A Clean, Well-Lighted and the House on Mango Street - Free Essay Example

The two literature selections I will be comparing is: A Clean, Well-Lighted and The House on Mango Street. The theme for A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is unity. I chose unity as the theme to best describe this Hemingway piece because it has the good and the bad, but it brings the older waiter closer to the deaf patron. It shows the youth in the younger waiter, there is a mental disconnect from being younger and less experienced then the other two characters. The writing style is similar as there are the good things and bad things both mentioned. In the selection of The House on Mango Street, the theme is disappointment. The narrator and main character of the story speaks about all the houses in which she has lived in. She speaks how they are just a house and not a home and the house on Mango Street was supposed to be a home, and it is only a house. In reading more of a background on this piece since I am not familiar with it seems to show more of sadness in the situation. When the narrator realizes that the house she lives in is nothing what she wanted or had imagined because her parents put in a different picture in her mind. In the end it was a disappointment and it did not mean to her what she thought it should. The effectiveness of both authors’ uses of fictional literary devices and conventions is highly commendable. First with Hemingway’s selection, he uses dialogue between all the characters to bring them to life. When he does this the reader can relate easier with one or all the characters. The dialogue shows what kind of person the characters are. The setting and plot are clearly described because of the location and the characters. The story would not have been as effective without that specific setting and specific characters. In the House on Mango Street uses image the most. Image is showing the timeline to where the narrator came from and what each house looked like and felt like. When the descriptions of the houses and what the family was like were talked about the reader can easily put themselves in the shoes of the narrator. The specific needs and wants of the narrator are clear when she describes what the house that is supposed to be a home should have. She wanted specifically large hallways and stairs. Also wanted more washrooms so everyone would not know who was in each one at the same time or different times.