Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams

In Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams, Codi spends the majority of her adult life searching for somewhere she belongs and searching for some source of stability. Codi's life is constantly juxtaposed throughout the novel with her sister Hallie, who is younger than her however who has already started her life and knows exactly what place she holds in the world. This juxtaposition highlights Codi's indecisiveness and lack of personal purpose or worth in life. Codi's relationships at the end of the book that she holds with Carlo and Loyd mirrors her personality and the struggle she goes through during the book, and the conclusion of the relationship reflects Codi's "moral reconciliation." When Codi leaves Carlo to return to Grace it is a

is a big step for her because she is essentially returning to her past and almost starting over, as her life outside of Grace had never really begun. When she meets Loyd for the first time since high school she begins to feel all of the emotions she recalls feeling when she was in high school. Loyd feels the same way and for the first time, Codi begins to emotionally attach herself to someone who feels the same for her. When Codi becomes afraid of this attachment she leaves Grace and goes back to Carlo. To Codi, Carlo is "safe." There is no risk of getting hurt because Codi doesn't feel anything towards Carlo, therefore there is no vulnerability and Codi isn't forced to express herself. At this point in the novel, Codi hasn't fully developed into a stable adult and her insecurity concerning her relationship with Loyd as well as her decision to return to Carlo reflects this. When Codi is finally able to return to Grace and to Loyd and her eventual decision to return to another year of teaching at the high school she has finally developed into a full character. Upon returning to Grace for the second time, Codi has recognized her flaws, which include her inability to love as well as her inability to maintain a lifestyle of her own and to get out of the shadows of Hallie. Codi's final growth is exposed upon her pregnancy at

Although raised under the same roof with Codi, Hallie was the sister who truly grasped how to live and appreciate her being. Her consciousness of life's purpose and her spirit blossomed tremendously in comparison to that of her sister's. Deemed "the luckiest person alive", Hallie dreamt not of saving the world, but of making a useful contribution to the earth and to mankind (35; ch.4). Her theories on life guided her to choose the right path for herself, not "for the reward at the end, but for the way it felt as [she] went along" (326; ch.26). Her actions to promote elementary kindness were harvested by her wish that one-day kids would neither become the destroyers nor the destroyed.

ll in the way of love, so as not to be disappointed" (117; ch.11). Running from her