Compare and Contrast: Eveline vs Dave

Osvaldo Miranda Oren, Gail 9-16-2012 Enc1102 Eveline vs. Dave Writers of modern stories are interested in portraying life. Often, in their stories, we get ideas and find the chance to see, examine, and question ourselves. For example, in James Joyce’s “Eveline,” we observe how fear of the unknown affects a young woman’s future; In Richard Wright’s “The Man Who was Almost a Man,” we see how a young boy’s inability to accept moral responsibilities impacts his life, too. “How would we handle their challenges? Who is the stronger individual? The answer lies within. Both characters showed strength at some point of the stories. Dave showed strength and courage for going out to buy a gun. At the same time it was immature and a bad decision for someone who is not ready to be a man. Eveline’s strength showed throughout the whole story. She was brave, hardworking, and loyal. After the passing of her mother Eveline became the woman of the household and started taking care of her family and bringing home money.
It’s pretty obvious that Eveline has the more strength when comparing her to Dave. All of Eveline’s decisions were because of her loyalty to her family. At the end of the day she stepped up and stayed in Ireland to take care of her family. Dave is in a rush to grow up and not letting things come in time. He is impatient and his immaturity shows because of this. Dave’s decision making is not very good, he convinces his mom to buy a gun so no one would think of him as a boy anymore.
This decision backfires on him when he accidently shoots a sheep while testing out the gun for the first time. The sheep’s owner is Dave’s boss and she charges him for the death of the sheep with monthly payments. Dave immaturity kicks in again and decides to flee because he can’t accept the responsibility and consequences for his actions. If you think about it Dave’s living situation wasn’t as challenged as Eveline’s. She had to deal with real life problems while Dave was dealing with personal options and caring what other people thought of him.

Eveline’s tough situation and smart decision making shows why she has more strength than Dave. In conclusion, Dave shows he has strength in the wrong ways, and he is irresponsible and immature. Eveline on the other hand has real life problems that anyone would have problems dealing with. It is inspiring to see how much strength and loyalty Eveline has towards her family. There is no doubt in my mind that Eveline is the character with the most strength.