Discuss the extent to which Jon and Sylvia are able to/not able to rise above their circumstances?The two stories are Toni Bamabara's "The Lesson,"...

In Toni Bamabara's short story "The Lesson," and Chinua
Achebe's "Civil Peace," I believe that both protagonists can rise above their
circumstances.

The biggest difference is the age of the two
protagonists: Jon is a husband and father, and Sylvia is still just a
kid.

Sylvia indicates in "The Lesson," that she has taken
Miss Moore's message to heart, and that the "lesson" has not be lost on Sylvia. However,
Sylvia is still very much a kid and won't admit it, and could not act on it now if she
wanted to. But as she and Sugar go on their way after the day's outing, Sugar runs
ahead, but Sylvia takes her time to think. The idea that "democracy" does not
necessarily apply to everyone has caused Sugar and Sylvia to take notice, but I think it
will be some time before Sylvia can do anything about it, though she ends her tale
with:

But
ain't nobody gonna beat me at
nuthin.

She can not do
anything at the moment to improve her circumstances, but her comment indicates to me
that she will do something about it when she is old enough: she already as the correct
mind set.

In "Civil Peace," Jon is much more able to rise
above the circumstances that have fallen upon he and his family in face of the Nigerian
Civil War. Jon uses his bike to make money. The family returns to their home to find it
still standing. The family works together to make more money to repair the house. Then
Jon opens a bar for the soldiers in his house because he cannot go back to his job as a
miner. He is thankful for what he has because other fellow miners have not been so
fortunate.

When the thieves come to rob Jon and his family,
Jon does not have the money they want, but he has received "egg-rashers" which he had
not had before. He hands this over to the men and they leave. When his neighbors express
sorrow for him the next day, he makes light of it because what he lost was something he
had never had to depend on. All in all, Jon still feels very
lucky.

Both Sylvia and Jon have proactive attitudes. Sylvia
is too young to be gracious about what she has, but is determined to succeed. Jon is
older, and he can do things to improve his family's situation and does so without
complaint.

Both protagonists work to rise above their
circumstances: Jon can do it now, but Sylvia will have to wait for a
while.