Dos Santos 1

Isabelle dos Santos

Ms. J. McLeod

ENG4U1-01

November 23, 2021

Short Story Comparative Essay

"We go on and on about our differences. But, you know, our differences are less

important than our similarities. People have a lot in common with one another, whether they see

that or not" (William Hall). In the two short stories "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury and "A

Handful of Dates" by Tayeb Salih, many differences and similarities play a role in how the two

protagonists are compared. In "The Pedestrian," Leonard Mead is a loner who lives in 2053. It's a

technologically advanced society where individuality is outlawed. In "A Handful of Dates," a

young boy comes of age and learns some harsh truths about his grandfather, whom he idolized.

Although different in many ways, the two characters in these stories have similarities that most

wouldn't be able to see without diving into a deeper analysis of character. The first would be the

age difference, one being a lot older than the other. It shows how both born in different eras deal

with similar situations differently. Next, Leonard is in a futuristic world, separate from the boy

living in the present world on a date farm in Sudan. This shows social, economic, and

environmental differences. Finally, as a similarity, both are emotionally aware, both being

against society's norms. Leonard rejects his community, and the grandson rejects his

grandfather's views of greed.

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First, Leonard being much older than the unnamed boy in "A Handful of Dates" shows

how being born in different eras can drastically change how one views the world around them

and reacts to certain situations. In "The Pedestrian," Leonard is an older man going through

rejection. His way of life has vanished, and he decides to deal with that rejection by rebelling

against society and doing as he chooses. Unlike his neighbours, he doesn't decide to stay glued to

advanced technology in his house. Instead, he chooses to wander about the ruins of a past

bountiful civilization and enjoy the little bit of nature he can still grasp. He does this to please his

mental emotions, but he also chooses to display his rebellion physically by lighting his house

with beautiful lights. His house is an anomaly compared to his neighbourhood. The author

described it as such, "They passed one house on one street a moment later, one house in an entire

city of houses that were dark, but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit,

every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness" (Bradbury 2).

The unnamed young narrator in "A Handful of Dates" also goes through rejection but how he

deals with his rejection is different from Leonard. He is a younger boy, and so he looks up to

others in his life to have decisions made around him. His rejection is against his grandfather and

the choices he makes. He goes about this emotionally, rejecting him through his thoughts "I ran

off into the distance. Hearing my grandfather call after me, I hesitated a little, then continued on

my way. I felt at that moment that I hated him" (Salih 4). He doesn't physically rebel against his

grandfather for fear of possibly disappointing him. Instead, he chooses to bottle up all his

feelings. His age plays a role in this as he idolizes his grandfather and respects him; respect in

most cultures means staying in your place and not speaking ill of your elders, which is how the
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young boy deals with everything. Although the situations are similar, the two handle it according

to their age and how they view the world around them.

Secondly, they both live in different worlds, different eras. This changes how they view

life in many ways. Economically and socially. Economically Leonard seems to be doing very

well, considering he is unemployed and still appears to have a decent house. The robot police

believe his profession is of unemployment, "No profession," said the police car, as if talking to

itself." (Bradbury 2) On the other hand, the young boy isn't as fortunate as Leonard. His

grandfather seems jealous of Masood's inherited wealth. Although his grandfather has more land

due to Massods unhealthy spending habits, they still aren't exceptionally well off. The way his

grandfather lays out what Masood has shows his desire to own what he has, "Do you see all

those date palms? And those trees - sant, acacia, and sayal? All this fell into Masood's lap, was

inherited by him from his father." (Salih 2) Socially, Leonard is seen as an outcast. He is different

from the others in his society. In the first few paragraphs, it is said, "he was alone in the world of

A.D. 2052, or as good as alone." (Bradbury 1) His characterization is exposed in his conversation

with the police car. He says that he is unmarried and a writer. The car's response to this

information suggests that this is abnormal in their society, showing Mead as an outcast. Although

he's seen as an outcast, Leonard still sees the world through a positive lens. The boy, on the other

hand, with influence from his grandfather, has a different view of society, with his grandfather

not being an outcast but, yes, one of the more powerful men of his agricultural society, owning

an enormous surplus of food. During the harvest of Masood's palm dates, he took his entire

portion of the share rather than show sympathy. To the boy, he was part of a kind and religious
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family. But in reality, his grandfather, who is the image of the family, was a ruthless man who

cared for no one but himself, "He's an indolent man, and I don't like such people" (Silah 2). Both

living in different worlds live life in different ways.

As a similarity, both are aware of the society they live in. Although their way of living

and the era in which they live is different, their challenges are pretty similar. The way they

choose to see their society is quite similar; they both reject their community or, more specifically,

the young boy rejects how his grandfather decides to go about his greed, and Leonard chooses to

rebel against his society. Although the boy at first idolizes his grandfather as some holy man who

is kind to all, the young boy realizes that by the end, his grandfather, being clouded by his

jealousy for Masood, wants to take everything that he has with no sense of mercy. His

grandfather, although seeing that there wasn't much left of the harvest, took the last bit of it for

himself, "Mousa the owner of the field next to ours on the eastern side took five, and my

grandfather took five." (Salih 3) He sees his grandfather doing this and realizes that, in the end,

his grandfather isn't what he first thought he was. He no longer was the kind-hearted man he

once believed him to be. He realized what had happened and, in turn, hated his grandfather for

doing what he did, "I ran off into the distance. Hearing my grandfather call after me, I hesitated a

little, then continued on my way." (Salih 4) Leonard similarly rebels against his society. He

chooses to be different from everyone else because he doesn't view himself as fitting into societal

norms. He isn't married and has no children; he also doesn't have an occupation that the people in

his world would consider an actual career. He is an outcast in his society. He expresses this

physically by making sure his house is the most lit up in the neighbourhood; it's a physical
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rebellion against everyone. He is proud of his home being different, "They passed one house on

one street a moment later, one house in an entire city of houses that were dark, but this one

particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow

illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness. "That's my house," said Leonard Mead."

(Bradbury 3) The only light in the other homes is their devices being turned on. He also chooses

to walk around his neighbourhood, something that most haven't done in a very long while.

Nature is taking over the pathways because no one uses the sidewalks anymore. The grass and

flowers were burying the sidewalks, "He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of

sidewalk." (Bradbury 1) The cement was vanishing under flowers and grass. Although the two

people vary in age and eras, they are similar in how they react to challenges in their lives.

In conclusion to the points made, both Leonard and the young boy have their differences,

as everyone does, but they share the same ideologies and morals in the bigger picture. Although

they believe that good things are in this world, they choose to be different than the bad they see.

The young boy decides to be selfless compared to his selfish grandfather, and Leonard chooses

to be different from his robotic society. They might be different in age and economic standpoints,

but they are both the same in what matters. "The person who follows the crowd will usually go

no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one

has ever seen before." (Albert Einstein)

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Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “The Pedestrian.” Imprints 11, gage Educational, 1951 , pp.1-3.

McLeod, Jacqueline. “Short Story Essay Notes.” December 6, 2021, George Harvey C.I.

Lecture.

Salih, Tayeb. “The Pedestrian.” Imprints 11, gage Educational, 1964 , pp.1-4.

“William Hall Quotes.”BrainyQuote,Xplore,www.brainyquote.com/quotes/william_hall_402026.

“25 Best Quotes About Being Different To Inspire You To Be Yourself.” Semi, 23 Oct. 2019,

www.semidelicatebalance.com/quotes-about-being-different/.