“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”
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low-income family‚ have you ever found yourself shopping at Saxs Fifth Avenue stores? Or if your wealthy‚ do you find yourself worry about the prices of such objects? Is this impartial? In the story‚ "The Lesson" Toni Cade Bambara shows that the reality of the American economic system is unfair. Bambara illustrates her point that class inequality is unjust through the main character‚ Sylvia. From the beginning of the story it is clear that Sylvia is a child living in the Harlem projects of New York.
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“The Lesson”‚ by Toni Cade Bambara is about a girl named Sylvia. She expresses her feelings over her experience at an expensive toy story that her teacher‚ Ms. Moore‚ takes her and her friends to. This trip was designed to teach them the reality of the world and to show them the things they cannot afford in life. Not only why they cannot afford them‚ but to show them that they can be the types of people that can. She aims towards showing Sylvia and the other students how to achieve a better lifestyle
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“The Lesson” is a short story written by Toni Cade Bambara. This story tells about the effects that social inequality can have on children. It also goes to show that race and financial situations can help motivate children to make a better future for themselves. It is a story about a young African-American girl named Sylvia and her growing understanding of class inequality. The children’s educator Miss Moore introduces the facts of social inequality to the underprivileged group of children‚ of
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In Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”‚ we learn about the experience a group of school children have at F.A.O. Schwartz in Manhattan. These children aren’t wealthy and have lived in a secluded bubble until Miss Moore‚ one of the few people in the neighborhood to complete a college education exposes them to the true inequalities in life. The short story is narrated in the first person by one of the girls named Sylvia. She presents herself as confident and is seen as a leader by the other children‚ but
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Cade Bambara‚ born March 25‚ 1939 in New York City; her mother was Helen Brent Henderson Cade. Bambara adopted that last name when she discovered it on a sketchbook her great-grandmother had. Bambara spent the first ten years of her life in Harlem‚ New York. In 1973‚ she published and essay in Redbook explaining what she liked about her mother. Bambara is an activist‚ novelist‚ writer‚ essayist‚ and a filmmaker. Bambara was influenced by her work as a social worker in the 1960’s. Bambara knew
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not afford anything in there. The trip helped Sylvia realize that she could be more than what she was. I bet it gave her many thoughts of what she could be and what she deserved in life. Miss Moore is trying to teach them various lessons in this story. One of the lessons is that poor people need to get up and work for what they deserve “poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie”. She wanted them to understand that they needed to get out of the dump they lived in and fight for a
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In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara‚ it is evident that the idea conveyed through inner dialogue is how exposure to certain circumstances can inspire motivation for a goal. Midway through the story we experience a shift in the focus as Sylvia and the others go around the store‚ observing the gap between those of higher and lower financial status. She notes that the worth of some of the merchandise is enough to support a family and realizes‚ “What kinda work they do and how they live and how come
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Toni Cade Bambara’s short story‚ "The Lesson‚" takes place in inner city New York. The main character‚ Sylvia‚ is a fourteen year old African American girl‚ who tells the story in a first person narrative. Sylvia mentions Miss Moore‚ a teacher who felt that it was her duty to help underprivileged children learn. Miss Moore felt there was a lesson to learn at FAO Schwartz‚ a very expensive‚ upper class toy store in downtown Manhattan. The reason Miss Moore brings the children to FAO Schwartz is captured
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Within The Lesson‚ written by Toni Cade Bambara‚ the question of inequality and poverty arises in response to the juxtaposition of the two neighborhoods in the story‚ Harlem and Manhattan. Bambara introduces children as the most important occupants of a typical New York slum‚ mainly in regards to their ability to escape the constraints of their own environment. As highlighted in the story‚ the elders of this African American community have accepted the social inequality and the economic conditions
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