Amelie & The Messengera Comparative essay

“Helping others can improve our own lives” this is the message we get from texts such as ‘‘The Messenger’ and ‘Amelie’. In ‘Amelie’ we are shown the beginning of a young woman’s crusade to make the lives of people she meets better in one way or another. It is the fact that Amelie chooses to help people that contrasts with Ed in ‘‘The Messenger’ who is at times forcefully encouraged to carry on and has had his path predetermined by a mysterious character. In both Ed’s and Amelie’s case helping others improves their own life in one way or another.

At the beginning of ‘The Messenger’ Ed is a very pessimistic character with not much ambition or excitement in his life, all this changes however when he inadvertently prevents a bank robbery. After the bank robbery cards begin to appear in Ed’s letterbox with addresses or clues on them. Ed then visits the addresses and helps people at the addresses. Ed experiences both loving appreciation and violent re...