COMPARE AND CONTRAST LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPER Works of Literature

COMPARE AND CONTRAST LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPER Works of Literature

OVERVIEW What is comparison, contrast? Apples and oranges How do we compare and contrast literature? “Fish Cheeks” by Tan, and “Masks” by Silverstein Comparison Contrast Organizer

APPLES AND ORANGES Ever heard the adage “don’t compare apples to oranges?” We all know what it means: comparing the two doesn’t make practical sense because they are very different.

SIMILARITIES Both are fruits. Both have seeds. You can make juice with either. You can get both at the grocery store. Both contain vitamin C.

DIFFERENCES Apples have a thin exterior; oranges do not. Oranges already come in slices; apples do not. Oranges are typically sourer than apples. They are different colors. Apples have more varieties. Huh. That’s a rather successful comparison, don’t you think?

HOW DO WE COMPARE AND CONTRAST LITERATURE? That was fruit, now how do we transfer that “compare and contrast” method from fruit to works of literature? Specifically to a poem (instead of an apple) and a short story (instead of oranges)? Let’s practice with “Fish Cheeks,” by Amy Tam and the following poem, “Masks” by Shel Silverstein. Discussion on “Fish Cheeks”

CONTRASTING THEMES Theme of “Fish Cheeks” Read “Masks” and provide a theme

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER How are they the same, different? Unlike the characters in "Masks," the narrator in "Fish Cheeks" finally expresses . Read these lines from the poem. "He kept it hid/And so did she." Which sentence from the story relates a similar idea? The narrator of "Fish Cheeks" and the characters in the poem both .?

COMPARISON CONTRAST ORGANIZER Use the Compare/Contrast Organizer to compare and contrast two or more literary pieces from your study short fiction. The organizer can be used in different ways, some of which are identified below: 1. Compare and contrast the way each author writes the short stories (point of view, diction, devices ) 2. Compare and contrast literary elements (exposition, conflict, denouement ) of two short stories 3. Compare and contrast major and minor themes of two short stories

STEPS 1 - 4 Step #1: Select the two “short stories” to be compared and contrasted. Step #2: Brainstorm everything you know about each of them, one at a time. Write down everything you know. Look for additional information in your resource materials (textbook, notebook, other) Step #3: Sort the features you came up with in Step #2 into two categories: the things that are the same for each of the two items and the things about each item that are different. Step #4: Identify a conclusion you’ve come to about the relationship between the two items.

CONCLUSION In the “Conclusion” portion of the graphic organizer, answer the following three questions. Your answers will describe the relationship between the two stories. 1. “What were the important areas of similarity and difference?” 2. “Was one of the stories you compared and contrasted better, more important, more effectively written, or equal to the other story and why?”