Analysis Of Paulo Coelho's The Devil And Miss Prym

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The Devil and Miss Prym and Sophie’s choice are two different stories with similar aspects. As we dive deeper into the stories of Chantel and Sophie we will see similarities and differences in each of their lives. In the following essay, we will discuss the plot of each story along with types of conflict, architypes, and prominent philosophy found in both stories.
The Devil and Miss Prym Summary
To begin, The Devil and Miss Prym is a thought provoking novel by Paulo Coelho. When a stranger enters the small village of Viscose, he is accompanied by dark intentions. The man is on a journey to discover if mankind, in nature, is good or evil. To find the answer to his illuminating questions, he builds a plan for the villagers. The town’s newest …show more content…

In The Devil and Miss Prym, the reader is able to see person versus person when the stranger comes to town and offers Chantel the bricks of gold. In this moment she believes that humans in nature are good, while the stranger believes humans are naturally bad. The same type of conflict can be seen in Sophie’s Choice when she is told by a Nazi to decide which one of her children will live and die. In each story we also notice person versus self. Chantel, in The Devil and Miss Prym, is in conflict with herself when she is presented the opportunity to take the gold and leave her forsaken village but then admit to the evil stranger that humans are indeed bad in nature. Again, we see this pattern in Sophie’s choice. Sophie is forced to decide which one of her children will live or die. She chose her son to work and her daughter to be killed and lives with hatred for herself because of her decision, ultimately this leads to her demise. Another type of conflict is person versus society. When the town of Viscose decided to kill the oldest citizen of the village, Chantel stood against them in the name of goodness. She is able to convince them that they are better than killing for gold. Sophie gives an example of this when she speaks out against her educated father who is a Nazi sympathizer. Due to this, her family disowns her and her children. These are some types of conflict that can be observed in The Devil and Miss Prym, and Sophie’s

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