Cora Did Wrong - Debate on “Dear Mr. Winston”

In the book “Dear Mr. Winston”, written by Ken Roberts, a girl named Cora writes a letter to Mr. Winston explaining and apologizing that she took a snake to school. According to Cora’s story, she found a snake and wanted to learn more information about it, so she decided to borrow a book. She first put the snake in a box and hid it outside, went to the library to borrow that book, but Mr. Winston refused to borrow it. Therefore, Cora took the box inside the library and put it on the table to read, which caused Mr. Winston opens the box, gets bitten by the snake, and releases it. Even though Cora brought a snake to the library, she did nothing wrong because there are still many factors in the occurrence of this event. The school’s inappropriate rules, the teacher’s reckless actions and the useless punishments are all important factors that can prove Cora did nothing wrong. This shows that when solving a problem, people should look at the problem’s different aspects.

An Inappropriate school rule may get people in trouble, and that is a reason why Cora brought the snake to the library. When a school’s rules are turning incomprehensible and are harming someone, it already loses its value, which is protecting and making things better. According to Cora’s letter, because the book she wants to borrow is a reference book, and the school doesn’t allow to borrow reference books, Cora had to bring the snake inside the library, which later led to a series of things. Cora’s school’s rule is a reason why she brought the snake to the library, and if it weren’t for it, nothing would happen. In short, Cora did nothing wrong since the school set an inappropriate rule.

The teacher’s reckless actions can change the result of an event, and this also is a significant factor that shows Cora did nothing wrong. Not thinking before acting, ignoring every possible consequence and overacting are all behaviors that a reckless teacher may do. In the letter, Cora said she made it clear that she didn’t need any help, but the teacher still opened the box, and even released it! Also, Cora’s snake is not poisonous, but when Mr. Winston was bitten, he reacted so seriously and went to the ambulance. His action of not thinking about the consequences caused Cora to lose the snake, and get in trouble. To conclude, another reason why Cora did nothing wrong is because it was Mr. Winston that released the snake.

A result or punishment that has nothing to do with the thing itself is useless, and this is another reason why Cora isn’t wrong. Punishments should be used to let people learn things and make a change, but if the punishment doesn’t really matter and even harms that person, it has no more meaning. Putting this in the book, Cora’s parents refused her to watch her favorite TV show as a punishment, but watching TV shows has nothing to do with bringing a snake to school. Also, Cora had already apologized and felt truly, genuinely sorry, but she still can’t watch it. What’s more, Cora used a month’s allowance to buy that snake, but just because Mr. Winston opened the box, she lost a month’s allowance. It seems like Cora deserves all these consequences, but these won’t provide a better result or even make a change. In all, Cora’s small mistakes don’t deserve so much punishment, and she did nothing wrong.

Overall, in the book “Dear Mr. Winston” by Ken Roberts, Cora did nothing wrong because the action of bringing a snake is caused by many factors. For example, the school’s inappropriate rules; the teacher’s reckless actions; and the useless punishments. Cora’s school rules are incomprehensible and are harming someone; Cora’s teacher Mr. Winston doesn’t think before he acts, and Cora’s parents give her inappropriate punishments. Cora may be wrong for bringing the snake into the library, but elements like not being allowed to borrow books, Mr. Winstin opening the box and the un-poisonous snake are the main causes. In conclusion, this story reflects a lesson, which is that people should look at different aspects and reasons that form a problem, not only a simple side.