Walk Two Moons and To Kill A Mockingbird
Scout and Sal are two unique names for two unique people. Scout’s story happens during the Great Depression in Maycomb, Alabama in the book To Kill A Mockingbird while Salamanca lives on farm in Bybanks, Kentucky in the story of Walk Two Moons. There are some similarities between Sal and Scout: they’re adventurous, they both have odd friendships with a boy; but there are also some differences. Scout lived in a time before Sal’s and she also has a sibling, Jem (Jeremy). Salamanca also seems to have a very different personality than Scout.
Scout and Salamanca are alike in that they both are adventurous. In TKAM (To Kill A Mockingbird), Scout likes to spend most of her time with her brother. The both of them enjoy walking around and exploring Maycomb. In chapter 11: “”Mrs. Dubose, we’ve been goin’ to town by ourselves since we were this high.” Jem placed his hand palm down about two feet above the sidewalk.” From this and other parts of the book you can tell that Jem and Scout know the area that they live in and frequently traverse it. In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca always talks about the farm where she lives. Right at the beginning of the book it states: “Gramps says that I’m a country girl at heart and that is true. I have lived most of my thirteen years in Bybanks, Kentucky, which is not much more than a caboodle of houses roosting in a green spot alongside the Ohio River.” Along with this, Sal consistently adds thoughts about how she misses her old home, it’s swimming hole, and numerous trees. She liked to climb the trees, swim, and explore. Though Scout and Salamanca live in two very different places, they both like exploration and adventure.
Another thing that ties Salamanca and Scout together is that they both have strange friendships with a boy. In TKAM, Scout has Dill. At the beginning of chapter 5: “He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it. He staked me out, marked me as his property, said I was the only girl he would ever love, then he neglected me.” Scout and Dill are close friends, but as the story progresses Dill grows closer to Jem, then back to Scout, back to Jem, and so on. In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca is friends with Ben. Throughout the book they each try to kiss the other, but the one who is trying always times it wrong. It only happens twice in the book. The first time is on page 238: “...our heads moved completely together and our lips landed in the right place, which was on the other person’s lips.” Sal and Ben have an odd friendship. They don’t ever acknowledge it, but they both know it’s there. Sal and Ben are like Scout and Dill in that they’re friends, but they know that it’s more than that.
Though Scout and Sal both have abnormal friendships with boys, their personalities are different. In TKAM, Scout is more straightforward and realistic. She’s interested in the truth and figuring out the world. At the very end of the book: “Daylight . . . in my mind, the night faded. It was daytime and the neighborhood was busy.” This passage continues with Scout taking Atticus’s advice and putting herself in Arthur Radley’s shoes. She wanted to see herself as Mr. Radley did. In Walk Two Moons, Sal is constantly thinking of her mother and wishing that she could come back. On page 195: “My father was right: my mother did haunt our house in Bybanks, and the fields and the barn. She was everywhere. You couldn’t look at a single thing without being reminded of her.” Other times Sal has talked about how she wished her mother would come back as if she really could. Scout and Sal’s minds work differently. Scout focuses more on how people in general think, while Sal is all about a specific person.
There was one theme that weren’t exactly applicable only to Scout and Sal that I found in both stories. In TKAM, it says it as “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Walk Two Moons version is “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” Scout gets the moral from her father, Atticus, while Salamanca learns the lesson from the anonymous notes that Pheobe receives. Both of these themes take most of the story to develop and are explained thoroughly by the end.
There are similarities and differences between Scout and Salamanca. Their personalities differ, but the lessons they learn in life are alike. Both stories have lessons that are plain and easy to see, and both also have deeper meanings that are a bit harder to find.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Into Thin Air
Awhile ago I finished Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and have only recently written a review for it.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on Earth with it's peak at 29,035 feet high (from the National Geographic Society). Many have reached the top, but more have tried and failed. Into Thin Air is somewhere in-between success and failure. The story is from the point of view of the author, Jon Krakauer, and how he takes part in the climb of Everest.
Into Thin Air takes place in May of 1996, and starts with the aspirations of Jon Krakauer. In his youth he enjoyed climbing and reached the peak of many low altitude mountains. He dreamed of climbing Everest one day, but as he got older he became involved with other things and, for the most part, stopped climbing. He got married and became a journalist. He went for years without climbing, but when he got a chance to climb Everest he took it without missing a beat. Outside magazine wanted him to do an article about the "mushrooming commercialization of the mountain." Jon ended up going with Rob Hall's team* and soon flew to Tibet to meet with them. They started the acclimatization process (or getting used to the thin air on the high mountain).
The ascent to the peak went well for the most part. The greatest problems they had were with cooperating with other teams. This continued through most of the climb upward. They argued about who would climb first, which path to take, and other things like that. It wasn't until they reached the peak that the serious and more dangerous problems began.
Nobody recognized the storm clouds that appeared right before the final ascent to the top for what they really were. Most of the climbers could not think straight from the lack of oxygen at the high altitude. Almost all of the climbers on Rob Hall's team reached the top, but they had started the climb later than they had planned and everyone climbed at their own pace. The team became spread out across the top of the mountain, and when the storm hit many became lost. The wind blasted across the mountain at temperatures well below zero. Some of the climbers froze after becoming to cold to move farther down the mountain. There were a few amazing survivors who were miraculously saved, but the climb was a disaster.
Jon Krakauer tells this story with as many details as possible. He interviewed many people who survived soon after the climb and used pictures in the book that he took himself on the mountain. This was something that I really liked about the book. I also liked out Jon didn't so much judge people on their personality or how they looked as much as their climbing skill and past experiences. On page 39: "I wasn't sure what to make of my fellow clients. In outlook and experience they were nothing like the hard-core climbers with whom I usually went into the mountains." It was also really inspiring to read about how some of the clients worked their hardest to get to the top and to survive. On page 264: "Although Beck was blind in his right eye and able to focus his left eye within a radius of only 3 or 4 feet, he started walking directly into the wind..."
I think that this book was written for people who wanted the most full account possible of what happened in May 1996. Others who might want to read it include action readers or those interested in taking up mountain climbing. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy an action/adventure book. There is lots of foreshadowing and building up of suspense. It also teaches a couple of concepts: 1. There is a significant difference in the air we breath and the air higher up in the atmosphere and 2. You can spend your whole life doing something and still not completely be prepared for it. If I were able to ask the author one question it would be: How do you feel about the experience you had now?
*At first, Jon was going to climb with Scott Fischer's team, but Outside magazine received a better offer from Rob Hall.
View all my reviews
Into Thin Air by Jon KrakauerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mt. Everest is the highest mountain on Earth with it's peak at 29,035 feet high (from the National Geographic Society). Many have reached the top, but more have tried and failed. Into Thin Air is somewhere in-between success and failure. The story is from the point of view of the author, Jon Krakauer, and how he takes part in the climb of Everest.
Into Thin Air takes place in May of 1996, and starts with the aspirations of Jon Krakauer. In his youth he enjoyed climbing and reached the peak of many low altitude mountains. He dreamed of climbing Everest one day, but as he got older he became involved with other things and, for the most part, stopped climbing. He got married and became a journalist. He went for years without climbing, but when he got a chance to climb Everest he took it without missing a beat. Outside magazine wanted him to do an article about the "mushrooming commercialization of the mountain." Jon ended up going with Rob Hall's team* and soon flew to Tibet to meet with them. They started the acclimatization process (or getting used to the thin air on the high mountain).
The ascent to the peak went well for the most part. The greatest problems they had were with cooperating with other teams. This continued through most of the climb upward. They argued about who would climb first, which path to take, and other things like that. It wasn't until they reached the peak that the serious and more dangerous problems began.
Nobody recognized the storm clouds that appeared right before the final ascent to the top for what they really were. Most of the climbers could not think straight from the lack of oxygen at the high altitude. Almost all of the climbers on Rob Hall's team reached the top, but they had started the climb later than they had planned and everyone climbed at their own pace. The team became spread out across the top of the mountain, and when the storm hit many became lost. The wind blasted across the mountain at temperatures well below zero. Some of the climbers froze after becoming to cold to move farther down the mountain. There were a few amazing survivors who were miraculously saved, but the climb was a disaster.
Jon Krakauer tells this story with as many details as possible. He interviewed many people who survived soon after the climb and used pictures in the book that he took himself on the mountain. This was something that I really liked about the book. I also liked out Jon didn't so much judge people on their personality or how they looked as much as their climbing skill and past experiences. On page 39: "I wasn't sure what to make of my fellow clients. In outlook and experience they were nothing like the hard-core climbers with whom I usually went into the mountains." It was also really inspiring to read about how some of the clients worked their hardest to get to the top and to survive. On page 264: "Although Beck was blind in his right eye and able to focus his left eye within a radius of only 3 or 4 feet, he started walking directly into the wind..."
I think that this book was written for people who wanted the most full account possible of what happened in May 1996. Others who might want to read it include action readers or those interested in taking up mountain climbing. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy an action/adventure book. There is lots of foreshadowing and building up of suspense. It also teaches a couple of concepts: 1. There is a significant difference in the air we breath and the air higher up in the atmosphere and 2. You can spend your whole life doing something and still not completely be prepared for it. If I were able to ask the author one question it would be: How do you feel about the experience you had now?
*At first, Jon was going to climb with Scott Fischer's team, but Outside magazine received a better offer from Rob Hall.
View all my reviews
Monday, January 2, 2012
A New Year
2011 is now over and the year 2012 has begun. I had a lot of fun and some interesting experiences in 2011 and I hope I have the same in 2012. The world is supposed to end next December, so that should be interesting to see. I don't actually believe that it will, I just want to see how people get ready for it.
When you sum up most of the resolutions I decided on, it comes down to not procrastinating. It's become a serious problem. I've turned in so many huge assignments at the last minute that I was seriously worried that I was going to fail a class or two. I made it through though, but it was close. I think it will be a lot easier on myself, give me more time for other things, and I will do a better job on assignments if I do them as soon as possible and turn them in as soon as possible. Included with that, I want to practice the bass a lot more than I already do and maybe learn a song or two on the guitar. I used to take lessons for guitar but I stopped once school started. I wish I hadn't now. I still want to maintain a 4.0 GPA and participate in a lot of extracurricular activities.
For New Year's Eve I celebrated by having a party with some friends. It was lots of fun. We watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes, played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and sat around a fire eating roasted marshmallows and drinking sparkling cider. My parents were pretty much freaking out about me getting ready for the party. They took me to the store and we bought way to much stuff for what we did. I was planning on messing around with fireworks (with adult supervision of course) with everybody but we never ended up getting fireworks. We still had a blast though. I think everyone enjoyed, although there was somebody there whom I think everybody was annoyed with.
I've finished the book To Kill A Mockingbird, and am almost through with Walk Two Moons. I have to write a comparative essay between Salamanca and Scout for Honors English and I thought I'd start reviewing right now for it.
The first thing I noticed about both of them is that neither of them currently have their mothers with them. This is an important aspect in Walk Two Moons, but it doesn't play so big of a role in TKAM (To Kill A Mockingbird). I think it's because, for Sal, it happened recently and she knew her mother well. For Scout, it's not such a big deal because she never knew her mother and she has a sibling to look up to and to help her get along.
Both Salamanca and Scout grew up in Southern parts and it has influenced them greatly. Salamanca loved the farm she grew up on and she is always saying how she misses it in her story. Scout lives in Alabama, in a small town and is still trying to understand how it works. They're both pretty young, both are girls, and both of them love their parents.
Salamanca is different from Scout though. She's older, has experienced more, and knows more. From what I understand, she is partly Native American from her mother's side. Although she grew up in Tennessee, she moved and hasn't quite grown accustomed to it. She tells her story as she is on a road trip with her grandparents to Lewiston, Idaho where her mother died.
I think Scout is a lot more straightforward than Salamanca. She tells things as she sees them, not the way she wants to believe as Sal does. Scout is more interested in learning about the world she lives in than individual people. Sal is always thinking about her mom and how she wants her to come back. TKAM is about how Scout learns about the town she lives in and how people act and think there. Walk Two Moons is more about the people Salamanca meets and how she interacts with them.
When you sum up most of the resolutions I decided on, it comes down to not procrastinating. It's become a serious problem. I've turned in so many huge assignments at the last minute that I was seriously worried that I was going to fail a class or two. I made it through though, but it was close. I think it will be a lot easier on myself, give me more time for other things, and I will do a better job on assignments if I do them as soon as possible and turn them in as soon as possible. Included with that, I want to practice the bass a lot more than I already do and maybe learn a song or two on the guitar. I used to take lessons for guitar but I stopped once school started. I wish I hadn't now. I still want to maintain a 4.0 GPA and participate in a lot of extracurricular activities.
For New Year's Eve I celebrated by having a party with some friends. It was lots of fun. We watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes, played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and sat around a fire eating roasted marshmallows and drinking sparkling cider. My parents were pretty much freaking out about me getting ready for the party. They took me to the store and we bought way to much stuff for what we did. I was planning on messing around with fireworks (with adult supervision of course) with everybody but we never ended up getting fireworks. We still had a blast though. I think everyone enjoyed, although there was somebody there whom I think everybody was annoyed with.
I've finished the book To Kill A Mockingbird, and am almost through with Walk Two Moons. I have to write a comparative essay between Salamanca and Scout for Honors English and I thought I'd start reviewing right now for it.
The first thing I noticed about both of them is that neither of them currently have their mothers with them. This is an important aspect in Walk Two Moons, but it doesn't play so big of a role in TKAM (To Kill A Mockingbird). I think it's because, for Sal, it happened recently and she knew her mother well. For Scout, it's not such a big deal because she never knew her mother and she has a sibling to look up to and to help her get along.
Both Salamanca and Scout grew up in Southern parts and it has influenced them greatly. Salamanca loved the farm she grew up on and she is always saying how she misses it in her story. Scout lives in Alabama, in a small town and is still trying to understand how it works. They're both pretty young, both are girls, and both of them love their parents.
Salamanca is different from Scout though. She's older, has experienced more, and knows more. From what I understand, she is partly Native American from her mother's side. Although she grew up in Tennessee, she moved and hasn't quite grown accustomed to it. She tells her story as she is on a road trip with her grandparents to Lewiston, Idaho where her mother died.
I think Scout is a lot more straightforward than Salamanca. She tells things as she sees them, not the way she wants to believe as Sal does. Scout is more interested in learning about the world she lives in than individual people. Sal is always thinking about her mom and how she wants her to come back. TKAM is about how Scout learns about the town she lives in and how people act and think there. Walk Two Moons is more about the people Salamanca meets and how she interacts with them.
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