Comparison Essay
ENG 4U
January 25, 2013 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson and Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones are both remarkable novels that are praised by critics everywhere. Mister Pip revolves around a 13 year old girl named Matilda living on a tropical island in Papa New Guinea that is torn apart by war. After many of the villagers flee the island, Mr. Watts, a mysterious white man becomes the children's school teacher with nothing more than a copy of “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. The world portrayed by Mr. Watts hypnotizes the children, and soon the whole village. Snow Falling on Cedars is set off the coast of Washington in the Pacific Northwest, where the Japanese post veteran, Kabuo Miyamoto, is on trial for the murder of Carl Heine. Ishmael Chambers is the local reporter, who discovers he has the power to change the outcome of the trial. Although Snow Falling on Cedars has a superior setting that is more effective and prominant to the conflict, Mister Pip's outsanding protagonist and postmodern techniques makes it a more enjoyable book. The setting in Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones is brilliantly integrated into the novel and is an essential component to the story and the isolation of the characters. Jones uses the simple elements time, place, and atmosphere to affect the outcome of the plot in specific ways. The novel takes place on the isolated island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea where Matilda, and her small village live. Because the islanders are in an isolated community that is closed off from the rest of the world, they form a distinctive culture and society. One day in Mr. Watts' class, Mrs. Siep came in to share her wisdom to the children of the island; she told the class "If you are feeling lonely, look out for the triggerfish. God mixed the souls of dogs and triggerfish together because, like dogs, a triggerfish will roll over on its side and look up at you" (Jones, 57). Because the villagers are completely cut off, they have a view of
January 25, 2013 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson and Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones are both remarkable novels that are praised by critics everywhere. Mister Pip revolves around a 13 year old girl named Matilda living on a tropical island in Papa New Guinea that is torn apart by war. After many of the villagers flee the island, Mr. Watts, a mysterious white man becomes the children's school teacher with nothing more than a copy of “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. The world portrayed by Mr. Watts hypnotizes the children, and soon the whole village. Snow Falling on Cedars is set off the coast of Washington in the Pacific Northwest, where the Japanese post veteran, Kabuo Miyamoto, is on trial for the murder of Carl Heine. Ishmael Chambers is the local reporter, who discovers he has the power to change the outcome of the trial. Although Snow Falling on Cedars has a superior setting that is more effective and prominant to the conflict, Mister Pip's outsanding protagonist and postmodern techniques makes it a more enjoyable book. The setting in Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones is brilliantly integrated into the novel and is an essential component to the story and the isolation of the characters. Jones uses the simple elements time, place, and atmosphere to affect the outcome of the plot in specific ways. The novel takes place on the isolated island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea where Matilda, and her small village live. Because the islanders are in an isolated community that is closed off from the rest of the world, they form a distinctive culture and society. One day in Mr. Watts' class, Mrs. Siep came in to share her wisdom to the children of the island; she told the class "If you are feeling lonely, look out for the triggerfish. God mixed the souls of dogs and triggerfish together because, like dogs, a triggerfish will roll over on its side and look up at you" (Jones, 57). Because the villagers are completely cut off, they have a view of