“Smart” by Shel Silverstein is told by the perspective of a son that was given a one-dollar bill from his father because, according to him, he is his “smartest son” (Silverstein 2). As the story progresses the narrator continues to trade his money for lesser amounts because he is gaining the physical number of his currency. First, he trades his dollar for two quarters, then those two quarters to three dimes, those three dimes to four nickels, and lastly the four nickels for five pennies. Readers quickly understand that the speaker doesn’t quite grasp the concept of money and does not invest as intelligently as he originally had thought. Foreshadowing of the poem is caught in line 2 when we hear his lackadaisical accent saying “‘Cause” (Silverstein 2) instead of the full pronunciation of “because” or further …show more content…
down the poem when he say’s “I guess he don’t know) Silverstein 7). Throughout the story, the boy’s enthusiasm grows as you can tell by his use of adjectives and the intentional placement of explanation marks at the end of the first four stanzas.
The boy did not just get two quarters but he got “two shiny quarters” (line 3). The authors use of verbiage, using words such as “swapped” (Silverstein 3) or “traded” (Silverstein 6) indicate that the young male ironically believes that he is the one doing the scamming. The child continues mocking and attempting to take advantage of his so-called bargaining buddies referring to Hiram Combs, a presumed worker/cashier at a seed-feed store, as a “fool” (Silverstein 15) and even stooping as low to trick a blind old man. Each stanza is comprised of a new image of the little guy walking around, giving his money away. The story begins with his dad, then a trade with his friend Lou, and as he strolls to the store he bumps into the old man, after he makes it to the store, and finally the last stanza circles back to his father but when Dad finds out what his son has done he is furious. Although the father is mad, the boy is unable to read his emotions and instead thinks his father is proud of
him. Overall, the message may be seen as a typical child learning to grow up. As people get older, there is more responsibility placed upon them and this story best depicts how the excitement of independence can take a turn when starting out. With growing up comes the inevitable failures and mistakes made when parents are no longer looking out for their child. Pointedly, children tend to circle back around and fall back on their parents for guidance and quick fixes and although parents end up worried and upset, they are not able to fix everything. Eventually, parents or guardians will need to step back and allow for children to make their own mistakes because they won’t always be around.
Do we control the judgments and decisions that we make every day? In the book,
Pretty Boy’s early life was normal, he had a loving family. He was born on February 3, 1904 Adairsville, Georgia. He had multiple brothers and sisters. His family moved to a farm in Oklahoma, and were very poor. Because his family were going through a depression, as most of the farmers were during the “Dust Bowl”, he turned to crime to get money. Pretty Boy robbed a post office and stole $350 in pennies; later getting caught. He then realized he liked the life of getting quick, easy money. When Pretty Boy was 20 years old, he married Ruby Hardgraves and moved to St. louis. His son was born while he was in prison for 4 years for
He is able to bring in over $4,000 on his good days. One day, while at his usual spot, Wes is approached by a an unfamiliar buyer. Others assume that he is a cop and refuse to sell to him. Wes attempts to sell to the buyer who turns out to be a cop. As soon as Wes hands accepted the money, he is surrounded by cops.
I know people who have fortune in their bank accounts and they are some of the poorest individuals you could ever meet. Works Cited Ehrenreich, Barbara. The. Nickel and Dimed. New York: Henry Holt, 2001.
Money can cause people to act selfish and arrogant, especially when they have so much money they do noteven know what to spend it on. In the novel,
In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters. Gatsby and Tom both have a lot of money yet Daisey picks one over the other, not because of the difference in the amount they have, but because of the manner in which it is attained.
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck there's many poor families moving west to California. The store owners and gas station attendant worry that these people will steal. "Wonder where they all go to," said Mae. "Come here for gas sometimes, but they don't hardly never but nothin' else. People says they steal. We ain't got nothin' layin' around. They never stole nothin' from us." Later the same woman sold a 15 cent loaf of bread to a man and his family for 10 cents and two nickel candies for a penny. The man insisted that the woman cut off 10 cents worth because he felt like he was stealing from her if he got more. She ended up giving him the whole loft after all though. The woman was angry with the people at first but then helped them out because she felt sorry for them.
During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result of the greediness and desires of the main characters to become rich and wealthy. These character placed throughout the novel emphasize the true value money has on a persons place in society making wealth a state of mind.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily uses setting, characterization, and figurative language to show us how old money is selfish and responsible with their money and how new money is selfless, but uses their money unwisely.
Ehrenreich, Barbara (2001). Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting By in America. Published- New York, New York.
While the other boys in the community played with slingshots and haunted neighbour’s windows, porch flowers pots, and the lights that shone near harm any animals and were considered good mannered. As the boy gets older he begins to get into trouble by stealing and drinking, he dropped out of school even though he was a topper of his class, after he spent a few days with a “better off family” during his hockey trip. But now he was stealing almost anything he could get his hands on and selling it to second hand shops and was continually getting caught.
Zora Neale Hurston, author of the Gilded Six Bits, has a very unique writing style. The artistry in her story makes it a pleasant, easy read for any audience. The title suggests the story is based around money; but rather if one were to dig deeper the reality of the story is being told around the playfulness of money. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.
First of all, the boy told Mrs. Jones that he tried to steal her purse for one reason, to buy blue suede shoes for himself. She then replies, “Well you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some blue suede shoes... You could have just asked me.” There are many faulty choices of judgments made in this comment, mainly because the outcome of the situation would almost never happen in the real world. The boy will now, after being told he should just ask for the shoes, believe that anything he ever wants will come to his possession if would just ask. To “trick” a child into being convinced that if you just ask a woman for money or anything that she will give it to you is morally wrong, and it is not fair for the boy to go through life having and accepting this state of mind.
The love of money is the root of all evil, a statement that has proved itself true through the centuries. Loving money traps us, as human beings. It is not a bad thing to enjoy what money can do; however, the love of money is a wasted effort that can put all in grave peril. It is at our advantage that we have the ability to choose whether we ‘want’ to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, that choice is difficult since society associates one’s character with wealth and financial management. The mishaps, deaths, and hardships that occur from the beginning of the tale are the result of deliberate deception for personal gain. In Treasure Island, greed sends the characters on a voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson makes a social commentary on the role that money has come to play in our society.
Gatsby’s money does not “smell” right- however explicitly tacitly condoned by the denizens of Gatsby’s world illegal...