Comparing and contrasting - Essay Example

An even more distressing truth is, in most cases, those who seek to overthrow the government are just as corrupt as those they are trying to overthrow, if not more so. This turmoil and unrest has led to many stories being shared, via movie renditions and books. One such book that tells of a story of this unrest in Africa is, A Long Way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah. A movie that tells of another story in Africa is, Hotel Rwanda. Though this book and movie share many similarities in their telling of the turmoil, they also have their differences.

By looking at the similarities and differences of the situation, the characters, and by discovering which character is more identifiable, a more inside glimpse into the tragedies, and mercies that surround the turmoil in Africa, can be seen. Similarities and Differences in the Situation To begin with it is important to note the similarities and differences in the two situations presented. A Long Way Gone, is the story of a boy who finds himself alone after rebels destroy his home town. He, then, is left to wander the country side, until he is finally picked up by the government army.

With this army he is coerced into fighting, against the ‘rebels’ at the young age of thirteen. . In both of these stories the government is fighting those they deem as rebels whom, they believe, would like to overthrow their leadership. In, A Long Way Gone, Ishmael, said that at a point, when fighting for the government, the lines of good versus bad became blurred. He realized that he was the one now destroying villages of innocent people and possibly taking away families from boys, like his was taken from him.

Similarly in, Hotel Rwanda, many Tutsi people who ended up being killed were innocent women and children, not soldiers who were fighting. One major difference that can be seen in these two stories, however, is the fact that in A Long Way Gone, the war that was taking place was a civil war that had been fought, between two groups of people, over a long period of time. In, Hotel Rwanda, however, it was genocide, where the government ordered the complete destruction of this race, or group of mostly unarmed people, in a day.

It is said that more people died in this genocide than all the nuclear bombs ever dropped, put together. Another difference in the situation of these stories is the fact that the war in, A Long Way Gone, was, for the most part, a political one. In, Hotel Rwanda, all though it was initially made out to be a political “war”, it was mostly a genocide of a group of people because of their beliefs, they were Christians. Similarities and Differences in the Characters It is also important to note the similarities and differences of the main characters of these stories.

The main character of, A Long Way Gone, is Ishmael Beah, a young village boy. The main character of, Hotel Rwanda, is Paul Rusesabagina, the assistant manager of Miles Collines Hotel. One of the major similarities between these characters is