Salvador Gomez
Mr. Cottom
English 10 H Period: 5
09/29/2015
The Water Mirror: How Enemies can become Friends
Many people despise others and may even consider each other enemies. However, contrary to popular belief enemies can become friends as shown by Merle and Serafin from The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer and Jacob Maclin, a former drug dealer and Ray Robokowski, a police officer from the streets of Milwaukee. The big idea of the novel is that even the worst of enemies can become friends.
In the fictional novel, The Water Mirror, Merle and Serafin, are two former enemies that must work together in order to save Venice from war. Before Merle and Serafin stumble upon the Egyptian envoy and the council traitors, they start talking to each other about their past. Serafin stated, “No, I lived on the street. As I said, sometimes here, sometimes there. And during that time I picked up a lot of stuff. Things that not everybody knows.”(page.105) If what Serafin claims is true, why would he tell Merle that he used to be homeless unless they were good friends? The logical explanation is that Serafin trusted Merle enough to explain his past to her, just like she requested. Later on, Serafin states, “All honor to the Flowing Queen!” he cried out, while Merle used the moment to spring to his side “Follow me!”(page.135) The evidence demonstrates Merle’s trust towards Serafin as they try to escape the Egyptian envoy and the traitors, with the essence of the Flowing Queen. Their trust is a symbol of their new friendship, before this they did not trust each other at all; therefore if they attempted the escape before, Serafin may have just left Merle behind since they would still be enemies and he would have no reason to care over her safety. These two are now friends, because they trust each other enough to talk about their pass together and they trust each other in moments of danger.
How two bitter enemies became best friends by Steve Hartman, is an article based on Jacob Maclin a former ex-con who wants to turn over a new leaf and Ray Robokowski who used to be a police officer who was responsible for Maclin’s change as stated,” It was Maclin who changed the cop’s mind. Eventually, over the next couple months, Jacob proved to Ray that he wanted to get a job and turn his life around.”(Hartman) According to the author’s text, Robokowski did not trust Maclin, but Maclin’s determination started to grab the cop’s attention. So in the end Robokowski decided to help Maclin by sending him to multiple places for job interviews, eventually Maclin joined the Community Warehouse. However, Maclin was not the only one willing to change. The article states, “Through Community Warehouse, with his new friend Jacob, Ray has now helped more than a dozen other ex-cons leave their past behind.”(Hartman) This statement demonstrates that Ray is changing his enemies from criminals to good people which in turn is also making him many friends. It also shows that he is willing to put his time and devotion in order to help others who are in need and who are willing to change. Ray’s goal is to change the lives of criminals which is why he became their friends.
According to the previous examples, it is true that enemies can become friends. However, most of the time both people have to work together to achieve a goal. It is the bond and trust they form while they are helping each other that converts them from enemies to great friends.
salsnivy123 