Same Kind Of Different As Me By Ron Hall And Denver Moore

In the novel, Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, two mens’ lives changed in ways that they never dreamed of when their paths crossed unexpectedly. Although the book took place in the 1950s, where slavery had already been outlawed, Denver grew up in virtual slavery in the sharecropping industry in Louisiana. He eventually decided he wanted a better life for himself and jumped onto a train headed to Dallas, where he ended up roaming the streets as an unemployed homeless man for years. One day, he entered a homeless shelter for lunch and met Ron and Ron’s wife Deborah, a rich couple that was serving food. The three became extremely close over time, and when Deborah was diagnosed with cancer, their relationship became even

In the novel, Denver grew up in the South, and being black, he hardly ever interacted with white people on a personal level. He later grew very close to Deborah, who he called Miss Debbie, and said that, “until Miss Debbie, I’d never spoke to no white woman before… that was mighty risky” (156). This shows that the setting of the book had a great impact on Denver’s life because if he would not have grown up in the South, he would not be so anxious around white people. In the book, Denver’s struggles to communicate and talk with white people created many temporary conflicts, which would not have existed had he grown up somewhere else. Moreover, the authors use Ron and Denver to symbolize their two respective social classes, with Ron being rich and white and Denver being poor and black. In the book, Denver describes the social order, stating that he, “worked all year and the man ain’t done nothin, but you still owe the man” (12). By this he is comparing himself to the poor, working class that works hard their whole lives and still ends up poor in contrast to the upper class that does not work nearly as hard but ends up way richer, much like Ron. The setting and symbolism used by the author have a great impact on the

The book consists of many compelling short stories that revolve around the major conflict, which allowed me to read the book without losing interest. However, the book was not just entertaining to read, but taught me many life lessons and allowed me to realize many important facts. For example, in the book, Denver and Ron are two opposite people that have virtually nothing in common and are actually a little bit scared of each other at first. However, after they decide to reach out to one another, they not only become best friends, but end up changing each others’ lives for the better. This reminded me that I could be a little bit more outgoing and friendly in life, reaching out to other people instead of seeing the same couple of faces every day. If I were to meet more people and get to know them, I could make a lot of new friends. Moreover, this shows that our society, myself included, should not be so stereotypical and judgemental, especially to those that are different than us. Initially, Denver and Ron stereotyped each other without even thinking about it, and placed thoughts in their heads that they would dislike the other. People do this every day and it is horribly wrong, as you cannot judge someone simply by the way they look. Much like Ron and Denver, you must get to know a person before you can judge them, and by doing this, many people that you thought badly of may turn out to be great