Reading and answering questions

After reading “The Lesson” and “Dum Dum Boys,” please answer the following questions:

Regarding “The Lesson,”

1. How does Sylvia feel about Miss Moore? Do her feelings change over the course of the story?

2. What lesson is Miss Moore trying to teach the children by taking them to FAO Schwartz? Does Sylvia learn this lesson? Does she learn a different lesson? If so, what? 

3. What evidence is there that Sylvia has been changed by the visit to FAO Schwartz? 

Regarding “Dum Dum Boys,”

1. On his return home, the narrator asks himself, “I wonder what the hell they are doing wrong.” Who is the “they” he refers to? Why does he ask this question? Does he answer it? 

2. Reflect on the significance of the moment when the narrator hears that Cameron has renamed himself. What is the effect of the particular name the author chooses to give him? Why do you think it is important to the story?