adah

adah

Adah from the beginning is different from the rest. She is physically impaired and emotionally mute. Leah, her twin sister, is contrasted through her physical capability and eagerness to speak. Unlike Leah, Adah is cynical, viewing the world backwards. She felt as if she was not an active member of society but a mere observer of it. She held back her feelings and thoughts so that she could feel comfortable in her parallel life as an observer.
By exiling herself from others she prevents herself to feel self-pity. As Leah jumped at life for every second of it, Adah would hide from it. Through the Congo, Adah then realizes her life is just as important as anyone else's. Although she did not talk much she was very logical and intelligent from seeing the world for itself and not being involved. She saw things from every perspective, as she examined life.
Being handicap was as normal as having ten fingers and toes in the Congo. This made Adah feel freer from her handicap since no one viewed her any differently as done back at home. As she grew older some of her characteristics diminish but her basic foundation remains. One night in the Congo she is in a life or death situation and as she struggles she realizes her life is worth living for. She breaks lose from her physical barrier and steps outside her parallel world into reality.
Now with a new thought process she is able to overcome her handicap with the help of her neurologist friend. Her cynical view faded as she became more mature. Finally she discovers her strength and belief in science and becomes a brilliant researched of viruses. She becomes attached to the study of viruses and devotes her life to science and became an epidemiologist. As she reminisces back at her handicap she sees how she viewed the world in a wholly different perspective and that allows her to get in touch with the once backward-wired girl she was.