Thursday, November 29, 2007
The Lesson
What a great story about different racial and social class. I believe that the setting of the story where this kids are brought up is Harlem, New York City sometime in the 50’s. They are not educated nor are their parents who are never around and seem not to care much about their kids. Miss More is a lady from that neighborhood who is educated and really tries to help the community as much as she could. She takes these kids on trips and tries to educate them on certain topics. I have to give her credit because they are not the best bunch of kids. They misbehave and are very rude. This one trip she takes them to Fifth Avenue. There they walk over to F. A. O. Schwarz where they are introduced to pricey toys. No one can believe their eyes at how much some of these toys cost. Children start to think and argue for how long they would have to save up their allowance to be able to afford something in that store. One imagines asking her parents for a toy for $35 and the response she would get. I believe that the purpose of this trip was to show this kids that there is life (and what kind of life) outside their community and that they have to strive for that. In a way she opened their eyes and showed them the other side of the world.
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3 comments:
Yes, but do you think the point is that they should strive for the middle-upper middle class consumer-based lifestyle, or is it to make them critically conscious about socio-cultural and class issues, to encourage them to "compete" in more purposeful ways and to actively engage them in critical thinking? Who is the main character, here, and what is her conflict in relation to larger socio-economic issues the story broaches?--i.e., who changes most, and what kind of change does that character experience. A lot of this story is about building awareness, right--a "coming of age" in a certain way...? Focus on some key scenes, dialogue exchanges, etc.
Consider for eg. the opening par.--what's the narrator's attitude? what kind of things are on her mind and how does this characterize a certian kind of world view--in contrast to the closing par. what has changed?
The opening paragraph sounded like they all hated her, hated the fact that she was there. I think that the narrator makes it sound like she was intruding on their turf. She was an outsider and didn't have much to do with them. She had nothing in common, other than the color of her skin. It says that she was not family or blood. By the end of the story though, she seems to have a little bit more respect for Ms. Moore. She still may not love her like family, but she learns that she is looking out for the good of their community. Trying to teach the young ones that there is more to life than what they see in their own neighborhood. By taking them on these field trips, she opens their eyes to the world around them.
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