The essay, an art form and bane of English students everywhere, originated in France around 1570. Born from the reflections of one man, ultimately analysis inspired by personal reflection, the essay is now a staple of the literary world. As a work of nonfiction, grounded in truth but embellished with literary flourishes, the essay serves a myriad of purposes. Whether written to inform, persuade, or tell a story, the essay is embraced around the world as an original form of nonfiction writing. Long before biographies and creative nonfiction narratives, essays dominated the nonfiction literary landscape. In Judith Cofer's The Myth of the Latin Woman and James Weldon Johnson's Outcasts in Salt Lake City, we find stories of minorities facing the difficulties of growing up in a country not fully prepared for their existence. Each essay addresses this paradigm in its own way, telling a story of minority hardship in a unique light. While both prove effective, Johnson's Outcasts in Salt Lake City more effectively demonstrates the difficulties of growing up different in a society that refuses to accept diversity. While both essays highlight these difficulties, Johnson more effectively uses available literary devices in his exceptional work. In this comparison, both essays tell a story through narration, imagining again, in the story, real events remembered by the author. When comparing two narratives, certain aspects should be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of each story. First, how true is each story? Can the reader effectively imagine the proposed scene? Second, how powerful is the overall effect of the essay? Does the essay move the reader emotionally? Finally, how effectively the writer employs the middle of the paper as a minority in America. While both essays do demonstrate such difficulties, Johnson's work seems altogether more powerful than Cofer's. Both essays are effective personal narratives, but Johnson's language and emotional appeal give his work greater power. Regardless, both authors demonstrate the versatility and power that the essay can provide. While the form may not have always been in fashion throughout the literary community, there is no denying its effectiveness as a literary form. Works Cited Adorno, TW “The Essay as Form.” New German Criticism 32. (1984): 151-71. Network. February 3, 2011. Johnson, James. “Outcasts in Salt Lake City, by James Weldon Johnson.” About.com, 2011. Web. 3 February 2011. .