“Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere” (Rhys). This quote reveals that literature helps us understand things that are unknown or “immigrants” to us. It opens new doors and perspectives.
The story I’ve read a few weeks ago called “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara relates to this quote by Jean Rhys. In the story, Sylvia, our narrator faces something similar as she, her cousin and some of her friends visits an expensive toy store. When she first visits the city she is an immigrant to the world outside of that her neighborhood. “So we. . .And then she gets to the part about we all poor and live in the slums which I don’t feature” (Bambara). Inside the store she finds a toy that cost $39 and a toy with a $1000 tag on it. As a result she questions herself if they lived in the same world as the people who shop there do. “Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?” (Bambara). Sylvia learns about the economic inequalities they face and the different worlds they live in. Furthermore, the story highlights how literature can take both Sylvia and her cousin away from their home but more importantly, help them find new perspectives everywhere.
One thought on “Doma Gurung Discussion 5”
Doma, this is a very good discussion of the story “The Lesson.” I like what you write about the children being immigrants in the world outside their ghetto. The quote also refers to the readers of literature—how literature makes immigrants of readers, who enter new and foreign lands and times? “The Lesson,” for example, made you an immigrant as you entered the world of1960s Harlem. Literature can also provide homes for us as we recognize places, people, and experiences that we recognize in our hearts.