Born On The Water Compare And Contrast

Intro: Have you ever read two very different books and later you realized how different the two characters are from one another? Well both of the major characters in "Born On The Water" by Nikole Hannah-Jones and “Patrol”by Walter Dean Myers, are very different yet similar.

“Born On The Water” is a story of a young African American girl who is troubled by a school assignment that requires her to write out her family's genealogy and history because she is unaware of it. She wants her grandma to explain the history of their ancestors. According to the girl's grandma, they were taken from their beloved homeland by white people 400 years ago, in 1619. She explains how American slavery began in Virginia and how the enslaved people used their knowledge

In “Born On The Water” Jones writes on page 12 “Others tossed themselves into the teal eternity of the Atlantic ocean swimming one last time with their ancestors.” The main character of Patrol is now engaged in a battle and, during one of the book's brief interludes, he begins to imagine his family. On page 8 in “Patrol” the soldier illustrates “Crouched against a tree older than my grandfather, I imagine the enemy crouching against a tree older than his grandfather.” This statement indicates that during this extremely stressful time in the war, he takes a minute to reflect and consider his family. This really demonstrates to me how the situation he is in has changed his perspective and helped him realize how important his family is, in reality. The main characters mature and come to appreciate how important their families are to them. Each of the main characters is plagued by memories that have their roots in the past and are being brought back by events taking place in the

In Patrol the main character is feeling guilty and decides to write a letter two his family. On page 18 of “Patrol” the main character says “I write a letter to someone I love. I wonder if my enemy is writing a letter?” Throughout this point of the story, the main character begins to worry about his family because the war is making him anxious and making him prioritize his family over anything else. In “Born On The Water” on page 8 Jones writes “the white people took them anyway. Kidnapped them.” The main character in this statement is talking about her ancestors, and when she refers to "them," she admits that they are her ancestors. This incident in the past caused her to admit that they were her ancestors, which made her think about family and ancestry. The main characters in both stories experience remorse about not giving their family enough thought. As a result, they try to acknowledge them, which prompts them to consider their family and recognize how significant they really