Themes In 'La Bamba And Medusa's Head'

Always try to find the theme of a story. In the stories “La Bamba”, written by Gary Soto, and “Medusa’s Head”, retold by Olivia Coolidge, the themes compare like peaches and plums. However, the characters, Manuel and Perseus, and their personalities, contrast like apples and oranges.

In the story, “La Bamba”, Manuel, the main character, is proposed as an average person, and looked like others in his community. On page 337, in the text, it states, “Manuel was the fourth of seven children and looked like a lot of other kids in his neighborhood...” Manuel is nervous about his act in the talent show, because in the story, on page 338, it states, “For Science Week he had wired together a C battery and a bulb and told everyone he

Unlike Manuel, Perseus differs other people, as he is stronger and more handsome than the average man. In the story, on page 353, in the book, it states, “At last, Perseus became a young man, handsome and strong beyond the common…” He is brave because he killed the dreadful Medusa. On page 357, it states, “Horror stiffened his arm as he hovered over her with his sword uplifted. There was a great cry and a hissing.” The theme can be described as ‘some things are for the better’. In the myth, Perseus must risk his life in order to decapitate the Gorgon Medusa. I know that he must kill the Gorgon Medusa because in the text, on page 354, one of the characters, Polydectes, tells Perseus, “Fetch me, if this is your boast, the Gorgon’s head.” Perseus then kills the Gorgon. Polydectes is worried when Perseus shows up, and then Perseus ends up killing Polydectes, which then stops him from marrying Danaë. He then saves Andromeda from a sea monster, sent by the Greek god Poseidon. In the textbook, on page 359, states, “Perseus sprang once more into the air unveiling the dreadful head of dead Medusa to the monster, which reared its dripping jaws high into the air. The mighty tail stiffened all of a sudden, the boiling of the water ceased, and only the gentle waves of a receding ocean lapped around a long, gray ridge of stone.” Perseus then marries Andromeda, and becomes the new king of Argos. Evidence in the text on page 359 proves this. “Then Perseus freed Andromeda and restored her to her father and beautiful mother. Thereafter, with their consent, he married her amid the scenes of tremendous rejoicing, and with his bride set sail at last for the kingdom of Polydectes…….Thus the prophecy of Apollo was fulfilled at last; Acrisios was killed by his grandson. Then Perseus came into his kingdom, where he reigned with Andromeda long and