Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Grant vs. Lee = Vegeta vs. Goku!

Comparing and contrasting is what Bruce Catton showed in his essay called "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts". What did he do that showed comparison?He did a very good job in describing where they came from and how they were raised. He stated that "Lee was tidewater Virginia, and in his background were family, culture, and tradition....He embodied a way of life that had come down through the age of knighthood and the English country squire." Here Bruce tells us where Lee was born and how his surroundings were. He tells us that he was raised in an environment such that one would have in England with knights and it shows that Lee was probably rich in English culture. Comparing him to Grant, Catton tells us that "Grant, te son of a tanner on the Western Frontier, was everything Lee was not. He had come up the hard way and embodied nothing in particular except the eternal toughness and sinewy fiber of the men who grew up beyond the mountains." This explains to the reader that Grant was raised in the Western part of the United States. This also tells us that Grant was raised in the mountains and more in the wildlife. This helps the reader understand that Catton is trying to state that two different people that were raised completely different and born into different environment come together and become some of the most important historical figures in this great Conflict. Their leadership skills are different but yet they are both fighting to get what they want and have achieve so much. By reading this essay I thought of how to do my essay. I thought of a creative way to do it. I, for sure, wanted to compare two people. And in a way I thought of fighting by what Grant and Lee did. Therefore I chose to do two males that fight but were born in different environments and raised differently but then again brought together to fight for something they want. I chose Goku and Vegeta from DragonBall Z. I compare them by strength and perseverance. Bruce Catton helped me by deciding on what I wanted to compare and how. I decided to do it with a story mode. It was easier to do it this way. But re-reading Catton's essay it makes me want to change it a bit and talk more about what each character does and how they were raised a bit more.

4 comments:

  1. It's weird how in order to compare and contrast, one must first categorize the different elements in order to compare them. In this case, it's really weird because even though Grant and Lee are very different, they are also the same type of people- leaders.

    I think the Vegeta and Goku analogy is great, especially because I was a fan of them as a child. They both had different upbringings too. I think Catton goes the same way too, describing their beliefs.

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  2. Remember, Vegeta and Goku are also brothers. You can definitely put together an essay just by stating this.
    Although Grant and Lee are not brothers, they certainly looked alike. Both men were very tall, portly but carried themselves with great dignity. You could also incorporate the style of dress. The uniform Goku wears is orange with the weird symbol. Use this detail for the contrast part.

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  3. Lorena: Goku and Vegeta weren't brothers. But thanks, for the comment about describing appearances, I didn't do that in my essay. I will make sure to include it though.

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  4. The two quotes you chose for cattons essay were exactly what I had in mind as the perfect examples. The paragraphs describing them are almost exact replicas in structure. This proved to be very effective and even inspired your essay.
    The topic of Goku and Vageta is perfect! i can totally see this essay going well. Its a mirror of Lee and Grant in the Dragonball Z world. If you know enough about their background, you should include it.Dont focus too much on their appearance though, all super saiyans look the same. Though, Goku is the coolest!

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