Jimmy Wayne - “walk to Beautiful” and Michael Oher - “the Blind Side”

Courtany Anderson

Mrs. Watson

English 111- Section 805

Literary Analysis Compare/Contrast Essay

October 25, 2016

Literary Analysis Compare/Contrast Essay

The parallel stories of Jimmy Wayne and his “Walk to Beautiful” and Michael Oher and his “The Blind Side” are both beautiful stories of how each overcame their backgrounds and became great stars. Within the plots for both stories you will find many similarities and many differences. Many of the differences can be found in the background, and the rising action of the plot. Many of the similarities are found within the resolution and the falling action as well as some differences in the background.

In the story of Michael Oher, it begins with a showing of a football game and Mrs.Touhy speaking. Within that speech Mrs.Touhy states, “Now, y'all would guess that more often than not, the highest paid player on an NFL team is the quarterback. And you'd be right. But what you probably don't know is that more often than not, the second highest paid player is, thanks to Lawrence Taylor, a left tackle. Because, as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance. The left tackle's job is to protect the quarterback from what he can't see coming. To protect his blind side (Hancock, 2009).” This begins the story of Michael Oher and how he became one of the best left tackle’s that the NFL has ever seen. In the rising action of “The Blind Side” it shows Michael’s life as a teenager just trying to get by with only the clothes he has on and a spare t-shirt. Without his mother around in the beginning of the movie Michael was staying at a friend’s house on the couch. And as usual the family didn’t keep him around long, however, they kept him around long enough to assist in getting him accepted to a Christian school called “Briar crest” which he didn’t know at the time but it would change his life forever. While attending Briar crest at first Michael didn’t pay much attention or understand what the teachers were trying to teach him to do. One day while leaving school Michael runs into S.J. Touhy and within seconds is friends with him. Later, S.J. and his family are on their way home and see Michael walking along the road and decide to have a little faith and take him home with them. The Climax of this story would be when Michael is questioned by the NCAA about his choices in life which force him to question the Touhy’s and their love for him. In the falling action, Michael becomes a big football star at Ole Miss and he finds out Mrs. Touhy’s real feelings for him. The resolution of this story is that even though Michael started from nothing he became an all-star for the NFL and showed everyone that it doesn’t matter where you come from.