Sarah Sjoholm
Mr. Gott
Scale English
06/04/18
Life lessons are often taught by older or well educated people. This idea still holds true today, particularly in low-income communities as illustrated in “The Lesson”. Every now and then when growing up we experience situations that can alter our perspective on life. Specifically, when these situations happen unexpectedly; we are in disbelief. In Toni Cade Bambara short story “The Lesson” delves into the struggle of a girl, Sylvia, who realizes the social and economic injustice surrounding her. Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story “The Lesson”.
Toni Cade Bambara, a well known author and social activist, uses her writings to provoke change in a society that ostracizes its people based on
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language, race, and social class. Most of Bambara’s works were inspired by and written in response to her experiences growing up as a black woman, of lower class status, in Harlem. “In the 1970s, Bambara visited Cuba and Vietnam, travels that spurred her continued involvement with fighting traditional gender and racial roles” (Jennifer Smith). Her short story, “The Lesson,” is no exception. Bambara uses first person narrative, and African American English to prove her point that even with education, wealth and prosperity are unevenly distributed throughout the United States. Point of view is an essential element to a reader's understanding of a story, displaying how the narrator thinks, speaks, and feels about a specific situation. In Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," the events are told through the eyes of a young girl named Sylvia who lives in a lower-class neighborhood. Due to the fact that the events are told strictly by Sylvia, the reader only gets a limited point of view. Despite this potentially restrictive viewpoint, Sylvia is able to present a wider view of her community. She compares Miss Moore to the rest of the adults. Not only does this show how different Miss Moore is, she also indicates certain cultural standards of the time, such as Miss Moore's wearing her hair "nappy," or curly, at a time when many African-American women straightened their hair, or that the adults dislike that Miss Moore does not go to church, indicating the importance of religion to the community. Sylvia also presents the different types of people who inhabit her community through the children in the group (“Toni Cade Bambara Writing Styles in The Lesson.”). Moreover, this influences the reader to see things just as she does. As the reader, you also get an insight of Sylvia’s rebellious, feisty nature and her lack of respect towards people with an education. The theme in "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara appears to be a lesson on Social Class and having choices within the society you live in. The children in “The Lesson” all come from poor families. They live in apartment buildings where drunks live in the hallways that reek of urine; they live in what Miss Moore terms the “slums.” The children’s families, however, exhibit somewhat varying degrees of monetary security. Mercedes, for instance, has a desk at home with a box of stationary on it—gifts from her godmother—while Flyboy claims he does not even have a home. The children, however, surely understand the value of money, and they easily comprehend that the amount of money charged for the toys at F. A. O. Schwarz is astronomical (Jennifer Smith). A lady going by the name Miss Moore leads around these children on a day trip to an upscale part of town in order to teach a lesson to the children that society is full of unfairness and inequality. The children from this story had not been from a wealthy family but from that of a poorer descent. The children are considered to be young but Miss Moore feels that they are of a high enough maturity level to understand the lesson she is trying to get across. The point that she was trying to make is that if you want to have the ability to afford glamorous items you must work hard. She had meant that you must be willing to work harder than those who had been born into privileged families. Lessons that are taught through experience are generally the ones that stick with individuals for a lifetime.
In Toni Cade Bambara's “The Lesson”, Miss Moore teaches a lesson to the underprivileged children in Harlem. Bambara uses Miss Moore and her characteristics to teach Sylvia and the others about inequality and the idea of pursuing personal aspirations regardless of your underlying social status.
Miss Moore wants to radicalize the young, explaining the nature of poverty by taking her charges from their slums to visit Fifth Avenue stores, providing cutting-edge experiences for the children, making them question their acceptance of their lot. When asked what they learned, various ideas surfaced. “I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs”; “I think that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” (Martha M. Vertreace)
The lessons that are taught through experience are usually the ones that stick with children for a lifetime because they are able to gain knowledge and information through this lesson that they had been unaware about
previously. Sometimes growing up we experience situations that can change our perspective on life. Specially, when these situations happen unexpectedly; we are in disbelief. In Toni Cade Bambara short story “The Lesson” delves into the struggle of a girl, Sylvia, who realizes the economic and social injustice surrounding her. Life lessons are often taught by older or well educated people. This idea still holds true today, especially in low-income communities as illustrated in the short story “The Lesson”. Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story “The Lesson”.
However, what Toni Cade Bambara actually wanted to tell the readers was the importance of an education and the value of thinking, by showing the contrast of educational background between Miss Moore and Sylvia, and the process that Sylvia gets into the knowledge of the world.
The narrator Sylvia and the children in her impoverished neighborhood are prisoners in a dark cave, which is the society that encompasses ignorance and puppet-handlers. “The Lesson” begins with Sylvia as she talks condescendingly about her neighborhood of Harlem, New York: “Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup. Quite naturally we laughed at her… And we kinda ha...
The lessons that are taught through experience are usually the ones that stick with children for a lifetime. In Toni Cade Bambara's “The Lesson”, Miss Moore, a prominent character in the story, teaches a lesson to underprivileged children growing up in Harlem. Bambara's work is described as “stories [that] portray women who struggle with issues and learn from them.” (Vertreace, Par. 48) Bambara uses Miss Moore and her characteristics to teach Sylvia and the other children about social inequality and the idea of pursuing personal aspirations regardless of social status. Miss Moore has many admirable characteristics; she's intelligent, patient and caring.
"The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara is not just a spirited story about a poor girl out of place in an expensive toy store, it is a social commentary. "The Lesson" is a story about one African-American girl's struggle with her growing awareness of class inequality. The character Miss Moore introduces the facts of social inequality to a distracted group of city kids, of whom Sylvia, the main character, is the most cynical. Flyboy, Fat Butt, Junebug, Sugar, Rosie, Sylvia and the rest think of Miss Moore as an unsolicited educator, and Sylvia would rather be doing anything else than listening to her. The conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore, "This nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree" (307), represents more than the everyday dislike of authority by a young adolescent. Sylvia has her own perception of the way things work, her own "world" that she does not like to have invaded by the prying questions of Miss Moore. Sylvia knows in the back of her mind that she is poor, but it never bothers her until she sees her disadvantages in blinding contrast with the luxuries of the wealthy. As Miss Moore introduces her to the world of the rich, Sylvia begins to attribute shame to poverty, and this sparks her to question the "lesson" of the story, how "money ain't divided up right in this country" (308).
“All Kids Should Take Poverty 101” could have been a wonderful piece if the age of those taking Poverty 101 had been older, and if the focus had been more on how those in poverty can end the cycle on their own. However Beegle’s desire to teach children empathy and awareness is a noble
At the beginning of the story, the author gives us the feeling that a child is narrating this story. She also shows that the child, Sylvia, is at that age where she feels that adults are silly and she knows everything. “Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup.” (Bambara 470) Sylvia also tells us about her environment while referencing Miss Moore. “And we kidna hated her too, hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our handball walls and stank up our hallways and stairs so you couldn’t halfway play hide-and-seek without a damn gas mask. Miss Moore was her name. The only woman on the block without a first name.” (Bambara 470) This is our introduction to Miss Moore. She is an educated, well groomed person and the children resent her because she is different and their parents force them to spend time with her in the interest of education.
Developing character is something that comes with time. I believe that there are three major things that effect how people develop their character—where they are from, which includes their financial status; how they are raised; and the character of the people that have had the most influence on their lives. Sylvia, in Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson," is very much influenced by all of these factors. Sylvia’s living in the slums and being poor makes her defensive and judgmental. Her parents not being around much leaves her without the attention and discipline that children need to develop to their fullest. Lastly, her friends and Miss Moore also have a great influence on how Sylvia thinks and acts, and lead Sylvia to be observant but also angry and stubborn. All of these characteristics not only determine Sylvia’s personality, but also are the basis for why I think Sylvia will not apply Miss Moore’s lesson.
New York City is claimed to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Many are blinded by the breathtaking skyline, the endless opportunities, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. As one of the economic capitals of the world, it is surprising to hear that about 30 percent of children currently residing in New York City are living in poverty (Cheney). New York City has evolved into a city for the wealthy by eliminating inexpensive housing and jobs, forcing many families to the streets (Elliot). Many are unaware of how prevalent child poverty is. To raise awareness, the New York Times did a series of articles that followed the life of a young girl named Dasani. The article highlights the brilliance that Dasani had at such a young age and emphasizes the everyday struggles that she had to face growing up as a child in poverty. Some ways that can lower the amount of child poverty is through after school programming and through work-for-rent housing.
In the story, “An Hour With Abuelo” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Arturo goes to visit his Abuelo and throughout the story realizes that he shouldn’t be so quick to judge the people that care about him because you might find them to be worth your time. This story teaches its readers that you should cherish the time you have with the people that love you. Arturo thinks to himself, “I want my mother to have to wait a little. I don’t want her to think that I’m in a hurry or anything.” (Cofer, 140) This quote proves that he realizes he has a lot in common with his Abuelo and ended up enjoying the time he had with him. Throughout the story Arturo and Abuelo realize all the things they have in common with each other. This idea brings the readers back to the thought that it is never too late to make a connection and enjoy the time you have with the people who love you.
Bambara wrote it from this point of view that people can see what it is like to grow up without a formal education and hardships these kids have to overcome. She wanted to also show the distinct personalities, characteristics, and habits that are a result from their environment. She uses it to contrast different social classes. Bambara also included Sylvia’s resentment towards Miss Moore to show how people of a lower social class are disrespectful towards educated people. But at the end, she felt confident that she can achieve her goals no matter where she came from, even if she did not expect Miss Moore to teach her a lesson.
I believe that learning is a journey that both child and educator set out on together. This journey is a privilege that I take seriously, realizing that a child’s early years are a key formative time in their life. I believe that it is during this time that important foundations are being set in place that will not only impact them in the present but will also influence them later on in life.
The narrator of the story is a young, black girl name Sylvia and the story is also told from her perspective. The setting is not clear. Perhaps it started in Harlem and then to downtown Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and the time of the story took place is also unclear. Bambara uses a great deal of characterization to describe the characters in the story. For example, Bambara describes Miss Moore as “black as hell” (Bambara 330), “cept her feet, which were fish-white and spooky” (Bambara 330), and “looked like she was going to church” (Bambara 330). She later tells us that she’s been to college and her state of mind is she believes it’s her responsibility for the children’s education. The plot started when Miss Moore rounded up all of the children by the mailbox. Then she gets the kids in a cab and took them to Fifth Avenue to a big toy store where the rich people would shop. The story then continues with the children and Miss Moore in the toy store and the kids looking around and noticing they can’t afford anything. Which will soon end the plot with a lesson that society is not fair, “that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to purse happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”(Bambara 330). Hence, the lesson Miss Moore is trying to teach these
“She’d been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young ones’ education”(1). If you work hard enough you can elevate your status in society. Miss Moore attended college, and by her handing, “...a five dollar bill…”(2) to Sylvia, she seems to not be struggling desperately. But she never tells the children that if they go to college like her, that they can afford the expensive toys, because even with her degree I still think that she cannot. “Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven”(7). By her statement, she seems to be more socialist leaning, saying that the poor deserve, “...their piece of the pie…”(3). Race relations of the time come into the factor too. A poor black woman of all things wouldn’t have been able to go as far as a poor white man, even if she kept trying and trying, because of the systematic racism in the
Jonathan Swift and Katha Pollitt, separated by 200 years, share a common interest in the welfare of people. Specifically, the two authors write of different experiences regarding the underprivileged women and children in their particular countries. While my experience might be limited in the environment of poverty personally, I have had some exposure to underprivileged youth and their families. My perception of poverty is based on attending both primary and secondary school in a depressed socioeconomic community filled with single mothers living in government funded housing on the north side of Houston. From my experiences, I have found that, while divorce can be damaging for children, the deterioration of family values in society doesn’t
A woman who had lived an unsteady life throughout her childhood was negatively affected as an adult by the things that she had went through in her earlier years. In an article entitled “One Family 's Story Shows How The Cycle Of Poverty Is Hard To Break,” Pam Fessler stated that “Like many before her, she carried her poverty into adulthood, doing odd jobs with periods of homelessness and hunger.” The woman had realized that her children were being negatively affected by the unsteady lifestyle that they were living. The mother had said that her six year old daughter had emotional issues, which led to her making herself throw up after eating, running away, and talking about killing herself (Fessler). The little girl had been emotionally affected by poverty, which caused her to do things that most six year olds would not think about doing. The people who live in poverty as a child are more likely to struggle in adulthood. Poverty has many negative effects on children and tends to affect the way they grow and live the rest of their life as an