The Little Moments In Life

The Little Moments In Life

A Compare and Contrast Essay of Two Memoirs

By: Debby Andita Gandasaputra

a 5th semester student.

Memoirs relive the precious moments and emotions that we, as human beings sadly forget, in retrospect. They are the personal diaries for remembering the small things in life. One memoir entitled “Morning Dawns”, written by a young American teenager is about her personal experience of the simple task of waking up and going to school on a Monday morning. Another memoir entitled “A Moment of Clarity”, by another young American teenager, is about the simplicity of reading a favorite novel and engaging into the story. The little things in life that we take for granted are beautifully detailed in both memoirs, focusing on the simplicity of each moment, yet also complimenting each other with their unique individual emotions portrayed within the memoirs.

Each memoir holds different emotions within their story. In “Morning Dawns”, a high school student describes the moment of waking up on a Monday morning and getting back into life’s boring routines like rats in a race to the finish line. She expresses the emotions of heaviness and laziness that comes with Monday mornings, after a weekend empty of routines. Unlike “A Moment of Clarity”, “Morning Dawns” leans towards the emotion of apathy and laziness. In “A Moment of Clarity”, the writer interprets emotions of peace, happiness and satisfaction that one gets from reading. Other than emotions, each memoir has different settings and characters. “Morning Dawns” expresses the author’s emotions at home and in school, whereas “A Moment of Clarity” actually illustrates the emotions of a boy being read a story, along with the author herself, in a bedroom.

In similarities, both memoirs have many in common. Obviously, they are both told from a teenager’s personal experience. The beginning of both memoirs start from the writer’s perspective, lying in a bed, both having just woken up from a sleep. Both memoirs focus on the emotions that they feel during these little moments that they experience. Not only do they express their personal emotions and share it with the world to read, but they also send a little message. In ‘A Moment of Clarity”, the message that I got was that something as simple as reading our favorite novel can make us feel a sense of clarity and belonging when getting into the story. In “Morning Dawns”, the message that I got was about the emptiness of Mondays and how humans are like controlled robots living in this world. Finally, I believe both memoirs can make any average high school teenager relate to it.

It’s important; when reading a memoir, to not only read it, but to also relive it. Two of these memoirs succeeded in getting the reader to feel the emotions and live through the experiences. Despite their many differences, these memoirs have a lot in common when considering the life of a high school teenager. I personally enjoyed both memoirs equally the same. I don’t think one is better than the other. I felt both were equally as moving, letting me experience the different emotions portrayed.