Maiden Voyage

            Two major men in Tania's life and two vital characters to A Maiden Voyage were Luc and Ernst. Each had his/her own philosophy on life, and how to live it. Both men also had an impact on young Tania's life. Ernst was Tania's father and his approach to life would be different that that of Luc's.
             Ernst's philosophy of life was to take risks no matter what. He said live life to the fullest, and have fun. "His dreams for himself and for us were all he wanted to hear while we were growing up," said Tania. The world through his eyes was full of excitement and risk. Some examples of what he used to say was, "Why walk when you can run? Why be inside when you could be out?".
             On the other hand was Luc. He was the son of a captain in the French Army. He was a dreamer, a poet, and a gardner of the imagination, with the power to make his dreams come true. Luc believed in the word Bravery. He defined it as doing something that you are afraid to do and confronting your fears. Something that wouldn't be considered as confronting your fears would be if a mountain climber climbed the tales peak, but that isn't brave because he likes to do that and lives to do that. Luc wanted to be free. For him money is simply a way to pay for his freedom. He works to have enough and sail the beauty on the earth. .
             Ernst's philosophy of life is demonstrated throughout the book many times. The big example that we see about how Tania's dad demonstrates his philosophy in life is the day he asks Tania to circumnavigate the world single-handedly. This is not something that an ordinary, average father would expect from his child. Ernst demonstrates his philosophy about living life to the fullest. .
             Luc's philosophy is also demonstrated in the story as well. He also thought similar like Tania's father. An example would when h offers to show Tania the South Pacific. Luc says, "I will show you places that your cold American eyes would never see otherwise.