Scout and Salamanca

Scout and Salamanca have many similarities and differences. One of the similarities is that they both learn similar lessons in both of these books. They both learn that you shouldn’t judge a person. You need to get to know them first. One of the differences is that Scout lives in reality, while Salamanca lives in fantasy.

In the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout sees Boo Radley as just kind of a story, but towards the end of the novel Scout realizes that Boo is an actual human. She realizes how kind and sympathetic he actually is. Scout might not even have lived if it wasn’t for Boo. Acttius says, “You never really understand a person until you consider his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” This quote shows you that you can’t judge a person solely on first impressions. You can’t judge them by the way they look or what you have heard about them. I think that is shows that you need to be compassionate and considerate to other people. Walk to Moons also shows some of these characteristics.

In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca was very suspicious of Margaret Cadaver. Sal thought that she had intentions to be with her father and Margaret figured out that her father wanted to be just friends, so she keeps it that way. Sal realizes this too, and figures out that she became friends with her mom while she was alive. Salamanca gets a note that says “Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” This quote is very similar to the quote from To Kill a Mockingbird. It explains that you should never judge a person before you really, truly get to know them. Sal judged Margaret before she got to know her. She didn’t really want anything to do with her, but later she figured out that she was friends with her mother.

In To Kill a Mockingbir, Scout lives in the reality of life. One of the things she has to deal with is the way people act towards black people. She realizes and knows how wrong it is. She is made fun of and mistreated, because her dad is defending Tom Robinson in a trial. Her father teaches her how wrong racism is and doesn’t see why people act that way toward black. So, she fights for what is right. Acctius said, “There is a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep ‘em all away from you. That’s never possible.” This quote shows you that there are a lot of bad things in this world, but you don’t have to follow them. You need to do what is right no matter what. You shouldn’t make the wrong choice that people are making. You need to do what you think is right.

In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca lives in almost a fantasy. Sal was very close to her mother and she died. This caused her to live in a fantasy. She was so hurt by her mother’s death. She stopped spending very much time with her dad and she doesn’t talk about her past with Phoebe. She decides to go to Idaho hoping that her mother really isn’t dead or that she can even maybe bring her back to life if she wishes hard enough. Salamanca is living what she wants and not in reality. But, towards the end of the book Sal realizes that her mother is actually dead. “I did not think cheerleading tryouts would matter, but I was not so sure about yelling at your mother. I was certain, however, that if your mother left, it would be something that mattered in the whole long course of your lifetime.” Salamanca misses her mother a lot. She makes herself believe that her mother is still alive. She doesn’t want to face the reality.

Scout and Salamanca have many similarities and differences. They both learn that you should never judge a person before you get to know them. But, Scout lives in reality, while Salamanca lives in a fantasy. They are both very different, but very the same.