"Revelation at the Toystore" (What was the lesson learned?)

In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, a group of African American children are exposed to a different socio economic class than their own. Their teacher, a neighborhood college graduate named Miss Moore, takes them to visit F.A.O. Schwarz, a famous toy store in New York. The children are astonished by the prices of the toys, especially the main character, Sylvia. She becomes enraged that there are people who would pay $35 for a toy clown when her family pays the same amount for rent. Despite her anger, the trip to the toy store has a positive effect on Sylvia in the long run.

“Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do…?” These questions are pondered by Sylvia when she notices a toy boat at the store. Her questions show that she notices her own economic standing and is comparing it to another. It’s a good thing that Sylvia is angered by this because she may try harder later on to change her socio-economic class. Sylvia realizes that the people who can afford $1000 sailboats must have jobs that pay well. This knowledge will also give her the encouragement to move up in life. At the end of the story, Sylvia’s cousin, Sugar, tries to race her to the ice cream store. But Sylvia has a revelation. She vows that no one will beat her at anything. She is not just speaking about races, Sylvia plans on excelling financially too. In order to do this she would have to further her education. It is obvious that the positive that comes from her visit to F.A.O. Schwarz surpasses her anger.

To sum it all up, Sylvia’s experience at the toy store is beneficial to her. She will probably strive harder to obtain what she wants. Also, Sylvia has learned another valuable lesson. Although she is poor now, it doesn’t mean that she has to remain that way for the rest of her life.

"Parenting Styles" Willy Loman Vs. Charlie (Based on Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a timeless tale of the last days of Willy Loman, a sixty-three year old traveling salesman. In the story, Willy begins to hallucinate about the past. His hallucinations are believed to be the result of how his sons, Biff and Happy’s, lives turned out. Biff, thirty-four, has moved from job to job since he dropped out of high school and for a brief time went to jail. He wants to work on a farm though it’s against his father’s wishes and he feels like he should be “making a fortune” at this point in his life. Happy, the youngest of the two, lives in an apartment and keeps telling his parents that he will settle down and get married, though he isn’t going anywhere in his business and enjoys sleeping with many different women. The Loman’s next door neighbor, Charley, owns his own business and his son Bernard has become one of his most valuable employees. It is apparent that Charlie is doing something right when it comes to parenting. His techniques are much more effective than Willy’s.

Willy, though he meant well, tried to be a friend more than a father to his sons. In the play, he makes a feeble attempt at reprimanding Biff for stealing a football from school. Then he gives immediately, trying to reason that the coach would probably commend Biff for taking the initiative to practice with a regulation ball at home. The problem here is that Willy is interested with appearances more than academics. He thought that since Biff was so popular in school that he’d excel in life as well. Exaggeration is another flaw in Willy Loman’s parenting. When he says, “Go to Filene’s, go to the Hub, go to Slattery’s, Boston. Call out my name Willy Loman and see what happens! Big shot!” we see how he tries to talk himself up. Probably the greatest problem with his parenting style is that he did not set a good example for his sons. This is displayed when Biff catches him having an affair in a hotel room in Boston. Throughout the whole play Willy is unsure whether or not he raised his sons correctly.

The opposite could be said about Charley. Though we don’t know much about his background, we can gather what type of father he is by observing his son Bernard. For example, when Bernard tries to warn Willy that Biff was failing he was brushed aside. One can infer that Bernard only went to Willy because he thought that he would have commanded that Biff take more interest in his schoolwork like his father would have done. When Bernard speaks to Willy about his business trip, he does not disclose that it is to argue a case at the Supreme Court. His modesty shows that he has been raised to have good values.

Given the evidence above, one can conclude that Willy’s parenting is inferior to Charley’s. Though both of them love their children unconditionally, Charley appears to be sterner. Setting ground rules, being a positive role model, and instilling moral values are all characteristics of effective parenting. Willy just didn’t understand that.

"The Discovery" (Story I wrote in either Middle or High School)

It was probably the hottest day of summer; the sun was forcing its rays on the citizens of West Palm Beach, Florida. I was five and like most children in my neighborhood, I would never pass up the opportunity to play outside. This particular day, I had decided to ride my tricycle up and down the road. I would coast down the gently sloping hill about three houses down to Mr. Davis, who was sitting on his porch as usual, then turn as sharply as I could and pedal vigorously back up the hill. This continued for awhile until one time I made it down the hill and did not see Mr. Davis. I hopped off my tricycle and peered over his hedges and discovered Mr. Davis lying on the ground motionless.

My heart skipped about 50 beats. I sprinted to my tricycle and pedaled up the hill back home. The ride back was excruciating. What usually took me about fifteen seconds, seemed to take hours. By the time I got home I was gasping for air and drenched in sweat. I tore open the screen door and found my mom making dinner in the kitchen and, in what I thought was a calm voice, shouted,

“Mr. Davis is dead! He’s laying on his porch!”

That was all I needed to say. My dad bolted out of the door to investigate while my mom stayed with me to calm me down, though it became impossible once I heard the blaring of an ambulance siren.
 
Fifteen minutes later my dad entered the house looking much calmer than I had expected. He explained to me that Mr. Davis had had a seizure (and what a seizure was) and that he was okay. I took his explanation as it was and didn’t bother questioning any further. I was just relieved that he was going to be okay. But this was not the truth.

He hadn’t died. Nor had he had a seizure like they told me. When I was in the sixth grade they figured I was old enough to know what had really happened. Mr. Davis had passed out because he was drunk. This is one of my most vivid memories from my childhood.

Compelled to Rebel (an analysis of Amy Tan's "Two Kinds")

Children find it essential to impress their parents. The thought of a mother or father beaming with pride, for them, is pure ecstasy. In Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds,” Jing-mei is forced by her mother to become a prodigy. After failing many “tests” that her mother would put her through, she began to resent being a prodigy. At this point, Jing-mei starts to rebel. Her newfound stubbornness is a direct result of her mother’s lack of praise for her.

We see the longing for praise first hand when Jing-mei imagines herself as a prodigy. She believes that her parents will adore her and she’ll be beyond reproach. In this brief instance of daydreaming, we notice that the thing she cares about most about becoming a prodigy is the pride her parents will have for her. This is true for any child. Even in cases in which the parent does not encourage the child to make something of his or herself, the child will still try to impress them. After attempting to recite a bible verse, Jing-mei sees disappointment on her mother’s face. It becomes more than she can bear. She realizes that she does not want to be a prodigy and vows to not let her mother change her.

The struggle between Jing-mei and her mother is much more extreme than the average struggle between parent and child. What probably contributed to Jing-mei’s mother’s drive is her loss of everything she had in China. She only wanted Jing-mei to make something of her life since she had the chance to, unlike the children she had lost. In “Two Kinds”, mother and daughter both added to the conflict between one another. Jing-mei contributed by not putting forth enough effort and disobeying her mother. Her mother added to the conflict by forcing her to be a prodigy and not praising her when she did try.

About the Blogger

I was born in St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. (My parents, Dennis and Faye Goring, must have been the world's proudest parents. lol) I was born was on March 24th, 1989 at 12:01am. At the time, I had one brother, Marquis, who is three years older than me. He was always the creative one, making our toybox come to life with his complex imagination. About one year later, my twin sister, Breanna, was born. We did EVERYTHING together. I honestly thought that we were twins until I was in the first grade and my teacher shoved logic in my face. But, I still consider her my twin, as we finish each others sentences and sometimes know what the other is going to say. Next came my other sister, Brittany, the entertainer in our family. She has a natural talent to dance and can make anyone laugh. She's the girliest of my two sisters. Then, there's my younger brother, Tyler. He will pick up anything you try to teach him. He can recite lines to a show that he's only seen once. Also living with us is my grandma, Betty, she's one of those grandmas that would let you do anything. But, she's not like most grandmothers, she is extremely up to date with everything happening in the world. She knows more pop culture than anyone I know.

As for me, I consider myself a diverse person. I'm interested in a plethora (one of my new favorite words) of hobbies. I'd try just about any hobby, as long as it's legal/moral. My mom has introduced me to many different types of music. My favorite genre is R&B but I also like pop, gospel/christian, rock, country, and the list goes on. For those who don't know me very well, I may seem quiet or boring, but once they get to know me, they find that there's more to me than meets the eye. (lol that was cheesy) I'm currently going to Bethune Cookman University majoring in English Education. Teaching seems to come naturally for me. My mom has a home daycare, so I've been exposed to the situations one might face in this field. I plan to teach either middle school or high school. I will be mostly posting essays and stories that I have written. Hope you enjoy!