Taking Risks In Scat

Life is full of risks. Some risks are bad, yet some are good. Carl Hiaasen in the book Scat wants to teach the reader that taking some risks can lead to a positive outcome. For example, Nick and Marta took a risk when they snuck into into Mrs. Starch’s house. On page 135, Carl Hiaasen in Scat wrote, “Nick wasn’t sure if sneaking into Mrs. Starch’s house was the bravest thing he’d ever done, or the dumbest. But he felt certain that the world’s meanest biology teacher wasn’t really absent from school because of a family crisis. Something else had happened, something serious..” Sneaking into the house of a feared biology teacher was definitely taking a risk. Taking that risk allowed Nick and Marta to learn that Mrs. Starch had not been inside of
It ended up having a good outcome, because when Mrs. Starch found the asthma inhaler, she got lost and met Twilly. With Twilly, Mrs. Starch was able to care for and save a baby panther’s life. If she never took that risk, Mrs. Starch would have never gotten to meet Twilly and save a rare baby panther. On page 266 and 267 in Scat, Mrs. Starch explained what happened to her when she was looking for the asthma inhaler, “It took me a while to locate the spot where Libby dropped her asthma inhaler. The smoke was heavy and I started to cough...before long I lost my way back to the boardwalk...I blabbered, blubbered, yelled for help...Then, out of nowhere, somebody runs up from behind...Mr. Spree told me that the mother panther had been scared off by some jerk with a gun. He’d found the kitten crying in the woods...Next thing I know, he places it in my arms...Surrogate. Cat-sitter. I had no choice but to step up.” That quote showed that Mrs. Starch was able to take care of a baby panther after she took a risk, which was another positive outcome. All in all, in the book Scat by Carl Hiaasen, the author is trying to teach the reader that taking some risks is okay, because they can lead to a beneficial and