Toni Cade Bambara The Lesson
“The Lesson”
A young, poor, black girl named Sylvia narrates Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”. Sylvia is growing up in Harlem during an unspecified time period known only as “back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right.” (Pg. 2008, line 1) One day, Sylvia notices that someone new has moved onto the same block that she lives on. The lady is intriguing and “black as hell, cept for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky”. (Pg. 2009, line 9) Her name is Miss Moore. Sylvia and her cousin, Sugar, do not like her because she was always planning boring, educational events for them to do. The adults all agree that Miss Moore is strange, but they allow their children …show more content…
to go with her anyway because her opportunities are unique. Sylvia uses these opportunities not to learn, but to take advantage of Miss Moore. On one particular outing, Miss Moore quizzes them on arithmetic. Sylvia and Sugar are uninterested in the subject and beg to go to the train station to check out cute guys. Flyboy, Junebug, Big Butt, Mercedes, and Rosie Giraffe join in on this trip. The children take a taxi to Fifth Avenue and marvel at all of the wealthy people. As they are walking down the sidewalk, a microscope in the window of F.A.O. Schwarz catches their attention. They also notice an expensive paperweight. They ask Miss Moore about it and she tries to explain the importance of keeping a tidy work area. As she is talking, their attention is then drawn to a fiberglass sailboat. The cost of the sailboat is marked 1,195 dollars. The children do not understand why the sailboat costs so much. They all already have sailboats but they cost less than a dollar to make. After much discussion and gazing at toys in the window, Miss Moore urges them to go inside the store. Sylvia automatically feels very uncomfortable. All she can think about is the time her and Sugar planned to run into a Catholic church and cause a ruckus. However, when they got inside the church, they realized that the atmosphere was very holy. They then decided that going through with their plan wasn’t such a good idea after all. Sylvia is annoyed that Miss Moore is wasting their day at a toy store where they couldn’t even afford to buy anything. She consoles herself by keeping the change from the five dollars that Miss Moore gave her to pay for the taxi. Miss Moore notices that Sylvia is angry. Later in the afternoon, they all arrived back in Harlem. Miss Moore takes a moment to ask what everyone thought about F.A.O. Schwarz, but everyone was reluctant to make any comments. Sugar finally speaks up and says that the cost of the toy sailboat could feed all six of them for a year. This makes Sylvia even madder, so she steps on Sugar’s foot trying to get her to be quiet. Miss Moore is pleased with Sugar’s explanation and asks what inequality says about society. Sugar replies with “equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough.” While looking at Sylvia, Miss Moore asks if anyone else has learned anything from their trip. Sylvia walks away without answering the question. Sylvia and Sugar race to Hascombs to buy cake with the money left over from the taxi. Sylvia plans to think about the day when she has some quiet time to herself, so she does not mind that Sugar runs ahead of her. Sylvia thinks to herself, “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.” Since Miss Moore is the only educated person on the block, she takes it upon herself as a goal to educate the children living around her.
Bambara is interested in telling stories of children maturing and uses them to focus on social justice. The visit to F.A.O. Schwarz angers Sylvia. She doesn't know why and doesn’t know who to direct her anger towards: Miss Moore, Sugar, or white people. Despite Sylvia’s rebellious response to the trip, her chance to witness the vast disparity between rich and poor people seems to inspire her to try harder. While she is taking some time to think over the trip, she comes to the conclusion that injustice has helped her focus her anger. It is made very clear that the story takes place in the middle of the summer. Bambara’s reasoning for doing this might be because many middle and upper class people that live in New York tend to leave for the summer, thus leaving a vast majority of lower class individuals in the city. This highlights income disparities because most of the city’s population dwindles to those who cannot afford to leave. Miss Moore focuses on the vast gap between the wealthy people of New York and the poverty of their neighbors. Bambara points out that economic disparities exist even within the narrator’s own group of friends. Although none of the children can afford the toys, there is actually some diversity in their incomes. We are led to believe that Mercedes is well off financially. She goes into detail of how she has stationary and what her bedroom is like. She even adds that she hopes to come back to the toy store for her birthday. Flyboy is homeless. Sylvia and Sugar seem to represent the middle class. The children seemed to resent those with different income levels different from themselves, regarding of whether that person is of higher or lower class. Mercedes is berated when she talks about her stationary and is pushed out of the friend circle when she talks about returning to the store. The
children also show irritation when Flyboy is constantly reminding them that he is homeless. The children’s distrust of Miss Moore along with the persistent hostility speaks to the prejudice of their community and a general distrust of foreigners. People can always find a way to separate themselves from others whether by race, income, or geography. The questions that Miss Moore asks at the end of the trip are clearly political, and Sylvia hints that her trips often have political implications. This is part of what makes the children distrust her. In a neighborhood where hopelessness is taken somewhat for granted, the figure preaching hope draws suspicion. Bambara seems to endorse Miss Moore’s opinion that economic inequality is characteristic of a flawed society. The lesson does not arise freely from the children’s experiences; rather, it comes from a character that is very different from other adults that the children know, and who is considered strange in the neighborhood. It is obvious that these types of things have been forced down the children’s throats, and they are tired of hearing about it, especially Sylvia. The influential truth of it lingers, and Bambara suggests that having seen the extent of inequality will not soon fade from the observant girl’s consciousness. Education and awareness might be hard, but they are necessary.
A young, poor, black girl named Sylvia narrates Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”. Sylvia is growing up in Harlem during an unspecified time period known only as “back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right.” (Pg. 2008, line 1) One day, Sylvia notices that someone new has moved onto the same block that she lives on. The lady is intriguing and “black as hell, cept for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky”. (Pg. 2009, line 9) Her name is Miss Moore. Sylvia and her cousin, Sugar, do not like her because she was always planning boring, educational events for them to do. The adults all agree that Miss Moore is strange, but they allow their children …show more content…
to go with her anyway because her opportunities are unique. Sylvia uses these opportunities not to learn, but to take advantage of Miss Moore. On one particular outing, Miss Moore quizzes them on arithmetic. Sylvia and Sugar are uninterested in the subject and beg to go to the train station to check out cute guys. Flyboy, Junebug, Big Butt, Mercedes, and Rosie Giraffe join in on this trip. The children take a taxi to Fifth Avenue and marvel at all of the wealthy people. As they are walking down the sidewalk, a microscope in the window of F.A.O. Schwarz catches their attention. They also notice an expensive paperweight. They ask Miss Moore about it and she tries to explain the importance of keeping a tidy work area. As she is talking, their attention is then drawn to a fiberglass sailboat. The cost of the sailboat is marked 1,195 dollars. The children do not understand why the sailboat costs so much. They all already have sailboats but they cost less than a dollar to make. After much discussion and gazing at toys in the window, Miss Moore urges them to go inside the store. Sylvia automatically feels very uncomfortable. All she can think about is the time her and Sugar planned to run into a Catholic church and cause a ruckus. However, when they got inside the church, they realized that the atmosphere was very holy. They then decided that going through with their plan wasn’t such a good idea after all. Sylvia is annoyed that Miss Moore is wasting their day at a toy store where they couldn’t even afford to buy anything. She consoles herself by keeping the change from the five dollars that Miss Moore gave her to pay for the taxi. Miss Moore notices that Sylvia is angry. Later in the afternoon, they all arrived back in Harlem. Miss Moore takes a moment to ask what everyone thought about F.A.O. Schwarz, but everyone was reluctant to make any comments. Sugar finally speaks up and says that the cost of the toy sailboat could feed all six of them for a year. This makes Sylvia even madder, so she steps on Sugar’s foot trying to get her to be quiet. Miss Moore is pleased with Sugar’s explanation and asks what inequality says about society. Sugar replies with “equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough.” While looking at Sylvia, Miss Moore asks if anyone else has learned anything from their trip. Sylvia walks away without answering the question. Sylvia and Sugar race to Hascombs to buy cake with the money left over from the taxi. Sylvia plans to think about the day when she has some quiet time to herself, so she does not mind that Sugar runs ahead of her. Sylvia thinks to herself, “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.” Since Miss Moore is the only educated person on the block, she takes it upon herself as a goal to educate the children living around her.
Bambara is interested in telling stories of children maturing and uses them to focus on social justice. The visit to F.A.O. Schwarz angers Sylvia. She doesn't know why and doesn’t know who to direct her anger towards: Miss Moore, Sugar, or white people. Despite Sylvia’s rebellious response to the trip, her chance to witness the vast disparity between rich and poor people seems to inspire her to try harder. While she is taking some time to think over the trip, she comes to the conclusion that injustice has helped her focus her anger. It is made very clear that the story takes place in the middle of the summer. Bambara’s reasoning for doing this might be because many middle and upper class people that live in New York tend to leave for the summer, thus leaving a vast majority of lower class individuals in the city. This highlights income disparities because most of the city’s population dwindles to those who cannot afford to leave. Miss Moore focuses on the vast gap between the wealthy people of New York and the poverty of their neighbors. Bambara points out that economic disparities exist even within the narrator’s own group of friends. Although none of the children can afford the toys, there is actually some diversity in their incomes. We are led to believe that Mercedes is well off financially. She goes into detail of how she has stationary and what her bedroom is like. She even adds that she hopes to come back to the toy store for her birthday. Flyboy is homeless. Sylvia and Sugar seem to represent the middle class. The children seemed to resent those with different income levels different from themselves, regarding of whether that person is of higher or lower class. Mercedes is berated when she talks about her stationary and is pushed out of the friend circle when she talks about returning to the store. The
children also show irritation when Flyboy is constantly reminding them that he is homeless. The children’s distrust of Miss Moore along with the persistent hostility speaks to the prejudice of their community and a general distrust of foreigners. People can always find a way to separate themselves from others whether by race, income, or geography. The questions that Miss Moore asks at the end of the trip are clearly political, and Sylvia hints that her trips often have political implications. This is part of what makes the children distrust her. In a neighborhood where hopelessness is taken somewhat for granted, the figure preaching hope draws suspicion. Bambara seems to endorse Miss Moore’s opinion that economic inequality is characteristic of a flawed society. The lesson does not arise freely from the children’s experiences; rather, it comes from a character that is very different from other adults that the children know, and who is considered strange in the neighborhood. It is obvious that these types of things have been forced down the children’s throats, and they are tired of hearing about it, especially Sylvia. The influential truth of it lingers, and Bambara suggests that having seen the extent of inequality will not soon fade from the observant girl’s consciousness. Education and awareness might be hard, but they are necessary.