Character Comparison Essay: "The Scarlet Ibis" and "Thank You Ma'am" Anonymous 9th Grade

Characters might seem different at a glance, but if you pay enough attention you can see how alike they are. People can look different based on perspective. A thief from the city with nothing and a farm boy from the country with a decent life have nothing in common on the surface, yet look a little deeper and you’ll see the truth. Roger, from James Hurst's “Thank You, Ma’am” and Doodle’s older brother from Langston Hughes' “The Scarlet Ibis" are more similar than they are different, providing portraits of characters who exhibit once-hidden sensitivities.

Doodle’s brother and Roger are both willing to do selfish things in the beginnings of their stories to get what they want. For example, Roger was trying to steal from Mrs. Jones to pay for a pair of shoes. Not everyone, even if they were in Roger’s situation, would resort to stealing. Roger chooses to steal instead of working hard and finding a job, and it proves that he can be selfish and is willing to do the wrong thing. Doodle’s brother says, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him”(Hurst 2). When Doodle’s older brother sets out to teach Doodle to walk, though he is doing something nice, he...