A
& P vs. Araby Comparison Paragraphs
Paragraph #1: What new idea or understanding
did you encounter through the course of the discussion? What did you learn, or
in what way did your perspective change as a result of the discussions?
During
the discussion there were some points that were brought up that opened my mind
to more similes and hidden meanings in the two stories. I learned that both
stories are driven off the main character’s inability to look beyond the
surface of things. Something important that
the discussion brought to my attention, was the fact that both characters were
blinded by the theory that obtaining materialistic goods, could bring them
spiritualistic feelings. In some cases this may be a possibility, but the way
the two boys in each story try to obtain their spiritualistic feelings, is
essentially based off of immaturity. I was also able to relate the odd endings
of each story to how the boys both mature, and how they realize the mistakes
they made regarding their blindness. In conclusion, the discussion was able to
spark my analyzing skills, and I was able to make more critical connections in
both of the stories.
Paragraph #2: If you had to write an essay comparing Araby
and A&P, what would be your specific focus or area of interest? On what
grounds would you compare the stories? How would you contrast them?
If I were
to write an essay comparing the two stories A&P
and Araby, I would focus specifically
on how the characters want to achieve a spiritualistic feeling, and how materialistic
goods relate to this feeling. In Araby,
the girl’s, and the bizarre poster’s surface blinds the main character and he
does not look past the surface. He thinks he can achieve a spiritualistic
feeling of being with the girl, by getting her a materialistic good. In A&P Sammy wants the spiritualistic
feeling of freedom, and the fact that he thinks he can obtain this by physically
hanging out with the girls because he thinks they are attractive. He is blinded
by the girl’s appearance and does not look beyond the surface. I would then
contrast the ending of the stories talking about how both characters realize
their mistakes caused by their blindness. The two characters also react
differently to this realization.
Sample Essay
In the two stories A&P and Araby, the two characters want to achieve a spiritualistic feeling,
and both characters are blinded by how materialistic goods relate to this
feeling. In Araby, the main character
wants to get a girl that he thinks is like an angel. In reality the girl is very
ordinary and he is blinded by her physical appearance. He thinks that he can
obtain the spiritualistic feeling of being with the girl by obtaining a
materialistic good at the bizarre. The poster advertising the bizarre also
blinds him, as he see eastern people on the board and he assumes the event will
be very mystical. These both prove that the main character is blinded by the
surface of items, and does not have the maturity to look beyond it. In A&P, Sammy the main character, wants
to obtain the spiritualistic feeling of freedom.. He sees the girls as only
what their physical appearance is and he wants to hang out with them as he
finds one of them to be very attractive. He realizes that if he gets to hang
out with the girls, it will give him a reason to quit his job and obtain this
feeling of freedom. In the end his plan does not work out, as the girls do not
even notice him. In the end his maturity grows as he realizes how dumb his
decision was, and he realizes that he was blinded by the physical appearance of
the girls. He thinks that the world will be harder from then on in, as he
likely not be blinded again, and he wont ever be able to make decisions based
on his blindness, meaning that he will make more mature decisions that probable
wont be the decisions that he really wants to make. In conclusion, both the
character’s blindness causes them to think that they can achieve spiritualistic
feelings, from obtaining materialistic goods. They both end up maturing at the
end and in Araby he is disgusted with
his blindness, and in A&P he
realizes the “mature” world he now has to live in is going to be a lot harder.
