Hello all...
I am in a bit of a pickle at the moment.
I have my English (4U) ISP due on Tuesday - a 1000 word comparative essay on the novels "Angela's Ashes" and "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors" ....and I'm a little lost.
What to compare? The authors style? The main themes? Different teachers want different things, right?
Does comparing involve only the things that link them, or should I be adding also the things that make them different?
I know it seems silly that I've never done a comparative essay before - and yes I have checked various sites with my queries, but I definetley need some real-live help.
I'm also worried about making it too cut-and-dry - I'm sure my teacher will have no place in her heart for another boring essay to be made to read.
So... pretty much ANY help would be good help at the moment, having read the books or not.
Site links, tips, example essays.... anything.
Thanks a bundle you guys!!
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3 answers
I would choose three strong topics that are important to the novels... theme would definitely be one, author's style might be another...
They do not have to compare; your choices can also be strong contrasts.
Be sure to give quotes from the books to support your arguments
Last make it personal to you...The conclusion should in someway relate these comparisons to why you either enjoyed (or didn't) the books.
http://www.editorsforstudents.com/literatureessay.html
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:icT9q1cblb4J:teachersites.aquinasinstitute.com/data/FileManager/38/Comparative%2520Essay%2520Rubric.doc+literary+comparative+essay&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us&ie=UTF-8
Second. Here are some analysis sites for those books. Look particularly at the Themes, motifs and symbols. Then look at an analysis of the author's writing style.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/angelasashes/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=+writing+style%2C+Angela%27s+Ashes&btnG=Search
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/woman_who_walked.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roddy_Doyle
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n17_v123/ai_18783819
Compare how they are alike, and how they are different. Items to consider: style, plot, plot development, setting, character development, .....basically, analyze each, and compare them.
It need not be boring. Motivate yourself to find neat and exciting things about each, recognizing they can be different. It should not be boring if you are excited. Think on this: if you were writing for your most precious love, would the letter be boring? Treat these two pieces as you would your most precious love...which means you have to trust them to speak to you plainly...and it wont be boring.
Good luck.