The Lesson response

The Lesson is about one girl’s (the narrator, assuming she is a girl) struggle in poverty and the life she experiences through Miss Moore. How is Miss Moore always dressed? Why does the narrator want to leave the toy store? What do you know about the affects of poverty on children?

Miss Moore is doing great things by acting as a mentor to the young children in the story. By educating them on the benefits of improving their lives she hopes that it will enjoin them to think about their futures. She is their only hope to a better future. Their parents do not care about how their children are educated or even if they are educated. However, the way in which Miss Moore shows them how life could be may not have been the best way. She created a lot of hostility and hatred towards those who have better lives. The trip to F.A.O. Schwartz was a nice trip, but the prices of the toys set the group off. They realize that they will never be able to afford them if they remain in the same place they live now.

I thought that the narrator was a very strong character. She definitely is street smart as well as intelligent, even though her vocabulary does not show it. I especially liked the end of the story where she states that nobody will beat her. The narrator has the determination to improve her life and that is a great start.

This story was ok to me. I didn’t get much from it, and I felt it wasn’t the best-written short story I have read. The voice was good and style was something different. However, overall I didn’t have much connection to it.