Comparing Socrates 'Equal Opportunity And Topdog'

In both pieces of literature by both authors the first similarity that jumps out is that the characters are going through a struggle to make a living and survive in society. Lincoln and Booth are the two main characters in Topdog/Underdog, and are brothers both living in a tiny apartment struggling to make ends meet. Lincoln is the older brother who has a steady but low paying job, while Booth is a conman and petty thief who makes money scamming people out of their money as a 3 card monte and shoplifting. Similarly, the character in "Equal Opportunity," is an ex-convict who is unemployed and looking for work. He was just recently released from prison after being convicted of murder and is now 58 years old. In both texts the characters are struggling to survive because of their

Socrates is struggling to find a job not only because he is an older African-American, but also because he is a convicted murderer. Many times throughout the text Socrates finds himself having violent thoughts and has an internal battle to keep himself under control. This struggle to fight off his violent past is an ironic and direct analogy to the Greek philosopher Socrates; who is famously know for philosophizing about the ethics of good and evil. Samuel Coale describes Socrates character in a critical essay, “he tries to achieve self-reliance in a world which barely recognizes him as a self or an individual at all, and that self-reliance rests squarely on his own willed self-restraint” (Coale). Socrates finds himself trying to apply for a job at a super market when it is clear that management has no interest in hiring him. Socrates already knows that if hired he isn’t going to pass the background check because of his conviction, but instead comes back every day asking about his application because he wants to prove his point that management is not respecting his rights for an equal