The Lesson

This story was very interesting to me and it seems like the another was trying to convey a message about social inequality. The story is told from the point of view of the protagonist, first person narrator, Sylvia. Sylvia is a preteen African American girl, strong willed, intelligent, and the obvious leader of the pack. The story's plot involves a college educated black woman who comes back to an disadvantaged neighborhood on weekends and takes the local children on field trips of a sort.On this particular trip she lets the children experience their first ride in a taxicab to a toy store in Manhattan. It is played out through a chronological series of events from the time they leave their neighborhood, until the time they arrive back there. .Misses Moore was trying to explain to the kids, how society spends money according to your class. It is also interesting how the kids realized they don't need to spend $300 on a toy ,all they need to do is go to corner store, buy a toy that cost about one dollar altogether and make the best out of the toy.

A&P

It is a typical day at the A&P, Sammy explains, just ringing up the purchases of the customers, one after another, with no real excitement to speak of. That all changes, however, the moment three bikini-clad girls walk through the doors, immediately gaining the notice of all of the A&P workers. Sammy’s narrative goes into minute detail about the girls’ physical appearance as he sizes them up in a hormone-driven teenage boy way.Sammy not only takes in the physical traits of the girls, though. He notices their demeanor, as well, paying attention to the girl he calls “Queenie,” who seems to be the leader. He notices her command over the other girls, not to mention the confidence and audacity he believes it takes to walk half-naked into the A&P.

While Sammy seems to have no problem ogling the girls, he is disturbed when he realized the other men who work in the A&P are doing the same, despite the fact that they are older than Sammy. Sammy starts to sympathize with the girls a bit, saying “Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn’t help it”.The story’s climax occurs when Lengel, the store manager confronts the girls about not being properly dressed, resulting in the girls’ embarrassment. Sammy is so bothered by Lengel’s actions that he quits his job, hoping to get some glory for his gesture, but is left disappointed when the girls do not notice what he’s done.

Everyday Use

The whole story is told from the two girls’ mother’s point of view. Right off the bat I didn’t like Dee. She seemed very resentful of where she came from, and was more than eager to get of there. Someone should not be so happy when they’re house is burning down. She says that regardless of where her family chooses to live she will still manage to visit but she’s not bringing her friends (her mother and sister wonder if she ever had any friends). Plus she seems to put her self above her mother and sister, how she would read to them about difficult or unnecessary (to them) things to know and seem upset when her family actually understood; like she put herself above them. Both the mother and the daughter seem simple, and I don’t mean simple minding. I mean they enjoy simple things and getting things done. Dee wanted to be more complex but it really just kind of made her seem shallow. I felt bad for Maggie, scarred in an accident and horribly self-conscious, walking like a dog that’s been run over, a lame animal. It’s sad because she seems like a really nice person but people stay away from those who they see as crippled or retarded. Maggie seems a little slow mentally but that doesn’t make her a bad person. I hate to see people like that treated badly just because of something they can’t help. Maggie envious of her sister, her mother (and thus we) can see it and I can see why she would be.