Although Nora Raleigh Baskin novel nine, ten: a september 11 story talks about the 9/11 Twin Towers attack, it can be compared to the book Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy, because both books share similar elements, such as perspectives and power. But of course they also have differences. We can see these differences by looking at the messages that the author wants to pass the readers through the story. This is called a mtheme. The book nine, ten: a september 11 story follows 3 young adults from different religions and they have to lead with their differences. On the other hand, in Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein we have an Iraqi boy called Ali, who loves the United States and feels betrayed by the country he loves the most because in the late 90’s, the president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, decreed war with the United States.
Both main character’s power can be compared, because the authors let this very clear in the story development. Ali, the main character in Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein, even says in page 74 “I feel powerless in my actual position”, as well as in nine, ten: a september 11 story that the character’s power is too short. If there isn’t a quote as in Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein, the character’s power can be noticed by looking at the way the character feels or acts. The author usually gives the reader’s some hints for the reader to discover how much power the character has in that situation. After all, we can say that both character’s can have their power compared to one another, because they share similar situations: war and attacks. And they also share the same feeling: pain. And when we mix these two things, we can discover the power the characters have.
The theme of the stories can be contrasted, because even if there are similar situations, the story can have different themes. In Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein, Jennifer Roy is trying to pass the message that when people can’t do anything to improve the situation they’re in, they feel trapped in that situation for the rest of their lives, and this is so emphasized too many times, for example when Ali lost his little sister Shireen. On the other hand, the book nine,ten: a September 11 story suggests that we have to respect each other no matter our differences. And the characters only accept this by the end of the story, but in the story’s development, they struggle a lot with discriminative problems. It’s incredible how two similar books can have totally different themes!
Overall, the character’s perspective is one of the most important elements of a story, because it affects the whole development of the novel, especially if it is first person narrated. In Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein, Ali’s perspective is directly related to the situation he is passing through, so in the very beginning when there is no war in Iraq, he is living a boy’s normal life, but when the war starts, he starts to get very upset and painful, but in the end he says: ” I think the war made me a man” giving the idea that he internally growed. In the same way, the book nine,ten: a september 11 story is told from multiple points of view, but it’s very clear for the reader that the 3 of them also grew internally.
After everything that has been stated, it can be concluded that the books share similarities, but they also have differences. It can also be said that the book nine, ten: a September 11 story it have a certain complexity comparing to the book Playing Atari With Saddam Hussein because Jennifer Roy let the details more clear to the reader, while Nora Raleigh Baskin give some hints for the reader to think about the aspects she is trying to discuss through the hints.
