Kylie+P.+~+Mary



Kylie Paul 5-21-10 Period-3 =__ **Compare and Contrast Essay** __=

Mary from the book __The Secret Garden__ by Frances H. Burnett has many similarities and differences to Ko in the book __So Far From the__ __Bamboo Groove__ by Yoko Kawashima Watkins. Mary is a little girl whose mom and dad never cared and didn’t want anything to do with her. When they were out a disease killed them. Mary had to go to a far away place from where she knew nothing about. She ended up staying with her uncle. Ko on the other hand was a Japanese girl who lives in Korea because of the war going on. Her dad worked in the war and since they had to leave their home they never saw him. On their journey Ko’s mother died and Ko was left alone just with her sister and brother. They both had to go through life without parents but they made it through.

Mary and Ko are both very brave. Mary shows she is brave when she goes around the house to snoop and outside to look for the garden. She must have had to be very brave because her uncle specifically told her to stay in her room or outside, but not to explore. Ko shows bravery I many places but one time was when the soldiers were coming and Yoko had to throw up. Ko jumped over her to cover her head so that they wont see or hear them. This was brave because if she didn’t they could’ve got seen and persecuted. These two girls are brave but show it in different experiences.

Two girls can be very brave but they can also both be caring. Mary shows caring when she sees how people are treating Colin telling him he is going to die. She brings him to the garden and makes his life full of happiness and joy. His whole attitude changes about thinking he is going to die. He is now thinking positive. Mary stepped out to be caring. Ko is similar to Mary in caring. has shown caring when her mother died. Yoko was devastated, Ko was too but she had to get past the fact that she lost her mother, to care for Yoko. Ko had to find away to calm Yoko down. Ko had to get money so that Yoko and her could eat. So everyday after she attended school she went on the streets and polished shoes. This is very caring because if she didn’t find a way to make money they could die of starvation. Ko took the role of mother in Yoko’s life so she could still be cared for.

While there’re many similarities between Mary and Ko there are differences too. Mary is sneaky while on the other hand Ko is transparent. Mary sneaks around all the time. She really isn’t supposed to but she does anyway. Many of the doors are closed and aren’t supposed to be opened and seen, Mary goes into them anyway. Mary now discovers the garden that has been a secret for ten years. She has been sneaking around ever since she arrived at her uncle’s moor. On the other hand Ko is transparent of not sneaky. She doesn’t go around hiding things from her family. Nothing is really a secret unless it’s a surprise for Yoko. Her family knows almost every place she goes and how she does everything. This is something that these two girls don’t have in common.

Mary and Ko are the same and different. They had mothers and fathers both leave them but they got through life. Having to both leave their homes and go to live somewhere they didn’t know anyone was a very big struggle. Mary and Ko are both very brave and caring. Mary shows sneakiness and Ko shows transparency. Each girl succeeds in life with the kind of person they are.