Nothing Is Free

You are in a store to go buy some chips. You see a sale that says “Buy 2 get one free!” You automatically buy it because you get an extra bag of chips. Yet, if you think about it, are you really getting a deal? In the book the “13 ½  Lives of Captain Bluebear” by Walter Moers, the main character, Bluebear was lost at sea. He soon found Gourmet Island. On Gourmet Island, everything is made out of food. Bluebear thought he could stay there the rest of his life because of all the “free” resources. When Bluebear is almost killed in a dangerous situation, he ate so much “free food” he was too fat to escape the danger. A lesson adolescent readers can learn from Bluebear is that nothing is free. You may not have to pay money but everything has a price and if you’re not paying for it, someone else is.  

At first, Bluebear doesn’t know he is in trouble by eating all that food and gaining so much weight. When he is in trouble, he can’t save himself. The price he had to pay was a near death experience. Bluebear wanted to stay on Gourmet Island for the rest of his life. The Island provided him with free food, water, and all the sweets he could imagine. All Bluebear did was sleep and eat. Nothing else. Well, when you go to a restaurant to eat, you have to pay the check when you are finished with the meal. Who was going to pay Bluebear’s check? In real life, you can’t think that anything is free. If you’re not paying for what you want now, you are going to pay for it later. Bluebear was no exception. Except someone else had to pay the price for him.

After Bluebear’s traumatic experience, he spoke to his good friend that  had to save him from the danger named Mac. Mac told him everything comes with a price. If Mac hadn’t saved Bluebear, the price of all that free food would have been Bluebear’s life. This is an example of the “Words of The Wiser” literary sign post if you will. Mac has been through many life threatening circumstances, and he can show Bluebear the way of  any adventure. When you parents tell you money doesn’t grow on trees, they mean, you can’t suddenly want to buy everything just because you’re not paying for it. Your parents are the ones paying for what you want. What you want may be free for you, but someone else is paying for it.

To conclude, in The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers, a young reader could learn that nothing in life is free. That is what Bluebear had learned from Mac. Bluebear now knew not to take the “free” items for granted because someone else is paying for them. If you are not paying for what you have now, you are definitely paying for it later. Or someone else is. The  free “item” you have may not be an item. It could be a mistake. The price you have to pay, may not be money. I could be a consequence. Has anybody ever paid for your mistakes?