Jennifer Rodriguez Compare and Contrast A wise person once told me that there are two types of men in this world: the humble, uplifting men, and the conceited men that feel the need to push other people down in order to succeed. The stories “Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cow Wife” and “My Last Duchess” both contain strong male characters whose personalities drive the storyline and affect the outcome of the story; however the two men cause very different outcomes because of their very different personalities. The authors of each story use character, symbolism, and theme to show how a man’s personality can affect everyone around him, no matter what the circumstance may be. One way that the authors of both stories show just how much people can be affected by the personality of a man is by creating strong leading men as the main characters. The main character of “Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cow Wife” is named Johnny Lingo, who is a rich, smart businessman who has a caring heart towards the one he loves. The main character in “My Last Duchess” however, is an wealthy Duke who owns much land and believes that his duchess should have been more proud of the name he had given her while she was alive. One of the striking similarities about the two men is that their names held honor and recognition. However, it is their attitudes toward the people around them and their significant others that differ greatly. Johnny Lingo is humble, and is willing to sacrifice eight cows in order to make the love of his life feel beautiful and confident. On the other hand, the Duke considers himself higher in importance than everyone else, and found it silly and unattractive when his duchess smiled and gave thanks to everyone. Both Johnny Lingo and the Duke are compelling characters, and we care about them