Similarities Between 'Old Ben And Fox Hunt'

Literature Essay

These stories have many similarities and differences between each other. The two stories are “Old Ben” and “Fox Hunt”. “Old Ben” is a nonfiction story. It had been a story about a boy who was walking and came along a blacksnake and had befriended him by taking him home and keeping him in the grain bin. At first his father was not in favor of keeping Old Ben, the snake, but after he had realized how much better the snake had been killing the mice than their many other cats he felt it was alright to keep him. Then for many months Blackie disappeared and no one knew wear to find him at so they had just waited, and after many seasons coming and going he had returned in early April and he looked like a long, straggly, flabby, and weak snake. After making a mistake of hiding in the horse’s feed bucket, he had almost been trampled to death but had understood to not go in there anymore but he had made one last fatal mistake. Going into the hog pen. That was where they had seen the last trace of Old Ben, his long skinny track in the smooth sand, leading right up
to the woven wired fence. A fence that had lead him straight into a fight with 16 hogs, and this was a battle that he was not able to win. Our other story we had read this week was called “Fox Hunt”. It was a fictional story, because it had consisted of many fairytale like facts that weren’t true. Andy Laing was an Asian-American boy who was very smart. He was trying to study for the big PSAT exams that were coming up soon, all the other kids were stressing over this too. His parents had wanted him to study hard and do well so he could get into college and go somewhere in life. His father especially because he wanted his mandarin family tradition from China to continue. In town, there was a new girl, who was also Asian American just like Andy, named Lee Hu. They had come to an agreement that they would study together. In the middle of the story, Andy had asked his mother about why she would smile when his father would tell the story about his smart ancestors and she said it was because the first ancestor that had become so smart in their family, was taught by a fox in disguise of a girl! And that Laing Fujin was taught and did so well because of a fox! Later that same night he had a dream about a fox with reddish brown hair, a really bushy tail, and very slanted eyes. When he woke up he realized those were Lee’s eyes. And he put together the rest with her picking him, and she had found him by being that dog that barked at him everyday. So, in return of her teaching him and passing the PSAT test, her reward was marriage. Which is exactly what she got. Both of these stories had quite a few foreshadowing events occur.
Some in Old Ben include: The narrator and his parents fear that Old Ben might be found and attacked by the dog. Old Ben disappears in September and is gone all winter. He had gotten into Fred’s feed box and almost got trampled by, but didn’t. And seeing the smooth long tracks made by Old Ben that ended when reached the hog pen. There were no flashbacks in this story. Some included in Fox Hunt are: The German Shepard barking at Andy and Lee. Andy studies very hard and takes his education very seriously. Lee’s description as having hair with a reddish tint and big almond- shaped eyes that slanted inwards at the corners. Andy’s mother explaining the story about his ancestors and the fox who helped tutor him and in return married the man she coached. The flashback in Fox Hunt was, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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In Old Ben there were quite a few conflicts. For example, Old Ben was protected by the family because they had been cautious on where they had left them because they did not want Blackie, the dog, to get a hold of him. Old Ben had been missing for roughly 8 months during the winter. He had gotten into the horses feed box. He has slithered into the hog pen innocently and had died by getting in the middle of 16 large hogs. Some conflicts happening in Fox Hunt were, the dog barking at Andy all the time. Andy was always alone when studying unlike the others who were in groups that got together to study after school. In every story there has to be a climax. And in our first story Old Ben, the climax was when everything had been going wrong, and when I say going wrong I mean, Old Ben was missing for many months, and then he had almost been trampled by there horse, plus after that scare he had then died after entering the hogs pen, which had been the last major turning point in this tale. Our turning point in Fox Hunt was when his mother was telling the story of Andy’s ancestor and she had said that he was coached so well by a girl, who was actually a fox with a reddish bushy tail that laid underneath of her skirt. Which he later learned that Lee was his ‘fox’ that had come along to tutor and soon marry him. (When he realized that Lee was a fox, just like the one in the story his mother had explained) As you can see in this story there are many things in each story that are opposite from other. In Old Ben which is a nonfiction, it is explaining a story in which a blacksnake is aging and things are starting to fall apart in the end of his life. Although, Fox Hunt is a fictional tale about a boy who is trying to study hard and pass his PSAT’s and along comes a girl that turns out to be a fox, who tutors him and ends up marrying him. Both very different from each other but both are very much alike These are the ways that these stories are the same and different all at the same time.

Introduction
Indented
Say a little about each story in each of the paragraphs
Title
Fiction
A couple sentences summary of story
Topic Sentences – These stories have several similarities and differences.

Body 1: include flashback and foreshadowing
Body 2 conflict/ climax (turning point)
Body 3: structure/ central/ chronological idea