Comperative essay between the books Forbidden City & Cowboy's don't cry

The novel Forbidden City and Cowboy's Don't Cry can be compared easily because they both describe the life of two teenage boys having to face a lot of problems throughout there lives. The similarities and differences between the main characters from the books are having conflicts between themselves, their families and their society.

In the novels Forbidden city and cowboy's don't cry, the similarities and the differences are within the conflicts of themselves. The similarities between Shane and Alex are that they 're both smart academically, and they are very shy. "According to those results, you'll be in the advanced group. Lets go see your new class." said the counsellor about Shane. (cowboy's don't cry p.14). "Mr. Bronwski, who likes me because I'm a history nut like him let me go with an A..." said Alex (Forbidden City p.10). The differences between these two characters are that they both moved to new places but however, Alex was more of an outsider because he moved to a different culture. In the other hand, Shane was still taking part of the same culture. Alex had to disguise him self to fit in the culture because he was so different than everyone else.

Secondly, the differences between the novels is the conflict between the characters and their families. The similarities they had in common are that both parents are attached to their career work. "He works for the CBC and he's won a couple of awards..."said Alex about hos dad. (Forbidden City p.3). Another similarity is that they don't live with they're mothers. The differences between then are : Shane was not close to his dad because he was an alcoholic. Alex was pretty close with his dad. "I just felt embarrass and scared of my mind the way I'm always when i know dad's been drinking" (Cowboy's Don't Cry p.2). This quote shows that Shane does not trust his dad and that makes their relationship to be further damaged.

Finally, the similarities and differences between the two main characters conflict is the society. The differences that both characters share in common are that Shane was being bullied at school Alex did not when he went to school in Beijing, China. " well, the kid sure ain't as though as his old man, is he ?" (Cowboy's Don't Cry p. ) said one of the kids from his school. They were trying to make him join their group. Another difference, people from Beijing were starring at Alex because he was different as in race color etc... The similarities that they both had in common was that they both got injured due to not being careful and the lack of protection. Alex was wounded by a gunshot while trying to escape from a political war in Beijing, China. Shane got injured on his motorcycle by trying to escape from dad. However, both characters delt with their life threatening injuries. "I thought almost calmly, and in that split second, I heard a sickening thump..." (Cowboy's Don't Cry p.108). This was the instant Shane got knocked off his bike by the car. " My friend is a medical student. he fixed your leg when you were shot " (Forbidden City p.173). After Alex got shot a couple of Chinese friends of Xin-Hua helped fixed his leg. Those were a couple of conflicts that they both shared. They both were brave enough to get through their pain and becoming a better human being.

In conclusion, the two novels Forbidden City and Cowboy's Don't Cry shared some differences and similarities about the struggles of teenagers to face challenges and mature. The novels show how these two teenagers become better people by overcoming challenges from the past and how to deal with family problems. Also both characters faced life threatening situation where they become more mature and resolve the problems in their lives (Family, society and themselves).