Comparing Two Definitions of Home :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing Two Definitions of Home For each person, home has a different meaning. For some, it is their house; for others, home focuses on where loved ones are. The two authors Richard Ford and Chang-Rae Lee consider home to be where the memories are. In their respective works, â€Å"I Must Be Going† and â€Å"Coming Home Again,† the authors explore home through memories. Ford’s memories are based on moving to new homes, while Lee’s memories are focused on his mother and cooking. Each, in turn, finds out what home means for himself. In Ford’s work, he explores how the idea that â€Å"transient is a word of reproach† (Ford 110), a stereotype which he does not agree with. Many people consider people who move often to have shallow roots. People with little foundation are suspicious to lengthy residents. In his life, he has moved roughly twenty times, but he does not â€Å"concede their establishment is any more established than† (110) his own. To Ford, home is all of the memories; physical location is irrelevant. He moves so often because â€Å"longing’s at the heart of it† (109). He has been longing to see the outside world. As a kid, he noted â€Å"that the world outside †¦ was the more magical, exotic place† (109-110) than his hometown. Remembering when he once owned a home, he felt so trapped. In a drunken rage, he flung paint on everything on a lower level. This shows that Ford has a strong need of personal freedom to move. He wants to control his own destiny, concluding that any of his problems are therefore â€Å"on [his] bill, not theirs† (111). Ford feels that â€Å"memory always needs replenishing† (110) and he does so by constantly moving from place to place. Ford questions the American southerner tradition that home is â€Å"supposed to hold† (110) Southerners to their houses and land. Ford feels differently about home: â€Å"home – real home – the important place that holds you, always meant that: affection, love† (110). For him, home is the pleasant memories he holds. Comparing Two Definitions of Home :: Compare Contrast Comparison Comparing Two Definitions of Home For each person, home has a different meaning. For some, it is their house; for others, home focuses on where loved ones are. The two authors Richard Ford and Chang-Rae Lee consider home to be where the memories are. In their respective works, â€Å"I Must Be Going† and â€Å"Coming Home Again,† the authors explore home through memories. Ford’s memories are based on moving to new homes, while Lee’s memories are focused on his mother and cooking. Each, in turn, finds out what home means for himself. In Ford’s work, he explores how the idea that â€Å"transient is a word of reproach† (Ford 110), a stereotype which he does not agree with. Many people consider people who move often to have shallow roots. People with little foundation are suspicious to lengthy residents. In his life, he has moved roughly twenty times, but he does not â€Å"concede their establishment is any more established than† (110) his own. To Ford, home is all of the memories; physical location is irrelevant. He moves so often because â€Å"longing’s at the heart of it† (109). He has been longing to see the outside world. As a kid, he noted â€Å"that the world outside †¦ was the more magical, exotic place† (109-110) than his hometown. Remembering when he once owned a home, he felt so trapped. In a drunken rage, he flung paint on everything on a lower level. This shows that Ford has a strong need of personal freedom to move. He wants to control his own destiny, concluding that any of his problems are therefore â€Å"on [his] bill, not theirs† (111). Ford feels that â€Å"memory always needs replenishing† (110) and he does so by constantly moving from place to place. Ford questions the American southerner tradition that home is â€Å"supposed to hold† (110) Southerners to their houses and land. Ford feels differently about home: â€Å"home – real home – the important place that holds you, always meant that: affection, love† (110). For him, home is the pleasant memories he holds.