Eleanor & Park (40-80)

Eleanor & Park (Compare/Contrast)

Compare Eleanor to Juliet. We are often told that this is a modern day RNJ story, but I am not so sure. Based on what we have read so far, I made a simple comparison chart highlighting the two. 

I do not believe that Eleanor resembles Juliet as much, but then again, we have not gotten too far in the novel. I am curious to see how her and Park's relationship grows. Will they continue to be afraid to show their affection? 

Eleanor	Juliet
In love with Park even though she will not admit it to him	Falls in love with Romeo even though she is forbidden to see him
Does not stand up for herself to Richie when she notices that he is doing something to hurt her. Like when he “slut shames” her for talking to Park. She takes it and cries about it later.	Very defiant to her parents. When she is told to do something that she does not like, she is often very rude and disrespectful. She lies to her parents and goes behind their backs.
Described as someone who isn’t very attractive. She’s somewhat overweight, has very messy red hair, does not have the best sense of style, and often is made fun of for the way she appears.	Very beautiful with long, dark hair. She is described almost like a young version of Desdemona from Othello. Someone who could have any suitor she desired—even though she’s 13.
Is very shy and nervous about her feelings for Park. Though we understand that she is almost in love with him, she often is afraid to show the affection because she doesn’t know if he feels the same. It takes a while for the two to actually get to the level where they can even look at each other let alone hold hands.	Curiosity gets the best of her—we know that she refuses the suitor her father selects for her. She secretly has sex with Romeo even though she was forbidden from being with him.