 1). Only Marcus is convicted at first and goes to great measure to make sure that Eddie is not too (Volponi 47). Eventually, Eddie is convicted anyway and the bond between the two is challenged (Volponi 87). This is a novel of friendship, loyalty, and forgiveness. Volponi's Black and White and Sutcliff's and Homer's, The Wanderings of Odysseus are stories of relationships where friendship is tested resulting in stronger bonds.
Volponi and Sutcliff both show their protagonists remembering their bond during a dramatic event, and doing the difficult choice but right choice in order to keep theses bonds alive and healthy. For instance, on the way home from school one day, Marcus and Eddie get into an altercation about the current investigation going on (Volponi 124). After the quarrel, in Eddie’s point of view, Eddie uttered “Black and White through thick and thin,” and put his fist out for a fist bump, to which Marcus, obviously a...

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... most important part of friendships and relationships. The bonds in these stories were made stronger because of the passed tests of friendship and loyalty by Marcus and Odysseus. There would be no motivation for the protagonists to complete their journeys without this motivation of allegiance. Where would novels be without hardships in their protagonists’ relationships?

Works Cited
Calypso’s Isle: The Experience of Odysseus in The Odyssey. Torrey Philemon, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .
Iz Quotes. Iz Quotes, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .
Lopate, Phillip. “Modern Friends.” Texas Monthly Feb. 1988: n. pag. Print.
Sutcliff, Rosemary, and Homer. The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey. New York: Laurel-Leaf, 2005. Print.
Volponi, Paul. Black and White. New York: Speak, 2006. Print.

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