Brothers Are the Same vs. Through the Tunnel

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Compare and Contrast Essay “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing and “Brothers are the Same” by Beryl Markham have two boys going through their transitions into adulthood. “Through the Tunnel” has an English boy on vacation with his mother. He is fascinated by some older boys that can swim through an underwater tunnel and decides to do it himself to prove himself older. In “Brothers are the Same,” a Masai tribesman must pass the rite of passage by killing a lion in order to prove his own transition into adulthood. His rival, Medoto, is set as one of the warriors to watch him, and they later realize that they are not so different. With this information, it is clear that these two stories have the same recurring theme, though this theme is approached differently. On the other hand each stories differs in other ways like the setting, the character’s goals, and how they reached their goals. The settings of these stories are very different, one originating under water, while the other takes place on the hot African plains. “Through the Tunnel” takes place on a vacation beach and the rocky bay next to it. “The young English boy stopped at a turning of the path and looked down at a wild and rocky bay, and then to the crowded beach he knew so well.” Jerry is an English boy on vacation with his mother and doesn’t want to spend his time on the beach anymore, but wants to explore the rocky bay where he finds the underwater tunnel he wants to go through. In “Brothers are the Same” the story takes place in the dry lands of Africa. “They live on the Serengeti Plain, which makes a carpet at the feet of high Kilimanjaro.” Taking place on the hot plains of Africa is where Temas will face the trial that will determine his rite of passage 2 into adulthood, the lion. Whether on vacation on a beach or on the hot plains of Africa, a trial is
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