Comparison and Contrast Assignment - Essay Example

Full Reflections of Everyday Circumstances From Stories Stories, whether short or long, are made more appealing to readers when they show realistic events because readers are able to identify themselves with the characters. Although not all of the narrations may be real, when the story reflects circumstances that people go through everyday, readers often get interested because they can relate to the story and characters. For instance, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is quite exaggerated where in the latter part of the story; Tessie Hutchinson was stoned to death by the villagers.

However, when studied through a storyteller’s point of view, the events can be observed as symbolic to everyday circumstances. With the references to real events, the aforementioned story and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker will be compared and contrasted in this paper. “The Lottery” revolves around the theme of being in a difficult state. Sometimes, it is not only the consequences of a person’s actions that bring them in difficult situations but also includes other factors like one’s environment.

Sometimes, one may feel he has been hand-picked to be in a difficult situation like Tessie Hutchinson in the story who unfortunately got the marked paper that led to her being stoned to death. “Everyday Use” on the other hand, takes on the theme of the importance of legacy against necessity. To the protagonist, the old hand-sewn quilts are considered sentimental while to the antagonist, they are potential valuables that could make her a fortune. The stories both revolve around observable real-life events.

The second story though could be taken quite ambiguously because it is so realistic it could be understood literally but it could also be understood symbolically. Jackson’s characters include the whole village while Walker limits her characters to only four people. Both authors reveal their characteristics of their role players by describing them and quoting their words. Other attributes of the characters are shown through how they acted and their facial expressions and emotions. Jackson’s protagonist is a developing character who first appeared in the story as an excited character who just came from her dishes with her apron, talking and explaining her day to Mrs.

Delacroix. Then, she turned to be a fearful character who became hysterical when her family was chosen from the crowd and became more so when she took the marked paper indicating she was to be the one stoned to death. Walker’s protagonist is also a developing character who is shown in most of the story as a timid, fearful girl, always giving in to the demands of her manipulative and dynamic sister. By the end of the story, she changed into one who was not afraid of her sister anymore, knowing that she finally won over her sister for the first time.

Jackson tells her story through an omniscient’s point of view, developing the story by describing the things she wants the readers to know and quoting her character’s words. Walker uses the first person to share her story, using the character of the mother of both the protagonist and antagonist. The two stories may be different in style and theme but they both reflect real-life stories that people deal with everyday. They both are reflections of what are commonly encountered that makes readers more observant and critical of their situations.

In conclusion, it is observed that regardless of how an author presents his/her stories, there will always be a message that causes readers to learn from their circumstances.