We Pay a Price for Everything We Gave or Take in This World
L. M. Montgomery once stated “.. we pay a price for everything we get or take in this world.. ”. What he is saying is the choices we make in life, whether they be good or bad, consequences are received. These consequences don’t necessarily have to be bad nor have to be good on your part. I find this quote to be accurate. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Montgomery’s words are proven true.
Scout and Jem Finch, the protagonists of the story To Kill A Mockingbird, want to make contact with “Boo” Radley. According to people in Maycomb, Boo was infamous for peering through people’s windows at night and eating animals. By hearing this, the kids decided it would be intriguing to make contact with him. Scout and Jem were told to stay away from the Radley property from their father, Atticus, and many others in the town of Maycomb.
They disobeyed these requests.
By doing so, Scout and Jem made a new friend who in the end, winds up saving their lives. They learned that Arthur “Boo” Radley was not at all what people perceived him as. In this case, the consequence was not a bad thing. They gained something from this encounter. Of Mice and Men is another good example of this quote. Lenny and George find a paying job so they can one day live the American dream. On their journey, they meet others who share the same dream as them. Lenny has a mild mental disability and relies on George.
Because of his condition, he was unaware of the amount of physical strength he had, and killed a woman. In return, he too was killed, thus showing that you do pay a price for your actions. In this case, the consequence was more of a punishment than a reward. I feel that both stories share the same theme, which is very much connected to the quote stated by L. M Montgomery. The protagonists in each story received a consequence for their actions; One was positive, but unfortunately the other was not.
