Compare and contrast how a central idea in Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement address and J. K. Rowling’s Harvard commencement address is introduced and elaborated. Write a comparison and contrast essay which makes and supports a claim about a central idea shared by both speeches and then explains how the central idea is introduced and elaborated in each speech. Be sure to use proper grammar, conventions, spelling, and grade­ appropriate words and phrases. Cite several pieces of textual evidence, including direct quotations and page numbers.

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Explanation:

Both speeches delivered by Steve Jobs and J.K. Rowling center on the satisfaction that comes with finding what you love and turning every negative situation such as failure into a stepping stone to greatness.

Steve Jobs, in his commencement address at Stanford, told the audience about how he dropped out from Reeds College which he described as dropping out of the required classes that did not interest him into pursuing what interested him. Similarly, J. K. Rowling described how she jettisoned her parents idea of making her study German due to their naive interest and opt in for classics that really interested her. These two examples center on the fact that students should find what they love and put effort into it. The two examples take different forms of elaboration because as opposed to Steve Jobs who did not complete his college program, J. K. Rowling has a college degree.

Both speakers shared moments in their lives when they encountered failure which were considered the dark moments of their lives. They both turned these dark moments into a stepping stone through their positive attitudes. Steve Jobs narrated how he was pulled out of the company that he founded  and how he during this period of pain and despair founded two other companies and met his loving wife. He said, " I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

J. K. Rowling similarly went through hard times as a young graduate from college. She suffered marital failure, joblessness, single parenting, etc. but never allowed this to deter her of her ambitions.

Both speakers also talk about attitudes. Steve Jobs said his daily motivation always comes from the question that he asks from himself every morning, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”. J.K. Rowling advised the Harvard community on the need to feel the pains of others and touch their lives. She said, "But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. "

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