Sticko vs the Gully
Literature Comparison Paper – “Sticko” vs “The Gully”
“Sticko” and “The Gully” are two stories that revolve around violence. Although they are both based on violent acts, they are two totally different stories. The differences and some similarities can be found in the theme, setting, conflict, characters and the dialog. One of the themes in “Sticko” is that he is a victim. Something happened to Stick when he was twenty years old which changed him forever. “Before this evolutionary stage I was twenty, and we used to make love every day (Ambrosio, 2011)”. Stick tells of just going to the cash machine, but something happened while he was doing so that made him evolve into the person he is today, a victim. Another theme that can be found throughout “Sticko” is that of fear. The act of violence that took place has changed him and now he is afraid of everything. One night when he was walking in the city, he described “My antennae quiver strongly with fear. I don’t know what’s going on but I sense it, from behind me or in front or tone side or above or below someone is coming.” He is so afraid of people now, that he almost has an insect like “sense” that alerts him to when something is about to happen. In “The Gully” there is also a theme of violence and victims’. Unlike in “Sticko”, in “The Gully”, the main characters are initially victims, but they turn it around and make others, the perpetrators of crime, the victims. Freckle Face was a bus driver and he had been robbed twice in one week so he started carrying a gun. He ended up killing his would be robbers before he became a victim and got fired. Chink and Tarzan were also victims in a way. They didn’t have anything happen to them directly, but to their families. This made them heroes in the Gully because they found the people who committed the acts of violence on their families and killed them. The theme of people being victims is continued in the story. The three men started sticking up for
“Sticko” and “The Gully” are two stories that revolve around violence. Although they are both based on violent acts, they are two totally different stories. The differences and some similarities can be found in the theme, setting, conflict, characters and the dialog. One of the themes in “Sticko” is that he is a victim. Something happened to Stick when he was twenty years old which changed him forever. “Before this evolutionary stage I was twenty, and we used to make love every day (Ambrosio, 2011)”. Stick tells of just going to the cash machine, but something happened while he was doing so that made him evolve into the person he is today, a victim. Another theme that can be found throughout “Sticko” is that of fear. The act of violence that took place has changed him and now he is afraid of everything. One night when he was walking in the city, he described “My antennae quiver strongly with fear. I don’t know what’s going on but I sense it, from behind me or in front or tone side or above or below someone is coming.” He is so afraid of people now, that he almost has an insect like “sense” that alerts him to when something is about to happen. In “The Gully” there is also a theme of violence and victims’. Unlike in “Sticko”, in “The Gully”, the main characters are initially victims, but they turn it around and make others, the perpetrators of crime, the victims. Freckle Face was a bus driver and he had been robbed twice in one week so he started carrying a gun. He ended up killing his would be robbers before he became a victim and got fired. Chink and Tarzan were also victims in a way. They didn’t have anything happen to them directly, but to their families. This made them heroes in the Gully because they found the people who committed the acts of violence on their families and killed them. The theme of people being victims is continued in the story. The three men started sticking up for
Cited: Ambrosio, G. (2011). STICKO. In A. I. UK, Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (pp. 55 - 62). New York: Random House, Inc. Ford, R. (2011). The Gully. In R. Ford, Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar - Stories of Work (pp. 13 - 23). Harper Collins Publishers.