This quote about literature is embodied in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara because it strengthens the required skills that everyday life necessitates and supplies, and in this way, it maintains the already-existing defects in our lives. In the story, the lesson of the field trip is social and economic inequality. The children are taught that despite their poverty, they can overcome obstacles in society and, in time, not only purchase toys but also be treated equally. They take a field trip to the toy store where they discover that they are not bound by the rules of society. Once you acknowledge that you have the ability to do so, I believe you can overcome society’s obstacles. This is true when the narrator says, “And something weird going on, I can feel it in my chest. Anybody else learned anything new today? Lookin dead at me. I walk away.” The narrator resolves her inner battle regarding her ability to change her situation at this point.
Daily Archives: September 18, 2023
I can connect with the narrator of “Salvation” because of my faith or life experiences. It was his method of verbally expressing his thoughts and feelings exactly as he had experienced them. the emotions of regret from being let down and remorse about lying. The phrases “I cried” and “I don’t believe” stand out as indicating a relationship of cause and effect between getting hurt because of a cause and its impact of not believing. This confirmed my belief that a person cannot be compelled to feel or think anything against what they choose to believe. In the story “Araby,” I can connect with the narrator because he showed the contrast between the reality that the church or society constructs and the real world. In “Araby,” he illustrates the abrupt transformation brought on by losing innocence. At the end of the story, the narrator had an epiphany that everyone had at some point. He sees that the world he assumed was flawless is corrupt and weak. The narrator also makes use of imagery to highlight the differences between how he sees his everyday life and that of Mangan’s sister and Araby. He describes his street as “North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free”. He describes his house and his street with phrases like “uninhabited,” “blind,” “detached,” “imperturbable,” “musty,” and “littered.” On the other hand, he portrays Araby as a lovely, happy, and mystical environment and Mangan’s sister like you would imagine an angel. I agree with the narrator’s desire to escape his dull and depressing daily routine in favor of the wonderful idea of romantic love and a bazaar.
I think Professor Conway has assigned this as the first story of the course because she wants us to understand the concept of what people can do to move forward and change the future. In the last paragraph, it states, “While they fought for the privilege of carrying him on their shoulders along the steep escarp- ment by the cliffs, men and women became aware for the first time of the desolation of their streets, the dryness of their courtyards, the narrowness of their dreams as they faced the splendor and beauty of their drowned man.” I’ll note that the tone fluctuates a few times throughout the narrative, but overall it seems to be very authentic. It transitions from being depressed over the man’s passing to being joyful and admiring of his appearance. The villagers discuss what they would do differently in the future after imagining how their environment has altered.
The first thing I noticed when I started reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, was the writing style. Her writing style would be considered “Informal” due to how accurate the dialogue is when actually spoken in conversations. I myself wouldn’t consider it informal, taking a language that was forced on you and making it your own shouldn’t be considered informal given its history. The quote “Literature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it” (C.S. Lewis) embodies this story because of the writing style. The descriptiveness and the spelling of certain words give the reader the true essence of the setting, the era, the emotions, and the characters. The author can grasp the feelings of anger and hesitation of the character who has seen clear differences in the character’s social and economic lifestyle compared to others. This adds to reality, especially for adults reading this story who at some point in their childhood also felt like this.
