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Analysis Of Chester Himes Missionary Money

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Back in the early to mid 1900s, a quarter would be worth a lot of money. With modern day technology such as phones, computers, and televsion not being part of every families belongings, kids in those days had to find other sources of entertainment. In Chester Himes' article, "Mama's Missionary Money", this short story explains how a young boy names Lemuel and his mother's magical black bag. A child named Lemuel slowly takes money from his own family and lies about it. This story is about a son who steals money from his family, gets caught, receives punishment, then understands his actions. Chester Himes uses the themes of stealing, greed, and lying to teach the lesson that it is better to be honest and accept your consequences when you know you did something wrong rather than doing something …show more content…

No matter the circumstance, it is never right to steal especially from a family member. Chester Himes was born on July 29, 1909 and wrote many stories about African Americans in the midtwentieth century. Chester Himes was convicted of an armed robbery in which he was sentenced twenty-five years in prison. Himes was inspired by Dashiell Hammett in his led Himes into writing numerous books about detective novels, but mainly about detective work. As Himes' is writing "Mama's Missionary Money". now knowing Himes' past, we can conlcude that the short story was mainly about Chester Himes' past decisions. By spending a long time in prison, Himes was able to write about his prison life, family life, and the various other issues that were happening during his time. Himes' article, "Mama's Missionary Money" is about a kid named Lemuel, who has a bright idea to steal his mama's money and doesn't tell her. This could be a symbol of his own life story where he staged an armed robbery. His novels consist of mainly black lives and the racism that was occurring during this

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