how are richie and pewee alike and different?

Richie and Peewee come from entirely different backgrounds; Peewee comes from the mean streets of Chicago while Richie comes from a family made up of a deserted father, an alcoholic mother, and a younger brother, Kenny, for whom he hopes to somehow provide a brighter future. Both have come from an indigent background (Richie's mom spent what little money his family had while Peewee hails from the ghetto), and both are trying to figure out what war is all about and how they should act in the war. They have different attitudes from their previous lives, but they end up still puzzled when they return to their homes at the end of the war.