Comparative Commentary Paragraph 1 The text that Im going to comment are To kill a Mockingbird, a fiction novel from Harper

Lee, and The Merchant of Venice, a dramatic text from William Shakespeare. Even doe The Merchant of Venice was published between 1596 and 1598, there are some thematic on this book that is also aborted on To Kill a Mockingbird, that was publish 350 years later. The extract of The Merchant of Venice that Im going to compare, is about a Jew that is just about to take out a pound of flesh from a merchant who didnt pay on time a bond, and on To Kill a Mockingbirds extract is about a young girl is witnessing a racist trial, that she would like to finish in favour to Tom Robinson (a Negroe). Paragraph 2 The themes in both texts are the trial and injustice. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of trial is aborted in the first line, by the description of the atmosphere by the narrator and is developed through the thoughts of a little girl who is a spectator waiting for the final verdict. The theme of injustice In The Merchant of Venice, the theme of a trial is aborted through the conversation between Portia and Shylock, when they are discussing the terms of a bond. The characters interact with each other about if the bond could be paid or not, and thats why they are on a trial. The themes are very explicit, ....por desarrollar Paragraph 3 In Harper Lees novel extract, adult Scout narrates her childhood memories. Her narrative voice can be classified as a first person reliable narrator. Some could argue that the hyperbolism present in the text makes it unobjective. But, can a character express himself without being biased by his own personal point of view? Certainly not. Besides, this piece is mostly expository lacking of explicit tendencies towards the different situations. The first person narrator in this extract determines a close relationship with the reader, because the reader feels like if the narrator is telling him personally the story, and this moves the readers emotions by connecting them. In the case of The Merchant of Venice, there is not a narrator. The fact that it is a dramatic play evokes a dramatic voice that is the technically what each character says. Paragraph 4 The narrators attitude or tone in the extract of To Kill a Mockingbird would very appropriated to be a mind eagerness tone, as reflected in the following quote: The feeling grew until the atmosphere in the courtroom was exactly the same as a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still In this quote, the narrator describes the general atmosphere, an tense atmosphere waiting anxiously for the conclusion of the trial, and the waiting atmosphere is compared to a February morning, because on February morning mockingbird who always are singing are now still, quiet, waiting for the cold to go and see again the shining sun.

The tone in the Merchant of Venice is altered by the events. We can identify at least three different tones. First, a tone of suspense, pending before the jury resolution. This can be inferred by the following quote: Shylock: ...you know the law, your exposition hath been most sound: I charge you by the law, whereof you are a well-deserving pillar, proceed to judgment... This quote shows the suspense that the resolution of the judgment causes: a Jew anxious to know the veredict so he could proceed to his bloody bond. Then the tone changes into the Jewish relief, witch can be inferred by the next quote: Shylock: O noble judge! O excellent young man! It is very noticeable change of tone. It changes from a suspension tone to a relief tone, emphasized by the exclamation marks. Finally the tragic end. The tragic sense comes after thee relief. The tone changes brutally, and is determined by the reasoning given by Portia: Portia: (...) This bond doth give thee here not jot of blood; the words expressly are a pound of flesh. Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; but in the cutting it, if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate unto the state of Venice. This statement condemns Shylock tragically, because it does not allow Shylock to pay his bond. Paragraph 5 To Kill a Mocking Birds extract its a very descriptive text. The narrator uses a lot of adjectives to describe what he is feeling or what he is observing, such as tight door, desert, waiting, empty street, winter morning, DESARROLLAR MS!! Paragraph 6 Something that is very similar in both text is the presence of imagery and metaphors, hyperbole and similes. The use of this poetical devices are very useful to help on the close distance between the narrator and the reader. In To Kill a Mockingbird, we can find a lot of similes, because the narrator in first person is constantly comparing what he sees with other common things. In the following quote we can see an example for a simile: and every wood door in the neighbourhood was shut as tight as the doors of the Radley Place

This quote shows a simple comparison between the tight atmosphere with the tight doors of the Radleys, and its eseast to the audience to imagine the tight mood if its is compare with something material. But there is also hyperbole, to exaggerate and emphasize the descriptions, like we can see on the following quote: The old courthouse clock suffered its preliminary strain and stuck the hour, eight deafening bongs that shook our bones Its an evident exaggeration that the a clock could shook the bones of people, but the narrator exaggerate this because then, as I was saying, he can emphasize on the mood. If we look from the poetic point of view, we could establish that the bond is a great hidden metaphor, symbolizing the wound in the heart. Looking from the subjective side, this metaphor is related with all the characters that are affected emotionally, because some are being wounded in the heart, and others attacking the heart. In the extract, Bassanio and Gratiano hurt the hearts of Portia and Nerissa, contrasted by his wishes to save Antonio's heart. Similarly, Antonio has somehow broken the heart of Shylock, and it wants to avenge his too. It is then that Shakespeare establishes a kind of karma in his work? It seems like yes. Paragraph 7 On Harper Lees text, the use of complex sentences is very important, because wit this complete sentences the narrator can express better, in a more descriptive way, more detailed, like for example on the following quote: A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, no one of the looked at Tom Robinson This complex sentence contain subordinate clause, main clause, and its very useful because give the reader a lot more of information. But on Shakespeares text, the use of short sentences is used once more to emphasize se suspense. Conclusion SE HACE EN EL LUGARSHSHSHSH