Common motifs depicted in the characters throughout Rohinton Mistry's "Such a long journey" include the contrast of many opposing forces. Good and bad, bitterness and forgiveness, saving and destruction, heaven and hell as just a few of the conflicting themes. Many secondary characters in the novel are important in the life of Gustad, and encourage these themes. In The Road to Salvation: Mythological and Theological Intertextuality in Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey, Michel W. Pharand states:

"Since good and evil seem to be inextricably bound, it is not surprising that many of the characters in Such a Long Journey end up doing evil in trying to do good, or conversely, that some of the good deeds have their origins in evil actions or events."

The characters in Such a Long Journey are heavily interwoven with symbols to enforce Mistry's ideas of Gustad Noble's struggle within his self...