In the books The Professor's House (Willa Cather) and Wobegon Boy (Garrison Keillor), the main characters, John and Professor St. Peter, are two middle aged men who puzzle through mid-life crises by relying on their roots. John Tollefson, a man who is devoted to life, when he returns home, he realizes that his hometown is very important to his life. Professor Godfrey St. Peter, is a man devoted to his work and home, realizes that he has changed and looks at life differently. Even though John and Professor St. Peter are two different men, they both realize that their lives change during mid-life crises. Loneliness and one's self become the major elements of life. John and Professor St. Peter look upon their roots, remembering how important it is to their lives. The roots of one's life are what strengthen him or her in the world. Mid-life crisis changes the way that both men look at life and their feelings towards their family and the world.
John Tollefson is a man who is devoted to life and when he returns home, he realizes that his hometown is very important to him. John grows up in Lake Wobegon, where his roots begin. He lives there until he graduates from college, and then moves to New York where his mid-life crisis occurs. "The sight of it did not warm my heart. It did not feel like a homecoming, but like a return to an outpost. It was not my home. It was a station- (Keillor 247). Moving to New York changes his views on how he wants to live his life. John eventually returns home for a visit, making all his childhood memories return. Lake Wobegon is his town where his life begins; he spends his childhood and part of his later life there. He realizes that his home and his family mean more to him than he thinks. John's family and life are two reasons why he remembers the past and how important it is to the future.
Professor Godfrey St. Peter, is a man devoted to his work and home, realizes that he changes and looks at life differently now.
