Authors Note: In this following piece, I will compare and contrast two characters from two different books.
Most people wouldn’t think that a young girl from the 1700’s, and a gang member from Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1900’s could ever relate; but those who believe they can’t are wrong. Willy Freeman from War Comes to Willy Freeman is taken place in the time of the Revolutionary War and experiences many adventures and tragedies including the death of both her parent’s. Willy had to face living on her own until she met a group of people who looked after and cared for her as if they were a family. Fast forwarding two hundred years, Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders is a gang member in Oklahoma, whose parents also died and has to face living with his two older brothers and a group of friends who he cares deeply about. Both Willy from War Comes to Willy Freeman and Ponyboy from The Outsiders are alike in many ways, but they also have differences too.
First, both main characters had to face survival, living on their own without a mother or father by their side to guide them. Ponyboy has his two brothers Sodapop and Darry who both look after him, but it’s still nothing like having a mom or dad. When you’re going through a tough time, the first place most people think to go is to your parents for advice. They’ve been through the stage you’re going through, so they know what’s best and how to get you through it. Relating to Ponyboy, Willy’s dad died and her mom was taken away with the British, so she also didn’t have anyone to go to.
Furthermore, even though their parents are dead, they both have a group of friends who care for them. Willy meets some older men in New York, who give her shelter, pay her for her hard work, and provide her food. They all end up caring so much for one another that you could consider them a family. Ponyboy has his brothers and his friends in their gang that he depends on. The greasers are known as the mean, poor people who don’t care about a thing; but all of Ponyboy’s friends and brothers care about each other, which they are also considered as family.
However, although these characters are both very much alike, they also have differences. Willy still has an Aunt and Uncle that could look after her. She never knew her Aunt or Uncle before the death of her parents, but knowing that either living on her own, or living with her kindhearted Aunt and Uncle, they would be the better decision. Ponyboy doesn’t have any adults to look after him besides his brother Darry who is 26 years old. It’s better to have an older adult raising you because they know what’s best and how to handle situations from going through that stage of being a teenager.
In conclusion, Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders and Willy Freeman from War Comes to Willy Freeman can definitely relate to one another. The death of both of their parent’s makes it the easiest to have similarities. But, just as they relate in many ways, they also have their differences. While the two of them are from different time periods and from different backgrounds, I’m sure they would have been friends. They both went through tragic circumstances, and had to grow up without parents to guide them.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Big Effect
Authors Note: In this piece of writing, I will be telling the climax of the story “War Comes to Willy Freeman”, telling what caused the climax, and explain the consequences that were faced of the climax.
In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy’s father was killed right before her eyes by a British soldier and her mother was captured by the British. When Willy’s Pa asked her to go with him to help him while fighting in the war, she went with him, which was the climax of the story. She left her Ma behind, believing that her daughter was going to die.
Leading up to the climax, Willy and her mother were working at home like any typical day, but suddenly they had a visitor at the door. Willy’s Pa had demanded her to come with him to where the war had been held. Since women could not argue with the father’s orders, Willy had to leave her mother behind at home. The father had caused the climax of the story because otherwise Willy’s Ma would most likely have not been taken.
Since Willy’s Ma had been captured, Willy had the mindset to find her. Her father was dead and she was scared to be anywhere else other than with her mother. A lady in town had told her that the British had taken them to New York, so she started her journey off to New York on her dad’s boat, or what she called it “the jolly boat”. The obstacles she went through were her consequences of the decision she made by leaving her mom. As she was sailing through the deep ocean, a boat filled with American soldiers captured her. They were going to let Willy stay on the boat until they figured out what they decided to do with her. If she had never gone with her Pa, none of what she went through would have happened, most importantly; her Ma wouldn’t have been taken away from her.
In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy’s father was killed right before her eyes by a British soldier and her mother was captured by the British. When Willy’s Pa asked her to go with him to help him while fighting in the war, she went with him, which was the climax of the story. She left her Ma behind, believing that her daughter was going to die.
Leading up to the climax, Willy and her mother were working at home like any typical day, but suddenly they had a visitor at the door. Willy’s Pa had demanded her to come with him to where the war had been held. Since women could not argue with the father’s orders, Willy had to leave her mother behind at home. The father had caused the climax of the story because otherwise Willy’s Ma would most likely have not been taken.
Since Willy’s Ma had been captured, Willy had the mindset to find her. Her father was dead and she was scared to be anywhere else other than with her mother. A lady in town had told her that the British had taken them to New York, so she started her journey off to New York on her dad’s boat, or what she called it “the jolly boat”. The obstacles she went through were her consequences of the decision she made by leaving her mom. As she was sailing through the deep ocean, a boat filled with American soldiers captured her. They were going to let Willy stay on the boat until they figured out what they decided to do with her. If she had never gone with her Pa, none of what she went through would have happened, most importantly; her Ma wouldn’t have been taken away from her.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
One side of the story
Authors Note: This writing piece is about how the narrator’s point of view of a story influences the reader’s thoughts towards the events or characters.
In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy Freeman is a young girl who works at home with her mom while her dad is in the Revolutionary War. Her dad made Willy disguise as a boy so she could help him where the war was taking place. As she helped others with the guns, her father was killed right before her eyes by a British soldier. Moments later she was told that her mother was captured by the British and taken to New York as a slave. This story was written in the perspective of a young girl named Willy. From her perspective, some of the characters such as Captain Ivers and Mrs. Ivers were very malicious and cruel.
One way that Willy’s point of view influenced my thoughts toward the characters is how they treated her. After Mrs. Ivers was told that Willy’s mom was captured by the British and her father had been killed, she still didn’t want her living with them. Captain Ivers was the one to decide that Willy could stay with her aunt and uncle in the cellar, but only until he figured out what he was going to do with her. They would abuse Willy when she did one little mistake.
However, if the book had been in the perspective of Mrs. Ivers, things would have been different. Since Mrs. Ivers is white, she didn’t have to work because she had slaves to do that job. The ones that were not white were treated horribly. To the whites, they were only useful to do work and to work for them. For instance, the reader wouldn’t react to how tragic the war really was if the book wasn’t written in Willy’s perspective.
As you can see, the perspective of a story causes the reader to only see one side of an event. In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy Freeman’s point of view influences the reader to feel the way Willy felt about the events and the characters because of the way she described them. While reading this story, I could understand the feelings that Willy interoperated by the way she described the characters and events within the book.
In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy Freeman is a young girl who works at home with her mom while her dad is in the Revolutionary War. Her dad made Willy disguise as a boy so she could help him where the war was taking place. As she helped others with the guns, her father was killed right before her eyes by a British soldier. Moments later she was told that her mother was captured by the British and taken to New York as a slave. This story was written in the perspective of a young girl named Willy. From her perspective, some of the characters such as Captain Ivers and Mrs. Ivers were very malicious and cruel.
One way that Willy’s point of view influenced my thoughts toward the characters is how they treated her. After Mrs. Ivers was told that Willy’s mom was captured by the British and her father had been killed, she still didn’t want her living with them. Captain Ivers was the one to decide that Willy could stay with her aunt and uncle in the cellar, but only until he figured out what he was going to do with her. They would abuse Willy when she did one little mistake.
However, if the book had been in the perspective of Mrs. Ivers, things would have been different. Since Mrs. Ivers is white, she didn’t have to work because she had slaves to do that job. The ones that were not white were treated horribly. To the whites, they were only useful to do work and to work for them. For instance, the reader wouldn’t react to how tragic the war really was if the book wasn’t written in Willy’s perspective.
As you can see, the perspective of a story causes the reader to only see one side of an event. In “War comes to Willy Freeman”, Willy Freeman’s point of view influences the reader to feel the way Willy felt about the events and the characters because of the way she described them. While reading this story, I could understand the feelings that Willy interoperated by the way she described the characters and events within the book.
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