Comparing and contrasting literature is an important way to show the similarities and differences between the two works. There are several types of literature one can compare and contrast; however, in this paper we will be discussing a form of literature known as essays. An essay is an exceptional way for an author to convey an opinion, emotion, or personal experience. In this paper we will look at two essays that demand comparison; American History written by Judith Ortiz Cofer (1993), and A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrances of a Gay Boyhood written by Bernard Cooper (1991). The two works of literature seem so different on the outside, yet upon further analysis one can begin to notice many similarities making them a perfect candidate for comparing and contrasting. In this paper, we will discuss the various similarities and differences between the themes, writing styles, and use of literary devices in the selected pieces of literature.
Before we can compare and contrast the themes in the two essays, we must first determine exactly what the theme of each essay is. In Cofer’s essay, American History, the main character, also the narrator, is a girl in her early teens, Elena, growing up in Paterson, New Jersey in the Puerto Rican tenement called El Building. The essay discusses a period in Elena’s life in which she is somewhat awkward and tends to be made fun of quite a bit by her classmates. However, Elena has one thing to look forward to in her life, staring out the window into the kitchen of a young boy’s apartment known as Eugene. Similarly, in Cooper’s essay A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrances of a Gay Boyhood, the main character, also the narrator is a young boy also in his early teens who is somewhat awkward and tends to be made fun of.
In contrast, even though both main characters in the essays are somewhat out of the social “norm”, Cooper’s main character in A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrances of a Gay Boyhood, is a great deal more ashamed of whom he...