Comparing Two Very Different Stories; Or Are They? When comparing two novels, it is important to think about every possible aspect that could be compared. In the case of Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, by James Weldon Johnson, and Under the Skin, by Michael Faber, I found it to be most interesting to compare the main characters themselves. In comparing both of the novels, I have fount the main characters the Narrator and Isserley, from their respective books, to both experience similar incidents and have similar results.
The first point, which will be used to compare the aforementioned texts, would be that they are both centered around a journey of some sort. In Autobiography, the main character describes his travels not only throughout the United States, but overseas as well. During his journeys, he is forced to encounter many different people. They can be seen as responsible for making the narrator find his true self.
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Malcolm XThe journey aspect in Skin has a similar affect on Isserley. Each time she picks up a new hitcher, she is forced to think about what she has become. Isserley was transformed from what she was familiar with into an unfamiliar being with, what seems to her, as a very uncomfortable body. The journeys that each of the main characters go on can be seen as a point of reflection.
Another comparison point, which is evident in each of the books, would be that each of the main characters at some point pretends to be someone that they are not. Most obviously would be exemplified by Isserley. Throughout Skin, she poses as a normal human, although she looks a bit odd. However, she is not even from planet Earth. In Autobiography, the narrator sometimes would pretend to be white, and other times would...