Comparison and Contrast Writing

What is comparison and contrast? Comparison shows how two or more things are similar Contrast shows how two or more things are different In most writing situations, the two related processes are used together An analogy explains one thing by comparing it to a second, more familiar, thing.

Establishing a basis for comparison The two things to be compared must have enough in common to justify the comparison. In making comparisons, you should move beyond the obvious When two things are very similar, it is the contrasts that may be worth writing about.

Searching points for discussion Determine your emphasis on similarities, differences, or both. Determine the major focus of your paper. Make sure you treat the same or similar elements for each subject you will discuss: Novel A Novel B Major characters Minor characters themes

Do not discuss entirely different elements for each subject. Novel A Novel B Major Characters Plot Minor Characters Author’s Life Themes symbolism Do not discuss entirely different elements for each subject.

Point-Example-Explain Sonny’s Blues: Compare/Contrast the narrator and Sonny This is a great time for Point-Example-Explain! Example/ Support Point 1 Support Point 2 Sonny is a dreamer, Narrator is a realist (contrast) Wants to be a jazz musician Pg. 75 Wants Sonny to find a real job Pg. 80 Neither brother can deal with reality, but they do it in different ways (compare AND contrast) Sonny tries to escape reality using drugs Pg. 78 Narrator ignores reality and is “cold” Pg. 74

Formulating a Thesis Statement Identify not only the subjects to be compared and contrasted in your essay, but the point you will make about them. Also indicate whether you will focus on similarities or differences, or balance the two. “Although Melville’s Moby-Dick and London’s The Sea Wolf are both about the sea, the minor characters, major characters, and themes of Moby-Dick establish its greater complexity.” Although both of my communities consist of friends, my school community has the greatest impact on my life.

While Morrison’s novel underscores the theme of self-loathing by the main characters, Faulkner's story elucidates the theme of patriarchal supremacy. (contrast)  On Going Home and Sonny’s Blues are about families, and the characters in both stories run away and come back home at the same time. Although On Going Home and Sonny’s Blues are both about families, On Going Home is about a family who cannot let go whereas Sonny’s Blues illustrates a family running from each other.

One way to start a compare and contrast thesis is by using words like whereas, while, even though, and although to suggest a contrasting element will follow.

Point by Point Comparison Good for longer, more complex papers Make a point about one subject, and then follow it with a comparable point about the other subject. Alternating pattern Be careful not to fall into a monotonous, back and forth movement between points. To avoid this problem, vary sentence structure as you move from point to point.

A good idea to do is: Para 1: Comparison Para 1: Comparison Para 2: Contrast Para 2: Comparison Para 3: Contrast Para 3: Contrast Or Para 1: Compare and Contrast Para 2: Compare and Contrast Para 3: Compare and Contrast

Method Outline: I. Introduction A Method Outline: I. Introduction A. Briefly introduce the works and significance of subject matter B. Thesis statement II. First comparative/contrast point A. Relation of point to 1st work B. Relation of point to 2nd work III. Second comparative/contrast point (same) IV. Third comparative/contrast point (same) V. Conclusion A. Restate thesis B. Summarize how your proved your argument

Thesis: Even though both James Baldwin and Sherman Alexie create main characters with addictions, Sonny overcomes his addiction through the help of his brother while Victor’s dad just runs away. Topic sentence: Both Sonny’s Blues and My Father… are about addiction. Para: Each following sentence are about the similarities the stories share about addiction. Topic sentence: Although both stories deal with addiction, Sonny is addicted to heroine while Victor’s dad is addicted to alcohol. Para: Each sentence will discuss the differences between the addictions and how the characters deal with it.

Topic sent: Compared to Sonny’s Blues, My Father… deals with a character who is obsessed with someone else’s music instead of making his own. Topic sent: Like Sonny’s Blues, My Father… deals with a character who is trying to escape the disappointments and harsh realities of life. Topic sent: Despite their differing racial backgrounds, both protagonists share similar battles and hardships.

EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH #1 Both “Sonnet  138” and “Sonnet 43” describe the speaker’s love for their significant other. In “Sonnet 138,” Shakespeare calls the woman “my love” while in “Sonnet 43,” Browning calls her husband “love of my life.” EXPLAIN 1-3 SENTENCES. However, Shakespeare does not trust his woman, evident when he says, “I know she lies.” Browning, on the other hand, trusts her husband with the “depth, breadth, and width of [her] soul.” EXPLAIN 1-3 SENTENCES.

Paragraph Sample pre-writing  On Going Home and Sonny’s Blues are about families, and the characters in both stories run away and come back home at the same time. Types of families: both Sonny and Joan Didion have strained, yet close, relationships with their families. Sonny/narrator = brothers, they were estranged for years (Sonny in jail/fight), they both suffer loss (daughter/parents), they come together at the end. Joan Didion = family (parents/brother/husband/daughter), Didion lives away from her family b/c of marriage (estranged?), she cries when she hangs up the phone (she’s missing them/really close) ESTRANGED Sonny                                                       didion                Jail/fights                                                marriage/job/distance Both Sonny and Didion miss their families. Sonny wrote his brother first b/c INSERT MY ANALYSIS. Didion returns home for her daughter’s b-day b/c INSERT ANALYSIS.

Example Paragraph #2 Both Joan Didion and Sonny run away from their homes. While Didion left home because of her job and her marriage, Sonny leaves home because of drugs. Didion states, “Marriage is the classic betrayal” (73). She feels that she is at odds with her family and her husband because they do not agree. Didion abandons her family in CVC by moving to LA and marrying an outsider. Although Sonny abandons his family like Didion, he does it in a very different way. He becomes addicted to drugs and tells the narrator to pretend “that [he is] dead” (77). Sonny pushes his entire family away because he cared more about the drugs than his brother. The specific situations Didion and Sonny are in with their family – one, a marriage and one, an addiction – causes them to turn from the people who cared about them and separated them. THEY ARE BOTH SAD.