Essay/Term paper: Compare and contrast on characters rayona and pearl

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Literary Essays

Compare and Contrast on Characters Rayona and Pearl


Rayona and Pearl were two characters that were very alike in the stories.
They are also somewhat different. They lived lives that were very troublesome.
Rayona had to go through the tough times of her mother's sickness and the death
of her brother. She lived away from most of it, but still had to live with it.
Pearl had to go through the tough times of her mother Hester being charged with
adultery, she also had to go through all of her trials.
Rayona and Pearl are similar in that they both went through the tough
times of their mother's problems. Rayona lived with knowing her mother was very
sick. Pearl had her mother's scarlet letter to live with. As children they
didn't know who their fathers were, they were forced to guess. Rayona and Pearl
were also similar because they both had a tough time getting along with the kids
they had to go to school with. Neither of them were able to make friends very
easily. Rayona's trouble was that she was part African American growing up in a
Native American community. Pearl had trouble because of the fact that her mom
committed adultery and the kids laugh at her. Both of the children were also
social outcasts in their community. The community was different from them
didn't accept them. Rayona and Pearl were also similar in another way. Through
the tough times of their mothers they stood by their side and endured the same
hardships.
Rayona and Pearl also have many differences. Rayona was of American
Indian and Black decent while Pearl was of American decent. While Pearl had to
live with her mother's troubles, Rayona lived away from them. There is a time
when Pearl finds out her history and the things her mother went through. Rayona
however never found out about her past or what her mother went through. Another
difference between the two is that Rayona had a brother to grow up with and play
with. Pearl only had her mother around the house. Rayona also had several
people to look up to such as, Aunt Ida and Reverend Tom. Pearl didn't have any
other person or role model to look up to at first. She only had her mother to
look up to. One thing that taught Pearl a lot was the pain and suffering
endured by her mother due to the punishment handed down to her for her crimes.
Rayona on the other hand didn't live with her mother long enough to learn very
much from her.
In conclusion these two characters are alike and different in many way.
They both go through very tough times concerning their mothers.