Carrie vs. To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Many times books have been read, and have left someone without an understanding of its material. People may begin to believe that the text was useless, as it had no effect on their outlook. In reality, as the Irish proverb states, You cannot open a book without learning something. Every book offers a new experience that people can either decide to apprehend, or ignore.

In the book Carrie, Carrietta Carrie White is a seventeen-year-old girl from Chamberlain, Maine. Her mother, Margaret, is a very religious woman and has a vindictive and unstable personality. Whenever Carrie does not do as her mother wishes, threats of damnation and physical abuse take place. Because Carrie has basically been locked inside for all of her life, she does not do much better at school. She becomes the object of ridicule, embarrassment, and public humiliation by other students.

The beginning of the lesson learned from Carrie starts with dire embarrassment. After Carries physical education class, the ladies proceed to the locker room to take showers. Whilst showering, Carrie has her first period and panics. Miss Dejardin, the gym teacher, scolds Carrie for panicking, although Carrie has no idea what is happening and believes she will die. The other girls in the class then throw tampons and sanitary napkins at her, and Carrie wants to get revenge.

Carrie gradually discovers her telekinetic powers, which she has possessed since birth. She begins practicing her powers in secret and developing strength just as soon as prom. Chris Hargenson and her boyfriend, Billy, have arranged for Carrie to be crowned prom queen. When Carrie and her date, Tommy, ascend the stage, Chris dumps two buckets of pig blood on them. Carrie, being mortified of the laughter, runs away, but comes back when she decides to kill everyone. From Carrie, the lesson stands as: Do not judge one on the way they look, or dress. Find a deeper meaning in them. You never know how they could react.

Likewise, in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, a similar lesson is enforced. The lesson learned in this novel is quoted directly in the book, You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. This story takes place during the Great Depression in a town called Maycomb, Alabama. The narrarator, Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus. Boo Radley is a neighbor of the Finches. Jem, Scout, and Dill, a friend, let their imaginations run wild with thoughts of Boo. The children have been terrified and fascinated with their neighbor. Scout thinks him absurd and weird, and when Atticus states our lesson learned, Scout changes her outlook on Boo Radley and others. By the end of the book, Scout comprehends Boo Radleys perspective and gains optimism.

Both of the novels Carrie and To Kill a Mockingbird have life lessons that each and every person can advance from. People just have to give books a chance, and comprehend them fully before throwing them aside. Nobody knows what awaits them in a new book, take a chance.