In "The Tree or Red Stars" and "The Quick and the Dead there are many recurring themes and ideas that make the stories similar. Yet, each author had a way of relating these topics to the main characters, in their stories, that made them different. There were ideas such as politics, society and personal ideals that were confronted. Joy Williams and Tessa Bridal also had different ways of writing their stories and relating the messages that they wanted to get across. Comparing and contrasting these two pieces of literature showed how two different works can be so similar while being different.
             Magdalena, a child of privilege in Montevideo in the 1960s dreams of debutante balls and marrying well but is diverted by handsome neighbor Marco. As a child she befriends Emilia, a girl living in her neighborhood; as well as befriending Emilia she develops an affinity for a less fortunate woman of a lower class. Her name is Gabriela, she first met Magdalena while she was searching for trash; as Magda was playing outside her home as a small child. As Magda grows she develops an interest in Marco, which eventually develops into a marriage. With Magdalena's maturity she becomes even more of an optimist and thinks she can fix the problems that plague her country, which is one of the reasons she joins the Tupamaros. Magda's political awareness is raised by a riot after a Che Guevara speech, study in the United States during high school, and discussion with friends in the revolutionary movement. As a U.S. Information Service employee, she joins the urban guerrilla movement Tupamaros, providing information critical to the success of an assassination and a kidnapping. Marco, a rising star in the army's officer ranks, works for reform from within the military. Each will face imprisonment and torture before the final resolution. Happy childhood memories are blended with horrific political realities. One of Magda's happy chi...