Javi and the painter are similar in terms of

Pre-adolescent, innocent Javi is like a seed, eager to grow and flourish but in need of nourishment and opportunity. The Painter, quite the contrast...

Explanation:

eli whitney was an american inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. this was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum south.

being surrounded by crimes, poverty, and failing schools as well as his own lack of confidence in his abilities.