It's a comparative essay then?
This is my fav how-to on the comparative essay, it really really helps in constructing the outline and helped me formulate what I wanted the main points to be in how it deconstructs the intro (intro including frame of reference as the first line, grounds of comparison for the next, and the thesis as the last lines).
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/CompAnalysis.html
The mental illness will be your grounds for comparison. The fact that they're so wildly different will actually construct the thesis if that's what you want the focus to be. Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five deals centrally with the impact of skizophrenia, whereas Plath's The Bell Jar concerns the effects of depression.
Good luck!
This is my fav how-to on the comparative essay, it really really helps in constructing the outline and helped me formulate what I wanted the main points to be in how it deconstructs the intro (intro including frame of reference as the first line, grounds of comparison for the next, and the thesis as the last lines).
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/CompAnalysis.html
The mental illness will be your grounds for comparison. The fact that they're so wildly different will actually construct the thesis if that's what you want the focus to be. Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five deals centrally with the impact of skizophrenia, whereas Plath's The Bell Jar concerns the effects of depression.
Good luck!