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Compare And Contrast Powder And To Build A Fire

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"Powder" & "To Build a Fire" Compare and Contrast

The two stories, "Powder" and "To Build a Fire," are written by different authors and based on different topics but still share similarities in problem-solving and expedition. But although they share similar traits, there are differences between the two stories. When comparing them, readers can see how similar yet how different any story can be when written by different authors.

The similarities between these two passages are countless. Both authors wrote about a companion helping out their guardian. In "Powder," written by Tobias Wolff, it states, "I [son] got out and dragged one of the sawhorses aside, then put it back after he drove through. He [dad] pushed the door open for me. 'Now …show more content…

For one, "Powder," written by Tobias Wolff, is a story about a son and his father, while "To Build a Fire," written by Jack London, is about a dog and his owner. Another difference is where the characters are in each story. Although both stories are about escaping a winter storm, they both do it in different ways. The father and son in "Powder" avoid the snow in a car, while in "To Build a Fire," the dog and his owner escape the snow by hiking outside. "The road was closed. My father said, 'Look. We're talking about five, six inches. I've taken this care through worse than that." (Tobias Wolff) "He continued through the level forest for several miles. He looked at his watch. It was ten o'clock. He was traveling at the rate of four miles an hour. Thus, he figured that he would arrive where the stream divided at half-past twelve." (Jack London) Another difference is the way the story is written. In "Powder," the story is written in first-person. The story opens with the phrase, "Just before Christmas my father took me skiing at Mount Baker." (Tobias Wolff) The sentence uses the words my and me, insinuating that the story is about the narrator's feelings and his story. In "To Build a Fire," the story is written in third-person omniscient. "Once, sensing danger, he made the dog go ahead. The dog did not want to go. It hesitated until the man pushed it forward." (Jack London) This sentence shows the

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For example, both of these texts share the setting of a cold climate. Plus, the men in both stories have an amazing sense of direction and know where they are going without being able to see tracks from those who have come before them. Also, the boy and dog aid the men on their quests. In Powder the father treats the boy as something to protect, but in To Build a Fire the man uses the dog as an "experiment" just to make sure that he himself didn't get cold feet. Furthermore, in Powder the man and boy aid each other and their relationship grows, whereas in To Build a Fire the relationship starts out fine then as the story progresses the man uses the dog instead of caring for him.

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For example, “Enrique is bewildered. Who will take care of him now that his mother is gone?” (7). This quote shows us that with the use of 3rd person omniscient POV, Enrique is hurt and broken that his mother has left him. “She slides to the floor, to her knees and prays.

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In the short story “Powder,” Tobias Wolff uses indirect characterization to help us understand how the father acts and behaves. First, Tobias Wolff expertly uses indirect characterization by saying “He’d had to fight for the privilege of my company” (Para 1). This allows the reader to infer that the father is reckless or careless and is not trustworthy as he must fight for the company of his son on the ski trip. Secondly, Tobias Wolff uses indirect characterization to show that the father is also caring and wants to take his son skiing as we see in the text “He wouldn’t give up. He promised hand on heart to take good care of me and have me home for dinner on Christmas Eve” (Para 2).

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One a story about a marshal who’s enemy (that he put away in jail) is coming back for revenge, and the other a story about a hunter captured and used as the animal in a hunting game. They are two sides of the same pen. The

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Compare and Contrast "Powder" v.s. "To Build a Fire" "Powder" and "To Build a Fire" are stories that both put another being at risk because of selfishness. Each story involves extreme cold, snow, and danger. Each story also has a person in charge who puts another in an unsafe situation. The son in "Powder" and the wolf dog in "To Build a Fire" both know the men with them are not making good decisions.

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Although both stories contain expressive and colorful descriptions of the events that occur and how the characters feel, The Jilting of

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These two pieces are so similar in fact that it seems hard to differentiate the two and understand why Susan Glaspell felt the need to write both of them so close together. It is in the subtle differences that the story opens up more to the reader and becomes much larger than its small size. Both pieces are complementary to one another and should be examined when studying this writer and her contribution with these pieces of

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He told Alex (my twin sister) and I to wait in the truck. I was confused and curious as to why we had stopped. I just had assumed my dad had to use the restroom and couldn’t hold it any longer. That was until my dad abruptly climbed down into the ditch alongside the road. He made his way through the corn stover, nearing a tall green plant.

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If you were to read two of the exact same stories just written in different genres, you would think you are reading two completely different pieces of writing. For

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Even though their stories differ both show a deep connection the writers past and helps the reader how the events shaped their theme. E.B. White focuses heavily on the imagery in his narration of his trip to the lake. He tries to show his readers that he remembers all of the details of how the lake was, “There were cottages sprinkled around the shores, and it was farming country although the shores of the lake were quite heavily wooded” (White 459). White’s recollection of the lake trip shows his nostalgic tone and memories of the body of

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These stories are similar in many ways and help to show the way the Native Americans thought. In the first story about the little boy who grew up with no parents. It showed the struggle of the little boy. From the time he was young and until he left he was all alone and had no help from other. His perseverance and strong will is what got him though all the difficult times in his young life.

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Omniscient narrator: This is a common 3rd person narrator in which the person of the tale knows everything, from private thoughts, secret or hidden events, to jumping betweens time. However, the narrator does not tell the reader or viewer everything, until it has a great affect on the story. This is used throughout the story, and the story line can change whenever. For example, if i am a omniscient narrator, i would be able to tell you what every single character is thinking, their actions, and their consequences.

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Sherman Alexi learned how to read he would look at the pictures and imagine she was reading by just observing. Alexi was really smart he learned how to read at very young age he demonstrated that he was at a higher reading level than his classmates. In the tribe, Indians are expected to fail Alexi refused to fail he wanted to prove he could be best in front of Indians and non-Indians, Alexi realized that the way to succeed was to read anything she came across to she would read anywhere and at any time. Sherman Alexi became a writer he visited schools to teach Indian students how to read and write he wanted to provide them with help that he wasn’t provided with when he was in school. In comparison of both stories would be that when someone has the help or the motivation to achieve that person will be able to without any hesitation but at the same time they need to learn how to focus and realize that its them who want to

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