Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy and "Lost Illusions," by Honore de Balzac. Specifically, it will compare the theme of illusions in these two texts, citing textual evidence. The two protagonists, Jude and Lucien, are spurned into action because of their illusions; however, along their journeys of becoming a poet and a scholar, Lucien loses his illusions, whereas Jude does not.

THE ILLUSIONS OF LUCIEN AND JUDE

Poor Jude, he is a tragic victim of his illusions from the first page of "Jude the Obscure" until the last. Everything he has sought in his life has been nothing but an illusion. From the moment his teacher leaves Marygreen and tells him about the university in Christminster, Jude is doomed. He longs to study at the university, and this is his first illusion, that Christminster is the wonderland where his future will become complete. His aunt adds to the already growing...
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