Question

This semester you read several memoirs, including pieces by Ernesto Galarza and Russell Baker. Return to “Barrio Boy” and “No Gumption” now. How are these two memoirs similar? How are they different? In what ways are the authors’ choices and depictions related to the subject matter of their stories?

Answer 1

They are both written in first person, they share conflicts. First, in similarity, they lived in close time periods (both lived in 20th century) and were very poor. They went through a lot of struggle but in the end they achieved a lot. They both share similar conflicts. These are both memoir stories written in first person and talk about being young children. 

In difference, No Gumption is about a boy who delivers newspapers to help support his family and to learn how to have a job. His mother wants him to have gumption so he won't end up the way his father was. In Barrio Boy, it is about an immigrant who goes to school and learns English. I don't think the story ever talks about him getting a job.