Contrasting Short Stories

Thesis statement

Comparison and contrast of two stories workers by Richard Rodriguez and the prisoner's dilemma by Stephen Chapman

The essay compares and contrasts two stories workers by Richard Rodriguez and the prisoner's dilemma by Stephen Chapman. "The Prisoner's Dilemma", Stephen Chapman calls into question the widely-held assumption that the system of imprisonment in the West is more humane and less barbaric than the methods of punishment practiced in Eastern Islamic cultures. Chapman uses sarcasm to lure his readers into agreeing with a position that he will then later attack (www.bookrags.com). This strategy implies that he believes most of his audience would think that imprisonment is a better form of punishment than public punishment. His sarcastic treatment of their position will force the audience to rethink their original opinion on punishment. Chapman attempts to inform the audience of both methods of punishment, rather than persuading them to choose a specific side (CHAPMAN, 15). Nevertheless, Chapman succeeds in changing many opinions without revealing his own. On the other hand "Workers" by Richard Rodriguez is a comparison-contrast excerpt from one of his autobiographical works, Hunger of Memory. In this excerpt, Rodriguez (a first-generation Mexican American) tells the reader about the summer contraction job he took to discover what "real work was like" (362). While working, Rodriguez came in contact with illegal aliens that were the "los pores" (363) his mother had warned him about (www.bookrags.com). In "Workers," Rodriguez compares himself to the illegal aliens he came in contact with. Rodriguez explains to the reader that the things that differ between them are his education and imagination...the fact that he can be an individual while illegal aliens are more like groups. I have a Mexican-American friend who discusses these kinds of things all the time. During the summer in his time off of ...