The Lesson By Tony Cade Bambara

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Mohammed Hassan Instructor: L. Stein 25 February 2013 Response Paper #1 Rebellion In literature, different literary elements such as character, plot, and point of view construct a story line. There are also governing ideas such as themes and motifs that are depicted throughout stories. Similarly “The Lesson” by Tony Cade Bambara and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan are two short stories that share common ideas. Both stories are about young girls who happen to belong to a similar social context in their settings. Both characters thematically resist the stipulations set by society. That idea is exemplified in their youthful rebellion against authority. In the short story “The Lesson,” Sylvia the protagonist is characterized as a young girl who lives in a poor neighborhood in New York. Bambara tells the story using a first person…show more content…
The plot of the story journeys from the poor neighborhood projects to downtown Manhattan in a toy store named F.A.O. Schwartz and back. During that time Miss Moore show the children that they live in poor environment and do not have the luxury of travelling in a car or money to afford expensive toys. Sylvia’s rage and rebellion is in her disagreement with Miss Moore trying to devalue the children’s social class. In a similar manner “Two Kinds” by Amy tan depicts resistant against authority. The story like Bambara is also told from a first person narrator in the protagonist Jing-mei. She moves to America with her family when she is little. Her mother’s goal for her is to be highly talented piano player. In the beginning Jing-mei seems to accept it and become a prodigy when she says “…look forward to my future fame…in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother” (405-406). After the exposition it is clearer that her mother is pushing her beyond
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