The Coming of Age

A detailed Summary of The Coming of Age

Childhood is a time where children learn about the world around themselves. They see and experience many factors that influence their everyday lives, which help them grow stronger when they become adults. In "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid and "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara the characters within the stories learn valuable lesson with help them grow to become better individuals. In "The Lesson" the character of Sugar undergoes a realization that society does not treat everyone equally, that not every individual has the same opportunity and equality that they should have. In "Girl" the main character learns that she must be perceived as a woman and not as a slut, her mother brings to her attention of how the world is and what she must to do in order to survive in it. Lessons that children learn all help them grow to become better individuals, in "Girl" and "The Lesson" the lessons that the characters learn both help them grow to become better and stronger individuals.

In "The Lesson" the character, Sugar undergoes a realization of the world around her, through her teacher Miss Moore, Sugar notices that there is a better way of living in the world besides, her own little world with her friends. Sugar says,

"You know, Miss Moore, I don't think that all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs," (Bambara 452). Miss Moore is an African American woman who has broken through the expectation that society has placed on her class and on her color. Bambara presents Miss Moore as a very educated and intelligent woman, who has a college degree. With her knowledge Miss Moore sets out to educate the deprived and lower classed children and teach them of the world around them. She sets out to open their eyes, as well as their knowledge of the world around them. Miss Moore says, "Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?," (Bambara 452).

In this story the girl wishes to rebel against what her mother wishes for her to do, but she dose not wish to be viewed as a slut, if she doesn't do everything her mother has taught her. Mother says, "this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh; but what is the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?," (Kincaid 34). In this story an issue of gender arises, where a girl needs to be taught how to become a woman and not be viewed as a slut. The daughter in "Girl" wants to rebel against her mother and not be viewed as a slut to society, therefore hoping that society will not look down upon her, if she does not do everything that the mother has taught her that she must do.

In "Girl" Kincaid lists a series of orders from a mother to a daughter in such a way that the characters' lives are illuminated and transformed by the mundane household details. The "Girl" is more of a gender type of a story, but th

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Approximate Word count = 1227
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous