Comparison Essay – The Pieces of Silver & The Red Ball
The two stories, ‘The Pieces of Silver’ and ‘The Red Ball’ can be compared easily. I think that they can be seen as being alike with a lot of common points between them, though many contraries can be found as well. The general theme of both stories is quite touching, though in diverse ways in each story. They are about two young boys, as the main characters, in a very different environment. The Pieces of Silver is about a black boy called Clement, who lives in a pre-colonized country, where racism still exists. On the other hand, The Red Ball is about a naïve boy from the countryside, called Bolan, who tries to adapt to a new environment throughout the story.
First of all, the most obvious similarity would be that both Clement and Bolan’s family suffers from poverty. Not only are they unfortunate, what is more pitiful for the boys is that they are poorer than their surroundings. On a school day, ordinary morning procedures take place. However, as the children are called out to donate money and gifts, Clement has to be one of the many shameful children in the centre of attention, as he cannot even afford threepence. What he gains for the asking of money to his parents is his father’s “helpless laughter” as a reply. This suggests that the father finds it amusing that the boy is asking for an amount of money that means so much to him; even though it is only threepence. Bolan, in the midst of a clique of boys, gives an “indefinite gesture” of shrugging as a stall holder tries to sell him some food. Although he has no money, he does not want to show that he is poor in front of the other boys, who are nibbling on the food.
