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Step by Wicked Step: Obstacles Faced by The Main Character
Step by Wicked Step: Describe the obstacles that the main character faced. With close reference to the text, how did he or she overcome these obstacles?
Support your answer with close reference to the text.

I choose the novel “Step by Wicked Step” written by Anne Fine as there are many main characters in the novel who have faced a lot of obstacles in their life. This novel is regarding five British school children from Stagfire who had arrived ahead of their classmates for a week-long field trip at "haunted' Old Harwick Hall. They found a long-abandoned secret room containing a mysterious journal which uncovered a heart rending story of Richard Clayton Harwick, who runs away from the sinister influence of a loveless stepfather. This discovery made them reveal and share their own engrossing, heart-rending stories filled with hurting and healing moments.The main characters that I choose is Richard Clayton Harwick because he faced a lot of obstacles in his life and finally managed to overcome them in the midst of sadness.

One of his obstacles is rejection of love. Richard felt that his love was being rejected by his mother and his sister as his mother never defended him when his cynical stepfather confronted him. His sister never supported him when he gave his opinion. Richard tried to run away from this obstacle by running away from home to work at sea.

The second obstacle is when his stepfather sent him to Mordanger School. This is because his stepfather wanted to teach him to be good and not rebellious. However in Mordanger School Richard had learned nothing except how to freeze , how to starve and he was also bullied and beaten. Her mother said that everything his stepfather did was for his own good, so he will grow up strong and manly and be a son whom they can be proud of.

Later in the novel, Richard could not face the reality when he saw the letter from Charlotte. He realised that he had made bad choices that caused his loved ones pain and sorrow. He misunderstood that his mother and his sister really loved him. When he run away, his mother spent a lot of money to search for him until her mother’s financial ruin and led to her early death. His sister had to sacrifice herself when she had to marry a rich person whom she did not love. It is because she just wanted the money to search for Richard. He misunderstood his mother,father and sister and he felt unloved all the while until one day he got a news of a will. When he returned, he realised in grief his father gave all these land of Old Harwick Hall to Richard.

Richard have made a lot of mistake on handling his obstacle. He should think deeply and wisely so that he will not regret. So when we want to handle any obstacle we have to think of our loved ones and we have to make sure that it will not affect people around us.

Novel, Step By Wicked Step - A Difficult Situation

Write about
(a) a difficult situation faced by one of the characters
(b) how the character managed to resolve the problems in that situation

Based on the Form 5 novel 'Step by Wicked Step' by Anne Fine, a character that faced a difficult situation is Claudia from the story 'Green Pyjamas'.

Claudia's difficult situation stemmed from the dissolution of her parents' marriage. Her father then moved out to live with his mother and later, he got a new girlfriend named Stella. Although Claudia knew very well that Stella did not play a part in her parents' divorce, she could not help feeling a sense of loyalty and faithfulness towards her mother. Hence, she rejected all of Stella's warm advances and ignored Stella. She also pretended to hate all the time she spent at her father's place although she knew that her actions would hurt Stella's feelings.

At a dinner party hosted by her father and Stella, Claudia rudely rejected Stella's invitation for her to join them. However, fueled by her curiosity, she sneaked down and eavesdropped on the guests. To her surprise, she noticed that her father's friends were all ignoring Stella - probably out of loyalty to Claudia's mother whom they had been friends with too. From an outsider's point of view, Claudia realized how unfair they had all been to Stella. All the guests left Stella out of their conversations, leaving her in an awkward state of silence. They did not even seem to appreciate the food that Stella laboured over.

At that very moment, Claudia decided to resolve the problem that had been plaguing her. She decided to make things right. She changed into the pair of green pyjamas Stella got her, and ran down surprising both Stella and her father's friends. Claudia then exclaimed how much she loved the pyjamas - a simple act but with profound impact - and instantly, her fathers' friends began to warm towards Stella. From that day onwards, Stella and Claudia maintained a warm relationship.

In a nutshell, Claudia faced a difficult situation in feeling torn between both her parents. In a divorce, it is often hard for a child to accept that his or her parents are not a single entity any longer. However, in the end, Claudia resolved the problem by doing what was right. She understood that it was very mean and unfair to treat someone badly for something that was not their fault. It is something that all of us should take note of in our lives. Our actions might seem minute but the consequences could mean the world to someone else.

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