Question

During her daydreams, the narrator imagines asking her mother for an umbrella for Christmas. She knows that her mother would declare, "Things…All you want is things, just like an American." (P. 211-212) What does the narrator think the white umbrella would symbolize to her mother?

Answer 1

The narrator thinks that the white umbrella would represent something unnecessary, superfluous.

Step-by-step explanation:

The narrator knows that her mother does not encourage unnecessary expenses, even if this expense fulfills some of her daughter's wishes and makes her happy. The narrator's mother does not admire American habits in relation to consumerism, the undisciplined taste in money and believes that a white umbrella would be an unnecessary expense, since her daughter already had a raincoat.