The Cave by Jean McCord Essay Example

The Cave by Jean McCord Essay CrimeThe Cave by Jean McCord teaches us that we should be individuals and value other peoples lives, which is a very important lesson in life. McCord combined irony, a believable main character developed throughout the story, and an excellent writing style to produce her short story. This short story is about a boy named Charley and a bum named George. Charley met George one day while running and liked him. The next week, Charley found an entrance to a cave, but he did not realize it was Georges home. Charley told his gang about it, and they wanted it for their clubhouse. Charley went down the entrance, explored the cave and realized that it was Georges cave. When he got back up to the gang, he said it was a worthless cave to discourage them from wanting to explore the cave. The gang did not quite believe him. When they saw a fawn statue that George had given him, they asked about it. In order to avoid further questions about the cave, Charley ran home, upset that he had allowed them to suspect him. After that, Charley left the gang and began visiting George regularly. George liked to carve statues of famous people into the walls of his cave. He tried to recruit Charley to become an artist. During Charleys final exam session in spring, Charley had no time to visit George. When summer came, he could finally go see George. Instead of finding George, Charley found his former gang who had smashed all of the statues. Charley got angry and fought with Pat, the leader. Charley got badly beaten and lost. Then to get even with his former gang, he decided to join the River Rats, the toughest gang around. We will write a custom essay sample on The Cave by Jean McCord specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Cave by Jean McCord specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Cave by Jean McCord specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He was determined to fight his way to the top of that gang and then go fight Pat again. Thats the plot line of The Cave. However, there is more to a story than the plot. Another important element that was used in this story was the irony. Charley was part of a gang to begin with, but when he met George, he learned how to be an individual and make his own decisions. There was no real reason except I thought Id try being an individual for a change, instead of just one of a group who all did and thought the same things (121). He learned that he did not need to always be part of a group. It is all right to be different from everybody else. Then I stayed away from the gang for a while. Id see the fellows in school since we were in the same classes, but I didnt go to the clubhouse, nor join them at the drugstore like I always had (121). This is the first instance of Charleys showing individuality. Charley was beginning to develop an admiration for George and his approach to life. He was a pretty smart old buzzard, and he seemed to know some secret about life. What I mean is, he had kind of come to terms with life, and he had made all the conditions (121). Charley admired George for being such an individual and living life on his own terms. George made Charley feel good about himself. I liked being with George. He didnt expect anything of me like my Dad always did, and by now, I was getting pretty fond of the old guy (121-122). Charley had learned many things about being an individual; however, in the end he decided to just for