Inner journeys involve the exploration of the self, as individuals review their growth and development in the light of experiences which challenge and inspire them.
The inner journey can be seen as the result of pain and personal growth. .
As we can see from comparative texts such as the play called "Cosi" by Louis Nowra, a poem called "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost and a movie called "Dead Poets Society" directed by Peter Weir, the experience and extent of the inner pain may differ to ultimately end in the same kind of journey.
The main character undergoing such a journey in Cosi is Lewis. In the 1790s the opera was considered immoral; in the 1970s it is a symbol of sexist attitudes, & a decent indulgence bourgeois romanticism, at a time of protest and political agitation. .
Nowra has written a play about theatre, madness, illusion, sanity and life. .
Cosi explores a life lesson for Lewis, a young director who takes on the task of mounting a production of mozarts cos fan tutte in a burnt out theatre, with the patients of a mental institution. As his life is touched by these extraordinary people and his operatic production (Cosi Fan Tutte) lurches forward, we learn, along with Lewis, that when chasing your dreams it helps to be a little crazy. .
The main technique Nowra uses is the play within a play to create resonant ironies and to also illustrate an inner journey. Cosi Fan Tutte depicts Lewis" relationship status with his girlfriend Lucy, as Cosi is about love, betrayal and fidelity. .
Later on, we learn that Lucy has been unfaithful to Lewis and has an affair with Nick, which reflects on the characters in the actual play. .
The burnt-out theatre creates our expectation that what Lewis is undertaking is foolish and doomed to failure- that he's just as crazy as the patients for agreeing to do is. It suggests that the people who will be acting in Cosi Fan Tutte are themselves "burnt-out".