Comparative Analysis of Prose
Senior 6 · Literature in English
Comparative Analysis of Prose
Lesson 2 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
Imagine two students who are asked to compare "The Necklace" and "The Gift of the Magi". The first writes a page on Maupassant's story, then a page on O. Henry's, then adds: "So the two stories are similar and different." The second writes about the two endings in one paragraph, the two narrators in the next, and the two sacrifices in the next. Both students know the stories equally well; the second will score far higher. The difference is not knowledge but technique.
Before you write, sort what you know. A Venn diagram is the quickest tool:
The centre lists similarities; the outer parts list differences. The most interesting comparisons usually come from a shared feature that works differently: both stories have a twist about value, but one twist punishes and the other blesses.
Definition
| Block method | Point-by-point method | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Intro · Text A (theme, character, style) · Text B (theme, character, style) · Conclusion | Intro · Theme (A and B) · Character (A and B) · Style (A and B) · Conclusion |
| Strength | Easy to plan; each text is seen whole | Comparison happens in every paragraph; the essay argues rather than describes |
| Risk | Turns into two separate essays; the comparison is left to the end | Can become choppy if each paragraph jumps back and forth too quickly |
| Best for | Short answers; very different texts | Full A-level essays (recommended) |
If you use the block method, make the second block refer back constantly to the first ("Unlike Mathilde, Della …"). Otherwise the examiner sees no comparison at all.
| Purpose | Words and phrases |
|---|---|
| Showing likeness | both … and; similarly; likewise; in the same way; equally; as in; each of the writers |
| Showing difference | whereas; while; by contrast; on the other hand; unlike; however; conversely; in place of |
| Weighing | to a greater extent; more subtly; less convincingly; the difference is one of degree; what unites them is …; where they part company is … |
Worked example
One basis, two methods
Basis: the endings.
Weak (block, no link): "The Necklace" ends when Mathilde learns the necklace was false. The ending is sad. "The Gift of the Magi" ends with Jim and Della's gifts being useless. The narrator says they are wise.
Strong (point by point): Both stories end with a twist that suddenly changes the value of a sacrifice, but the writers turn that twist in opposite directions. Maupassant gives the final words to Madame Forestier, whose revelation that the necklace was "worth at most five hundred francs" turns ten years of Mathilde's labour into a cruel joke; the narrator adds no comment, and the silence makes the irony bitter. O. Henry's twist, by contrast, is softened before the reader can feel it as loss: the narrator steps forward to declare that the couple who "most unwisely sacrificed" their treasures are "the wisest". Where Maupassant uses irony to punish pride, O. Henry uses it to bless love. The same device, then, serves opposite visions of human nature: one sceptical, one sentimental.
Why the second is better: it states the shared feature and the difference in its first sentence; it quotes briefly from both; it uses comparison language ("by contrast", "Where … ,"); and it ends with a judgement.
Tip
Start every comparison paragraph with a sentence that names both texts. "Both writers …, but …" or "Whereas Maupassant …, O. Henry …". It forces you to compare from the first line.
Warning
"How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay with Examples", from the channel Think & Learn. It explains the block and point-by-point methods with simple topics; apply the same structures to literary texts.
Practice
Sources and credits
