The Neverending Story

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The Neverending Story is an allegory because the use of symbols, characters thoughts and actions, and even the setting help develop a theme. The most important theme of the Neverending Story is to accept yourself for who you are. Throughout the story, Bastian struggles with this theory, but realizes his own confidence by the end of the book. Symbols that help bring out this theme include Auryn, the City of Old Emperors, and the Water of Life. The Auryn is the reason why Bastian loses sight of his true self. The setting of the City of Old Emperors and the guidance of Argax the monkey help Bastian get back on track in becoming his true self again. When Bastian reaches the Water of Life he fully becomes his true self again. The use of these three …show more content…
Bastian seems to have a hard time with this theme throughout the story because he doesn't feel comfortable with his true self. Bastian always feels like he is an outsider within his school because he is different than all the other kids and didn't have any friends. He uses reading as an escape from his own reality. When he reads, he reads as if he is in the story and that he is going on all these different adventures with the characters. When he starts reading the Neverending Story he is intrigued by it and wants to join along in the journey with Atreyu to stop the nothing from spreading even more. Atreyu was given Auryn before he started his journey to protect him along the way. The Auryn gave Atreyu the strength and courage to conquer his mission because he knew the Auryn would protect him along the …show more content…
It takes him till the end of the story to realize that fame and power is not the most important thing in life. Michael Ende's use of allegories in the Neverending Story help make themes more apparent throughout the story. Accepting yourself for who you are is a major theme in the story that is brought out by many different symbols. Three symbols that help bring out this specific theme include Auryn, the City of Old Emperors, and the Water of Life. These three themes help explain the steps in Bastian's journey to become his true self. In the beginning of the story he is not confident with himself, but all that changes when he enters Fantastica and gains Auryn. The Auryn makes him someone he is not. He finally realizes his flaws when he reaches the City of Lost Emperors. Argax the monkey helps Bastian turn himself around when in the city. Lastly, at the end of the story, Bastian becomes his true self when he enters the Water of Life. Bastian finally realizes he should accept himself for who he is. Accepting himself allows Bastian to gain happiness and confidence in himself even though he is not a strong handsome leader. The theme of accepting yourself is shown in the story by the use of these three
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