Comparing Short Stories 'Spaghetti And' Slower Than The Rest

In the short stories, “Spaghetti” and “Slower than the Rest” by Cynthia Rylant, both main characters lives improved after using curiosity to find something that gave them luck. In “Spaghetti,” the main character, Gabriel, hears a crying noise as he is sitting outside the building he lives in. Gabriel goes looking for what the crying noise could be. He unexpectedly finds a kitten, which surprised and pleased him. In “Slower than the Rest,” the main character, Leo, was described as a “slow learner” and didn’t have many friends because he was put in a classroom with “slow learners.” He is made more “popular” by bringing in the turtle he finds to school. In summary, the author developed the theme of both stories, being curious could be a good thing, by thoughts, actions, and dialogue.

In “Spaghetti,” the theme, being curious could be a good thing, is developed through the characters thoughts. The main character, Gabriel, is acting curious when he hears a quiet, crying sound from outside his house. His curiosity brings him to the sound, and he sees a kitten. The kitten brings Gabriel
In the beginning of the short story, it is told by the narrator that Leo is too slow to be in a regular classroom and must be put with slow learners like him. Leo didn’t feel like a regular kid anymore, so his confidence went down. Another day, Leo’s curiosity brought him to find a turtle and keep it as a pet. He brought it to school one day for a presentation, and Leo won the best presentation. Everybody was cheering him on, and he had good confidence again. The text says, “...Leo was allowed to pick it up off the highway and bring it home… ‘You won!’ They were all saying. ‘Go on!’” (Rylant 1&3). Since Leo used curiosity to find the turtle, it gave him better confidence and made him happier. Overall, this helps develop the theme, being curious is a good