preview

Compare and Contrast “University” and “Warren Pryor” Essay

Decent Essays

Compare and Contrast “University” and “Warren Pryor”
Liam Wong, Kevin Chiu, Dennis Wong
Block D. Ms. Fuller Dec. 4th

Why is education important to society? Would one be able to read without a successful teacher teaching one how to read? Education is a key that holds the ability to open many doors - doors which open into vast rooms of knowledge, love, experience, discovery, and dreams. Education is an essential to human living and a fulfilling life, but what happens when the path one takes is not the choice that one personally wants? In “University”, written by Leona Gom, and “Warren Pryor”, written by Alden Nowlan, the poems present both negative and positive effects of education on society.

The good intentions of the parents …show more content…

Secondly, the characters possess different views regarding the effects of education. In “University”, the protagonist believes that he has become more educated compared to his parents, while in “Warren Pryor”, the protagonist feels as if education has degraded him. Warren Pryor describes himself as a “young bear inside his teller’s cage”. His job as a bank teller restricts him from what he really wishes to do; he wants to assist his parents on the farm. In contrast, the protagonist of “University” feels that “the day [he] left, [he] began to believe it. [His] knowledge fits [his] hands like a manicure too expensive to soil with the fact of these farms”. The protagonist describes how farm life is now inferior to his educated mind. However, education also affects the parents of the protagonists. When the parents of Warren witnessed him in his new job, “they blushed with pride. They marveled... He was saved from their thistle-strewn farm and its red dirt”. Warren’s parents were completely overwhelmed with joy at their son’s success in life, but were unaware of the fact that Warren was actually unsatisfied with his current lifestyle. The parents are not as concerned if Warren becomes distant from them due to the sacrifices that they have made to give Warren education. In contrast, the protagonist’s parents in “University” are aware that their child

Get Access