Essay Contrasts

While all of the essays read would classify as personal narratives, they differ greatly in format and purpose. Malcom X’s and Rose's pieces are more formal and read more like a story, while the blogger’s essays are more relaxed and tend to read more like guidebooks.

The informal blogging style allows the author to connect more personally with their readers, but it does lend itself to quite as much depth of more formal essays. The blogposts tend to be intended to instruct readers on something in their daily lives, while Malcom X’s and Rose's pieces attempt to convey more abstract ideas. Aboukhadiejeh instructs readers on how to design websites, while Malcolm X attempts to expose readers to corruption in his society and the importance of educating oneself. Rose reveals serious problems within the public education system, while Romero exposes readers to ways they can live without a standard convince. The blog posts differ in this concept as well. While all serve to teach the reader something, Aboukhadijeh’s and Romero’s pieces read more story like than Hutson’s “How I Learned to Travel Solo.” Hutson’s piece reads more like an instruction booklet, which may be more useful to the reader; however, the reader does not get a complete picture of the personal narrative aspect.