To Kill A Mocking Bird vs. Walk Two Moons

To Kill a Mockingbird and Walk Two Moons have many ways in which they are alike, and in which they are different. They both share a story about young children realizing life lessons, yet they are different in what they learn. These young children have completely different stories, but share a theme of judging someone too soon, or before knowing the entire story, is one that we can learn from.

Scout and Salamanca are alike in that they both are affected deeply by their friendships. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout is taught by her friends to be accepting and brave in what is around her. In the story, Scout is complaining about school, and how she isn’t getting along with her teacher very well. Jem, being her brother and a good friend, tries to comfort her by saying “Don’t worry, Scout, Our teacher says Miss Caroline’s introducing a new way of teaching…” and later assures her that the older she got, the better school would be. This helps show that Scout is close with her brother, and their friendship between each other helps her to push through school, even though it’s a pain to her. In Walk Two Moons, Sal’s friend, Ben, helps her. In the book, Sal reads a poem in Mr. Birkway’s class about a traveler who mysteriously disappears. “The waves, with their ‘soft, white hands’ grab the traveler. They drown him. They kill him. He’s gone.” Ben said, “Maybe he didn’t drown. Maybe he just died, like normal people die.” I said, “It isn’t normal to die. It isn’t normal. It’s terrible.” Ben said, “Maybe dying could be normal and terrible.” This passage shows how Ben sees life more broadly, and suggests that terrible events are a normal part of life. Sal doesn’t realize that terrible things do happen and they are unavoidable in life, until the end of the book, when things start to make sense to her. Both these characters, Scout and Sal, have really strong friendships and are taught by their friends constantly throughout the book.

These two narrators are also alike in which they both figure that people aren’t always who they think they are. They aren’t always who you expect them to be. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout tells her father about how she feels about Boo Radley. “Atticus, he was real nice…,” Her father replies by telling her “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.” At first, Scout and her friends are suspicious and a little terrified of this Boo Radley. Making accusations, they think of him as a bad person, why else would he be locked up in a house for so long? There perception of him changes by the end of the book when he saves her and her brother’s lives. They then see he isn’t a bad person, but a kind, caring, and loving guy. In Walk Two Moons, Sal and Pheobe also tend to make such accusations towards Mrs. Cadaver of her being a murderer. Sal comes to realize later in the book that people are often different then they seem, just as Mrs. Cadaver ends up being a comforter to her father, and to her mother when she was on the bus. She says “…although there might be axe murderers and kidnappers in the world, most people seem a lot like us: sometimes brave, sometimes cruel and sometimes kind.” Both narrators seem to realize that no matter what they seem to be, people can be just as normal as anyone else, or end up not too different from yourself.

Although these two books have many similarities, they are also in different in a couple of ways. Both books seem to share a common theme of family, and being close to each other. But even though they share this theme, they share it in different ways. In Walk Two Moons, Sal is determined to find her mother, and is willing to do whatever it takes to reunite her family. “I prayed all night to the elm tree outside. I prayed that we would not get in an accident, that we would get to Lewiston, Idaho, in time for my mother’s birthday, and that we would bring her home…” Sal’s determination is completely different that Scout’s in To Kill a Mocking bird. While Sal’s is trying to get her family back together so that they can become happy again, Scout uses her family for comfort and advice, as she tries to figure out the world around her. “Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.” Scout’s father was good to her family; he taught her many things, including many life lessons and was a great person. Using his example, Scout learns to judge people the way they should be, and not by what they look like. Although both these books stress on family a lot, they are different in their ways.

In conclusion, these two books have many similarities and differences. Including how friendships have such a great impact on others, how people shouldn’t be judged too soon, and how family plays an important role in people’s lives. These themes are great lessons taught, that not only the characters of these books will take in, but also the readers.