Compare and Contrast

This book was such a turnaround from reading the book Push. I've decided to take it upon myself to compare the writing styles of these two authors to get a better understanding of the characters themselves. The novel "Push" was an inspiring piece that brings the reader into Precious's (main character) head. Whereas the novel "When the Emperor was Devine", was narrated in second person. You never truly quite got to get into the characters head. However I believe both Sapphire (writer of "Push") and Julia Otsuka (writer of "When the Emperor was Devine", actually meant for their writing styles to create a sense of "mood" for the reader to better understand the situations going on within the story.

                                                                             
In "Push", the language was very real and in your face. Precious swears, speaks broken English and feels free to speak her mind where ever, whenever, with whom ever. However, it is much different for the mother in the first chapter of "When the Emperor was Devine" to even show her emotion, let alone embrace it as Precious does. The author creates a monotone language that it's very hard to get used to at first. Some very emotional things happen in the first chapter that would usually deserve an emotional reaction, but because emotions are rarely portrayed in the beginning of this book, it's hard to tell whether or not to feel bad, happy, or just plain awkward.  On page 11, Otsuka presents the murder of the dog as just another task in the mother’s day. "White Dog's body shuddered twice and his hind legs kicked out into the air, as though he were trying to run. Then he grew still. A trickle of blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth. She untied him from the tree and let out a deep breath. The shovel had been the right choice. Better, she thought, than a hammer." This was done or... described in such a manner that could have been her cleaning the lawn.

Although the mother seemed un phased by her actions, we later find out that she breaks down in bed after having a few glasses of wine. This woman has gone through so many traumatic events during this war that she has become a zombie by day and a human by night. She must stay strong for her children in order to survive. Survival is something that Sapphire tries to portray in her book as well, just through different language. In conclusion, although each author had a different way of conveying the characters story, both novels had the same message; to stay strong.