A Blow In The Dark Comparison Essay

This is a comparative essay involving “A Glow in the Dark” by Gary Paulsen and “Thank You, Ma’m” by Langston Hughes. This essay will introduce three similarities and three differences between the two stories. I chose to write about these two stories because these are my favorite stories among the four stories that we needed to choose. (checked) The first similarity is that both stories include elements of trust. In “A Glow in the Dark”, Gary Paulsen, who is the narrator, trusted his dogs so he could be brave and discover the ‘ghost’. Paulsen quotes: ”My legs moved without my wanting them to move and my body followed them, alongside the team in the dark, holding to each dog like a security blanket until I reached the next one, moving closer to the light until I was at the front and there were no more dogs to hold.” (Paulsen, 323). In “Thank You, Ma’m”, Ms. Jones believes the little thief at the end of the story. Hughes quotes: ”The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse.” (Hughes, 391). (checked) The second similarity is that in both stories the tone changes. In “A Glow in the Dark”, the tone of the narrator towards the ‘ghost’ changed. Paulsen quotes: “I

In “A Glow in the Dark”, the setting takes place in the countryside, specifically in a forest without any light at close to one in the morning. In “Thank You, Ma’m” the setting takes place in the city and in Mrs. Jones’s kitchenette at elevon o’ clock at night. Paulsen quotes:” It was cloudy and fairly warm--close to fifty--and had rained the night before. Without the moon or even starlight I had no idea where the puddles were until they splashed me—largely in the face—so I was soon dripping wet.” (Paulsen, 322). Hughes quotes: “It was eleven o’clock at night, dark, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse.” (Hughes,