Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed AND

The Golden Kite, The Silver WindA Comparison by

Carly C, John Henry J, and Joe W

Summary of Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed

    In this story by Ray Bradbury, the Bittering family arrives on Mars after fleeing earth.  Each day is harder on the children (Dan, Laura, and David) than the last, and though the parents (Harry and Cora) try to act as if they aren’t scared, the children know better. Then, one fateful day, New York City is nuked, destroying the whole city, and the rocket ships that were going to come and save the refugees.  With next to no hope left, the Bitterings, as well as everyone else on the planet, try to go on with their lives normally.  After some time though, Harry Bittering begins to notice some subtle differences, first in the plants, and then in the people.  Mars had begun to change them. When he noticed this, Mr. Bittering goes around to the other inhabitants of Mars, trying to persuade them to leave the planet with him.  All of the others call him crazy, but he decides to build a rocket.  He works feverishly for a time, but eventually gives up.  The whole colony is turned into Martians, and when help finally arrives, they are not recognized.

Summary of The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind    This is a story of two cities, set in China ages and ages ago.  One city has

walls in the shape of an orange, and the people considers themselves to be quite dominant to the people of the other city. However, a messenger arrives one day in the city with the walls shaped like an orange to inform the leader that the other city has built its walls in the shape of a pig, as if to eat the other city. This worries the leader, because in those times, nobody would want to stay in a city that was about to be eaten.  The leader’s daughter advises them to build their walls in the shape of a club, to metaphorically beat the other city away. They are happy for a little bit, but then the other city builds its walls in the shape of a bonfire, to burn the club. This sort of fighting goes on for a long time, but the people spend all of their time working to build the walls, and no time growing crops, or doing any of their usual activities.  Finally, the daughter tells her father that the two cities need to come two an agreement.  She points out two kites on the ground, and says that just like a kite needs the wind’s help, so does a city need the help of other cities to survive. With that in mind, the two cities build the walls into the shape of a golden kite and silver wind.  Both of them do well economically, with neither one trying to do better than the other.

Characters

Character Comparisons

Harry Bittering(the dad from Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed) and the Mandarin's daughter(the lady behind the curtain in The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind) are the most alike because they are the most dyamic characters in the stories and also because they are not afraid to stand out or to think freely.

Character ContrastsHarry Bittering and the Mandarin's daughter came out differently at the end of their stories. While Harry Bittering became a Martian, the Mandarin's daughter received fame, praise, and lots of treasure.

Harry Bittering The Mandarin's Daughter

Settings

 

Setting Comparison

    The two settings do not have much in common except that both societies are the same.  In "Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed" there are two main groups of people -- those who believe something is wrong and those who believe nothing is wrong (and if there is it doesn't matter).  In "The Golden Kite,  the Silver Wind" there two main groups of people opposing each other.  Both settings included a man vs. man in their societies.

Setting Contrasts

    The differences between the two stories in setting are very large.  'Dark They Were' is set in Mars while 'The Golden Kite' is set on Earth.  The time periods are also different, 'Dark They Were' is set in the future and 'The Golden Kite' is set in the past.  The cultures are also very different.  'Dark They Were' it seemed like a culture very much like ours in the basics.  But in 'The Golden Kite' there was a completely different older Asian culture.

Themes

 

Theme Comparison

     The two themes were really not the same but shared some simmilar aspects.  For 'Dark' the theme was giving into peer pressure does not always produce the best results.  For 'Kite' the theme was that working together brings better rewards than fighting.  Both of these themes involve grooups and the groups work together, like we are doing in our group.  Also both work toward a better reward.   

Theme Contrasts

    The themes are completely different.  One is about one person's choices, it is one person's choice to not submit to peer pressure.  While the other is about a multiple party choice of working together.  One causes personal rewards, 'Dark', you are not going to help anyone but yourself.  (Being a Martian is better than being a human because human's don't appreciate what they have, this a personal gain).