Literature 210 Final Essay

Comparing and contrasting literature is an effective way to show the similarities and differences between two works. All types of literature can be compared and contrasted poetry, sonnets, short stories, and essays. The focus of this paper will be two essays: American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrances of a Gay Boyhood by Bernard Cooper. The similarities and differences of themes, writing styles, and literary devices used by the two authors will be looked at in this paper.
To begin a brief plot summary to help find the theme is in order. In Cofer’s essay, American History, the main character, also the narrator, is a girl in her early teens named Elena. Elena lives in a large tenement in Paterson, New Jersey. This tenement is described as “a monstrous jukebox, blasting out salsas from open windows...” and as one of many “dilapidated apartment buildings” (Abcarian & Klotz, 2007). The essay covers a period in Elena’s life in which she is awkward and made fun of by the other girls who call her “Skinny Bones” (Abcarian & Klotz, 2007). However, Elena has “one source of beauty and light,” (Abcarian & Klotz, 2007), a boy whose family had moved into the only house on the block with a yard, which happened to be next to El Building. Elena would sit in her bedroom window and look into the kitchen of Eugene’s house, watching him as he sat at the kitchen table reading books, (Abcarian & Klotz, 2007). Cooper’s essay A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrances of a Gay Boyhood compares to Cofer’s essay as the narrator is also a young boy about the same age as Elena. The narrator of this story is also at an awkward stage of life. He describes his body as “a marvel I hadn’t gotten used to; my arms and legs would sometimes act of their own accord…” (Abcarian & Klotz, 2007). The main character of Cooper’s essay also has an attraction for a boy, named Grady. After seeing his mothers reaction to his question; what is a fag?;   he...