The two stories “Baseball” and “Thank you M’am” can be compared in some ways but also can be contrasted in other ways. Before I list the similarities and differences, I would like to introduce the stories briefly. “Baseball” is about children playing a new version of baseball on their school grounds. It is a real story based on the author’s childhood experience. “Thank you M’am” is about a woman teaching a poor, young child in a motherly way, even though the child tried to steal her belongings. I chose to compare these two stories because both of them attracted my attention as soon as I read them. I believe that the two stories have interesting connections with each other.
The first similarity between the two stories is about the level of education
In “Thank you M’am”, Roger is not mature enough, which makes him steal others’ property. Roger’s immaturity shows his freedom of mind. Of course, this is a negative characteristic. He might have been raised without care and protection, but that could be a reason why he is free. In “Baseball”, the freedom and creativity of the children is largely shown to the readers, but in a positive way. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the boys made their own baseball rules. Starting from the second paragraph of the story, the writer quotes: “The way we played baseball was to rotate positions after every out.” (Garcia, 479). Garcia continues explaining about their new rules. The children have an abundant imagination and freedom in their mind. The first difference between the two stories are the themes. The main theme in “Baseball” is creativity, but the main theme in “Thank you M’am” is forgiveness. The children’s new way of playing baseball is an example of creativity. Creativity is the ability to surpass traditional ideas, rules, and to create new forms. On the other hand, “Thank you M’am” has an important theme about forgiveness. Since Mrs. Jones noticed Roger was neglected and hungry, she says: “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong.” (Hughes, 389). She forgives him by serving him supper, which shows her maternal