Sample Topics for Comparison Contrast Essays

In high school and college literature classes, one common type of writing assignment is the comparison and contrast essay. Identifying points of similarity and difference in two or more literary works encourages close reading and stimulates careful thought. To be effective, a comparison-contrast essay needs to be focused on particular methods, characters, and themes. These ten sample topics demonstrate different ways of achieving that focus in a critical essay. Short Fiction: The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of UsherAlthough The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher rely on two notably different types of narrator (the first a mad murderer with a long memory, the second an outside observer who serves as the readers surrogate), both of these stories by Edgar Allan Poe rely on similar devices to create their effects of suspense and horror. Compare and contrast the story-telling methods employed in the two tales, with particular attention to point of view, setting, and diction.Short Fiction: Everyday Use and A Worn PathDiscuss how details of character, language, setting, and symbolism in the stories Everyday Use by Alice Walker and A Worn Path by Eudora Welty serve to characterize the mother (Mrs. Johnson) and the grandmother (Phoenix Jackson), noting points of similarity and difference between the two women.Short Fiction: The Lottery and The Summer PeopleAlthough the same fundamental conflict of tradition vers us change underlies both The Lottery and The Summer People, these two stories by Shirley Jackson offer some notably different observations about human weaknesses and fears. Compare and contrast the two stories, with particular attention to the ways Jackson dramatizes different themes in each. Be sure to include some discussion of the importance of setting, point of view, and character in each story.Poetry: To the Virgins and To His Coy MistressThe Latin phrase carpe diem is popularly translated as seize the day. Compare and contrast these two well-known poems written in the carpe diem tradition: Robert Herricks To the Virgins and Andrew Marvells To His Coy Mistress. Focus on the argumentative strategies and specific figurative devices (for example, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and personification) employed by each speaker.Poetry: Poem for My Fathers Ghost, Steady as Any Ship My Father, and Nikki RosaA daughter investigates her feelings for her father (and, in the process, reveals so mething about herself) in each of these poems: Mary Olivers Poem for My Fathers Ghost, Doretta Cornells Steady as Any Ship My Father, and Nikki Giovannis Nikki Rosa. Analyze, compare, and contrast these three poems, noting how certain poetic devices (such as diction, repetition, metaphor, and simile) serve in each case to characterize the relationship (however ambivalent) between a daughter and her father.Drama: King Oedipus and Willy LomanDifferent as the two plays are, both Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller concern a characters efforts to discover some kind of truth about himself by examining events from the past. Analyze, compare, and contrast the difficult investigative and psychological journeys taken by King Oedipus and Willy Loman. Consider the extent to which each character accepts difficult truths--and also resists accepting them. Which character, do you think, is ultimately more successful in his journey of discovery--and why?Drama: Queen Jo casta, Linda Loman, and Amanda WingfieldCarefully examine, compare, and contrast the characterizations of any two of the following women: Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, and Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Consider each womans relationship with the leading male character(s), and explain why you think each character is primarily active or passive (or both), supportive or destructive (or both), perceptive or self-deceived (or both). Such qualities are not mutually exclusive, of course, and may overlap. Be careful not to reduce these characters to simple-minded stereotypes; explore their complex natures.Drama: Foils in Oedipus Rex, Death of a Salesman, and The Glass MenagerieA foil is a character whose main function is to illuminate the qualities of another character (often the protagonist) through comparison and contrast. First, identify at least one foil character in each of the following works: Oedipus Rex, Death of a Salesm an, and The Glass Menagerie. Next, explain why and how each of these characters may be viewed as a foil, and (most importantly) discuss how the foil character serves to illuminate certain qualities of another character.Drama: Conflicting Responsibilities in Oedipus Rex, Death of a Salesman, and The Glass MenagerieThe three plays Oedipus Rex, Death of a Salesman, and The Glass Menagerie all deal with the theme of conflicting responsibilities--toward self, family, society, and the gods. Like most of us, King Oedipus, Willy Loman, and Tom Wingfield at times try to avoid fulfilling certain responsibilities; at other times, they may appear confused as to what their most important responsibilities should be. By the end of each play, this confusion may or may not be resolved. Discuss how the theme of conflicting responsibilities is dramatized and resolved (if it is resolved) in any two of the three plays, pointing out similarities and differences along the way.Drama and Short Fiction: Trif les and The ChrysanthemumsIn Susan Glaspells play Trifles and John Steinbecks short story The Chrysanthemums, discuss how setting (i.e., the stage set of the play, the fictional setting of the story) and symbolism contribute to our understanding of the conflicts experienced by the character of the wife in each work (Minnie and Elisa, respectively). Unify your essay by identifying points of similarity and difference in these two characters.