Compare and Contrast Essay

1. Compare and Contrast Essay Expository Writing

2. Objective • Today we will write an essay in the compare/contrast format.

3. Review • Compare- to examine how thing are similar • Contrast- to examine how things are different

4. Review- How to Read a Poem • Read the title • Mark off the sentences in the poem, using hash marks • Read the poem through quickly, highlighting unknown words • Read the poem again for initial understanding

5. Active Reading Answer as many of the 5 W’s as possible • Who? • What? • When? • Where? • Why? Theme- Mood- Tone-

6. The Prompt • Compare and contrast the two poems by Edgar Lee Masters.

7. “George Gray”Edgar Lee Masters • I have studied many times • The marble which was chiseled for me— • A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. • In truth it pictures not my destination • 5 But my life. • For love was offered me…and I shrank from its • disillusionment: • Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid: • Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. • Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. • 10 And now I know that we must lift the sail • And catch the winds of destiny • Wherever they drive the boat. • To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness. • But life without meaning is the torture • 15 Of restless and vague desire— • It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

8. The earth keeps some vibration going There in your heart, and that is you. And if the people find you can fiddle, Why fiddle you must, for all your life. 5 What do you see, a harvest of clover? Or a meadow to walk through to the river? The wind’s in the corn; you rub your hands For beeves hereafter ready for market; or else you hear the rustle of skirts 10 Like the girls when dancing at Little Grove. To Cooney Potter a pillar of dust Or whirling leaves meant ruinous drouth; They looked to me like Red-Head Sammy Stepping it off, to “Toor-a-Loor.” 15 How could I till my forty acres Not to speak of getting more, With a medley of horns, bassoons and piccolos Stirred in my brain by crows and robins And the creak of a windmill—only these? 20 And I never started to plow in my life That someone did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic. I ended up with a broken fiddle— 25 And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret. “Fiddler Jones” Edgar Lee Masters

9. Notes taken while rereading the poems Topics Fiddler Jones George Gray Character artistic lighthearted fulfilled talented regretful sad fearful desperate Sim/Dif Mood happy light playful optimistic heavy dark tragic depressing Sim/Dif Theme don’t hide from life take chances live your life meaning in life use your talents Sim/Dif Back to JOT

10. Step One • Give your essay a title. Two Poems from Spoon River Anthology

11. Step Two: The Plan Things I might want to compare and or contrast- • Characters • Mood • Theme • Etc.

12. Step Three: Summary Statement • State the genre, title, and author • Give the situation or background The characters Fiddler Jones and George Gray speak from the grave in Edgar Lee Master’s poems about life and death.

13. Step Four- What is your point? Thesis Statement • Here, the point is to compare and contrast. • What will you compare and contrast? literary elements, events, or beliefs • Although the characters and mood in “George Gray” and “Fiddler Jones” by Edgar Lee Masters are vastly different, the theme of living life to its fullest is present in both.

14. Step 4: Make a Plan-Block it Out Thesis + Plan Character Mood Theme Conclusion

15. Step 5: Make an informal outline- JOT Thesis + Plan Conclusion Characters Use your notes for examples, elaborations, and Embedded quotes. Mood Use your notes for examples, elaborations, and Embedded quotes Theme Use your notes for examples, elaborations, and Embedded quotes Click below to review notes

16. Step 6: Use transitions • a similar, another, also, besides, like, likewise, resembles, comparable, similar to, comparison, differ, different, unlike, on the other hand, contrary, but, yet, opposite from, to contrast, dissimilar, different from, by comparison

17. Step 7: Plan a Conclusion • Remind the reader of your thesis • Repeat key information using synonyms • Nothing new or CIP Call to action Insight Prediction

18. Steps 8-12 8. Write your first draft 9. Revise your draft 10. Edit your essay 11. Make a final draft 12. Proofread/ Publish/ Share

19. Two Poems from Spoon River Anthology • “George Gray” and “Fiddler Jones” by Edgar Lee Masters are characters who speak from the grave from the book of poems called Spoon River Anthology. The main characters Fiddler Jones and George Gray are very different. Like night and day, the mood in each poem is in total contrast . Although the characters and mood in both poems are vastly different, the theme of living life to its fullest is present in both. • Fiddler Jones is the polar opposite of George Gray. While Fiddler Jones is artistic and lighthearted, George Gray is filled with regret, fear, and sadness. While fiddler Jones ended up with “a thousand memories,” George Gray lived life “without meaning.” One character embraced the human experience and the other hid from it. • Similarly, the mood in each poem is at opposite ends of the light spectrum. Fiddler Jones reflects of his life in a light and playful manner. He remembers being taken away by friends to “dance and picnic.” George Gray’s tragic life is punctuated by darkness, missed chances, and regret. He remembers hiding from life because he was afraid. • Both characters arrive at the same conclusion when reflecting on their lives; a life lived without meaning is meaningless. Even though George Gray missed his chance to experience life while living, he now sees the error of his ways. Fiddler Jones lived and felt every joy life offered because he also allowed himself to experience life’s pain.

20. Closure • What are the steps for writing a compare/contrast essay? • What is the format for writing this type of essay?

21. Practice • Write your own compare and contrast essay.