Benjamin Jones
English Composition 1
Instructor Rachel Orr
June 23, 2013
Over the last few weeks, I have learned about what makes an essay an essay, after reading the required chapters of “Essentials of College Writing” (Connell & Soles, 2013) the knowledge needed to compare and contrast a narrative and descriptive essay is at my grasp. The essays I have chosen to use as support are “Homeless” by Anne Quindlen and “Are the Rich Happy?” by Stephen Leacock. While the differences between these two essays are apparent, the similarities are more recognizable. By using information, I have gained from the class I hope this paper can help you form your own opinion on which essay is superior.
There are many different reasons why an author would write a narrative or descriptive essay and for each form, there is a main purpose, though it does not always have to be …show more content…
The purpose of a descriptive essay is to create an accurate and vivid “picture” by using specific details. Details help you focus the reader’s attention on characteristics that make people, places, objects, and events unique and help them “come alive” for readers, a descriptive essay is about an actual person, place and/or event (Connell & Soles, 2013). The author Stephen Leacock started his essay,” Are the Rich Happy?” with, “Let me admit at the outset that I write this essay without adequate material. I have never known, I have never seen, any rich people. Very often, I have thought I have found them. However, it turned out that it was not so. They were not rich at all. They were quite poor. They were hard up. They were pushed for money. They did not know where to turn for ten thousand dollars.” The essays purpose was not openly stated, I had to finish reading before I understood what point the author was trying to get