Education is Key to Overcome Poverty
Life has its way of allowing education by means of non traditional ways. At times life’s education can come from an unpredictable event through unexpected sources. The sole purpose of education is to increase awareness for an opportunity to transform lives. A major theme of Toni Cade Barbara’s “The Lesson" is that the most prized life lessons are not necessarily taught in traditional classrooms and schools. The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara is essential as it is proves ground for different themes and literary language, and more significantly, as a platform for a well-built life lesson.
Toni Cade Bambara, a Harlem New York author, holds heritage, community, and history through her short story “The Lesson”. She has the main character Miss Moore examines the challenges different cultures encounter regarding social status, poverty, and equality."The Lesson" is full of hidden language and word play aimed on the feminist movement, race, inequality, and embracing heritage. Janet
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Ruth Heller, a Ph.D professor contends that in "The Lesson" Bambara celebrates African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) as a vehicle for conveying the Black experience (Heller 279). Bambaras use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the story is an approach to connect to the black community and the desire to ban collectively to attain equality, primarily women and minorities. The narrator, Sylvia, talks and narrates in African American Vernacular English (AAVE).In the beginning sentence of "The Lesson," Bambara obviously signifies that Sylvia is narrating in AAVE.
Here, Sylvia identifies Miss Moore as an adult with "nappy hair" (Bambara 658). This is a suitable dialect for Sylvia, who also resides in a New York ghetto, is a working-class black girl about twelve years to fourteen years of age, and has got a robust feminist mindset. AAVE provides realism and a sense of humor to Sylvia's narrative. Furthermore, AAVE suits the story's themes, one of which is that the black children in the story have to to find out about the world beyond their ghetto and another that wealth is unequally and unfairly distributed in American society (Heller 279). In "The Lesson," just about all of the have-not children in need of an education speak AAVE. This dialect highlights the children's gap from mainstream bourgeois way of life and economic
power. AAVE is a practical platform for the dialog of a ghetto child, it symbolically conveys Sylvia's pride in her heritage, it enhances the themes of social inequality, it links Sylvia to her community, and it declares her nontraditional ruggedness and self-confidence as a young woman. Throughout the story Bambara use Miss Moore to shed light and present the real issue on the subject of inequalities that dominates within society. As Martha Vertreace states" 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 (Vertreace 155).The most valuable lesson focuses on a visit to FAO Schwartz Toy Store, where microscopes are $300, a paper weight is $480, and fiber glass sailboat is over $1000. When the students witness the price tags on the items they are stunned because in their world, those types of items and prices don’t exist.”Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live, and how come we aint on it” (Bambara 658)? Miss Moore educates while showing the students another side of life and point out that obtaining an education is important if they want the better standard of living. Miss Moore has the students use math skills in calculating tips, the cost of cab fares, the selling prices of the toys, and most significantly, the uselessness of some of the merchandise. From this, ideally the students will recognize the difference between their lives and the families who can afford to shop at the high priced store. Miss Moore says” where we are is who we are, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way (Bambara 658)” Miss Moore conveys to the children that basically they have a choice in the future through becoming educated. Jerome Cartwright communicates a unique view point to the Lesson. Instead of simply teaching an individual lesson, the story is essentially about the value of lessons themselves, the value of learning and thinking (Cartwright 61) Even though Miss Moore's lesson for the day--the discord amongst rich and poor and the economic injustice it reveals--is undoubtedly significant, the story makes it clear only one lesson among many. When Big Butt expresses his yearning for the microscope the children see at F. A. O. Schwarz, Miss Moore seizes the occasion to teach
In this story, Bambara indicates the distance between Miss Moore and Sylvia, by showing the contrast of educational background between them. As Sylvia said, Miss Moore has “her goddamn college degree (330-331)”, but most of people around Sylvia did not go to the college because they were too poor to go. At the beginning of the story, everyone in the class looked like they did not like Miss Moore, as Sylvia said “we kinda hated her (330)”. She also said that “I’m really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree (330-331)”. As these words represent, she was insulting Miss Moore and the readers hear that the sarcasm in Sylvia’s tone most of the times in the story. She also called Miss Moore “lady”. This depicts Sylvia treated Miss Moore as an outsider. According to Naderi, “Miss Moore’s state of being called ‘lady’, her educational background, her ‘proper speech’ (195) make
The negative attitude and bitterness makes Sylvia unreliable, she is prejudice against Miss Moore because she prevents Sylvia and the other children from having fun, which seems to be the only thing that matters to Sylvia. Sylvia states, “I’m really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree. I’d much rather go to the pool or to the show where it’s cool” (Bambara, 209). Sylvia is still young and naïve, so she doesn’t view getting an education as something she wants to do, she just wants to have fun and not learn anything but she eventually realizes that Miss Moore just wants her and the other children to
A great deal of symbolism can be found by simply examining the name Ms. Moore. Marital status does not define her - notice the Ms. Quite frankly, the reader is not even informed if she is married or even if she has children of her own. She is a very independent woman. Not only does the prefix of Ms. Moore represent that she is independent, but her last name also shows the she wants more for the children, because, according to her, they deserve more. Her purpose is to help the children realize that there is a world outside of Harlem that they can aspire to. Although F.A.O. Schwartz is just a small part of that world, the trip here with Ms. Moore shows the children a great deal about what the outside world is like and how anyone can have that piece of the pie. Even though the children could never afford the toys, Ms. Moore brings them to the store to show them they have just as much right to be there and just as much right to live the rich life as anyone else. Sylvia, the narrator, is upset by the inequality. She is jealous of the life she can't have and is angry that Ms. Moore would expose her to these facts. Although, Sylvia would never let her know this.
Bambara writes, “So right away I'm tired of this and say so. And would much rather snatch Sugar and go to the Sunset and terrorize the West Indian kids and take their hair ribbons and their money too. And Miss Moore files that remark away for next week's lesson on brotherhood, I can tell” (2). From this, we can see that Sylvia knew what she said was wrong and even why it was so. This also happens to be the passage that Cartwright uses to illustrate that the children require more than one lesson on a hot Harlem day; they deserve a thorough education. Cartwright explains “Rather than simply teaching a single lesson, the story is about the value of lessons themselves, the value of learning and thinking”
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.
Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody" (Bambara 604)—offers an indication as to why she is so hard-pressed to concede her substandard socioeconomic standing in the larger scheme of things. Sylvia is forced to finally address the true state of her place in society, however, when she observes firsthand the stark contrast between the rich and the poor at a fancy toy store in Manhattan. Initially furious about the blinding disparity, her emotionally charged reaction ultimately culminates in her acceptance of the real state of things, and this acceptance in turn cultivates her resolve to take action against the socioeconomic inequality that verily afflicts her, ensuring that "ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (606). "The Lesson" posits that far from being insurmountable, economic and social injustice can be risen above, but it is necessary that we first acknowledge the role that it plays in our lives, and then determine to take action against it; indifference, and the inaction that it breeds, can only serve to perpetuate such injustices.
Some short stories are designed to teach lessons to the people who read them. They teach lessons about life, love, and growing up. People can learn lessons by reading short stories where the main characters discover something about life and about themselves. Also, the Characters and the way they use actions, words, or thoughts carry throughout the story can relate to many realistic personas as in Toni Cade Bambara 's short story “The Lesson.” Bambara’s narrative diversifies any reading list with some authors, who are not so familiar, where she presents a lesson to be learned with the story of young children growing up in
The major theme of the story was creating awareness in adolescents about what life has to offer. The nature of human beings of accepting the realities of life to such an extent that apathy and lethargy sets in, is what proves to be destructive for the social fabric of today’s world. In this stagnation, Mrs. Moore provides the impetus required for people to realize their god given right to something better. We are told that Mrs. Moore has a college degree, is well dressed most of the times, and has a good command on her language. She seems to be a kind of a person who has seen the world. She has experienced life, and wants to use that experience in providing the children with an opportunity to broaden their horizons. This opportunity that she strives to provide is opening their eyes to the true nature of life and not by giving them money and bombarding their psyche with moralistic attitudes.
"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).
Sylvia’s being poor influences the way in which she sees other people and feels about them. Sylvia lives in the slums of New York; it is the only life she knows and can realistically relate to. She does not see herself as poor or underprivileged. Rather, she is content with her life, and therefore resistant to change. Sylvia always considered herself and her cousin as "the only ones just right" in the neighborhood, and when an educated woman, Miss Moore, moves into the neighborhood, Sylvia feels threatened. Ms. Moore is threatening to her because she wants Sylvia to look at her low social status as being a bad thing, and Sylvia "doesn’t feature that." This resistance to change leads Sylvia to be very defensive and in turn judgmental. Sylvia is quick to find fl...
Education is a topic that can be explored in many ways. Education is looked at in depth by both Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, and by Paulo Freire in his essay, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” After reading both essays, one can make some assumptions about different methods of education and exactly by which method Rodriguez was taught. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life were affected by specific styles of education.
To begin with, the reader gets a sense of Sylvia's personality in the beginning of the story as she talks about Miss Moore. Miss Moore is not the typical black woman in the neighborhood. She is well educated and speaks well. She has climbed up against the odds in a time where it was almost unheard of for a black woman to go to college. She is a role model for the children who encourages them to get more out of life. Sylvia's opinion of her is not one of fondness. She says that she hates Miss Moore as much as the "winos who pissed on our handball walls and stand up on our hallways and stairs so you couldn't halfway play hide and seek without a god damn mask”(357). By comparing the hatred with something she enjoys, we get to see what a child does in the slums for amusement. Sylvia feels t...
“The Lesson” was written to teach children various types of lessons about how to overcome from their past even though they might be placed at a disadvantage. This book was published in 1972 about a girl name Sylvia. Sylvia is a very bitter and angry young girl. She and her family is poor and live in the slums of Harlem, New York. She had a bad attitude towards people,
...merica. When Sylvia arrives at F.A.O Schwartz she is surprised by the high prices of the toys. After she sees the prices of the $35 clown and $1195 sailboat she ask Miss Moore, “Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?”(319). Sylvia comes face to face with poverty and realizes that she is not privileged to buy those toys based on her low economic status. After Sylvia leaves the toy store she realizes Miss Moore’s lesson and has a better understanding of social inequality. The last sentence of the story states “But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin”(320). Sylvia realizes that she has a disadvantage in society and doesn’t want to accept the fact that she is in the lower-class. She’s in control of her life and can choose her place in society.
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