In the short stories The Outsider by Graeme Lay and Yellow Brick Road by Witi Ihimaera, a common theme of great importance is the idea of disillusionment. The Outsider portrays a young, naïve, teenager Justine, Karl an older American surfer and their whirlwind relationship. Yellow Brick Road follows Matiu and his family on their journey moving from Waituhi to Wellington. The idea of disillusionment is important I both texts because in the case of The Outsider it shows the need for maturity in a relationship because it doesn’t always end up as we perceived it to be. In the case of Yellow Brick Road it proves that desire for something, despite good intentions sometimes can cloud our judgment.
In The Outsider the idea of disillusionment is blatantly obvious throughout the story and its importance is exemplified by using Karl and Justine’s relationship as an example. Karl is experienced in life, whereas Justine has never been out her hometown Kaimara. It is because of Justine’s lack of maturity and her “rose tinted” view on life and love, that she becomes disillusioned, and not for once questions whether her relationship with Karl will work out well, “she accepted it the way she accepted everything else about him”. This clearly shows what some teenagers believe (due to their naïveté), that relationships will always be perfect. This therefore shows that the idea of disillusionment is one that is relevant to real life, which is also very important in Yellow Brick Road.
In Yellow Brick Road the idea of disillusionment is relevant to real life because it shows through the example of Matiu’s parents, that desire for a better life, despite good intentions, can cloud a person’s judgment. Matiu’s parents choose to move from Waituhi to Wellington so that their children will have a better life, “Me and Hine, we’ve always had nothing. But my kids? They’re going to grow up with everything” However despite the best intentions their longing for a better life clouded their...