Robert Walton and the Stranger

I think that Robert Walton is very similar in the journey that he us going on, and even the stranger tells him this and warns him that he will face the same things he did. The stranger seems to have a more melancholy manner about him, and seems like he has something that plagues him, while Robert Walton doesn't seem to have a lot that plagues him. They both seem to be very quiet, but at the same time Walton seems to be more casual and less serious. Walton's attitude toward this entire journey is just that this is his destiny, and nothing can stand in his way, while the stranger seems to have his doubts about whether Walton will make the journey and if he will fail just like he did. Another similarity between the two of them is that they both seem to show concern for one another, Robert is concerned about how the stranger got there, and the stranger is concerned that Robert is going into unfamiliar waters with no idea of what's ahead of him. The stranger is also more silent and not in the best of health, not by choice, but as a result of his failure on his journey, while Robert is voluntarily putting himself through hunger, sleep deprivation, and other hardships on his journey. I think that the stranger represents what Robert might become if his destined journey to the north fails, and that like the stranger he will be broken with misery. The stranger is looking for a sledge that was following him, which causes him to breakdown, and during this he says that Robert has hope and says that he himself cannot start anew and that he is destroyed. On Robert’s quest for knowledge and wisdom, like the stranger, and the stranger believes that he will face the same dangers as he did and will take a lesson from his own tale and he might not have misfortune as he did, but he warns him that this region Robert is about to enter may seem marvelous but might encounter things that appear possible.