Toni Cade Bambara’s THE LESSON and David Adams Richards’s DANE stories each describe the lack of quality education and social inequality. Both these collections of stories focuses on children, and readers are able to see the effect of social and economic disadvantage to children and its long term effects. The author uses the paperweight to symbolize the importance of education in the story THE LESSON, the price of their future is going to be something that will have to strive for and look their past current dwellings. Each of two stories details the life and times of group of kids from the point of view of main characters. Bambara’s narrator is portrayed as a strong minded individual at the end of the story while Richards’s narrator, on the
The story identifies three characters; Sylvia, Sugar and a black woman Ms. Moore. Initially, Sylvia does not like Miss Moore as she believed she prevented children from having fun but in reality Miss Moore wanted to show them the real side of the life. So she organized a trip to F.A.O Schwartz. As the story develops the reader gets a glimpse of Sylvia “street smarts” and leadership role as they traveled to toy store in a cab. The group horses around the taxi while Sylvia is scheming a way to keep the money for herself. Miss Moore is aware of this when she gives them the money, lending the reader to believe this is all part of the lesson of the day. By doing this she is showing the children the value of money and work. When they arrive at store the lesson continues as they gawk at the toys in the window and find it hard to comprehend what kind of people have this kind of money to throw away on toys. The turning point occurs when Sylvia’s best friend, Sugar, questions Miss Moore about the fairness of people spending the same amount of money on a toy that some families would use for basic survival needs. This leads to climax where Sylvia confesses, “And something weird is goin on, I can feel it in my chest.” (Bambara, 653). this shows Sylvia’s feeling of betrayal by her friend along with the realization that she is right. The denouement is the last line of the story where she states , “but ain’t nobody gonna beat me at
As the young boy gets older, his life begin to deteriorate. In the beginning 5- year-old boy is a normal child but earns his own money so he can enjoy his childhood activities. He plays on the hockey team and creates his own baseball and cricket team. He organizes games against other parts of town. While the other boys in the community played with slingshots and haunted neighbour’s windows, porch flowers pots, and the lights that shone near harm any animals and were considered as good mannered. As the boy gets older he begins to get into trouble by stealing and drinking, he dropped out of school even though he was topper of his class, after he spend a few days with a “better off families” during his hockey trip. But now he was stealing almost anything he could get his hands on and sell it to second hand shops and was continually getting caught. Towards the end of the story he becomes an alcoholic, and briefly reconnects with his childhood friends, before being killed in a car
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 story unfolds when, “Lengel, the store’s manager” (2191) confronts the girls because they are dressed inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he quits his job. The student suggests that in quitting, “Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is trying to
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.
...siting F.A.O. Schwarz awakens in Sylvia an internal struggle she has never felt, and through criticizing Miss Moore, Sylvia distances herself from realizing her poverty. In her responses to the toys, their prices, and the unseen people who buy them, it is evident that Sylvia is confronting the truth of Miss Moore's lesson. As Sylvia begins to understand social inequality, the realization of her own disadvantage makes her angry. For Sylvia, achieving class consciousness is a painful enlightenment. For her to accept that she is underprivileged is shameful for her, and Sylvia would rather deny it than admit a wound to her pride: "ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (312).
...n character. The story begins by informing the reader that the boy Ragged Dick is a honest boy who has solid morals, yet this directly goes against his actions as he steals the wallet and turns violent as he beats up another boy. I feel that there are very few failures within Bambara's “The Lesson” as the main story is solid and consistent throughout. In the end, both stories are driven my money which is attributed to success. My final thoughts are that money is not what drives success. I feel that money can make becoming successful an easier task; however, it is true perseverance which holds the most power. Ultimately, both stories express that an education is the most valuable asset for individuals to have as it can help them achieve bigger better things while ultimately allowing them to become financially well off, successful and blessed with opportunities.
She’s considering having an abortion. On the other hand the daughter wants to get merry to her African boyfriend he wants her to move with him to Africa. Momma is very excited to own her first home and they also refuse to take the money from Mr. Linden, they are tired of living in the apartment, momma thinks a house is the best investment. The son is going through some extremely hard times after losing all that money trying to open a liquor store. In the story the son faces more problems the son has the most problems for example he’s in charged of the house after his father die he took over all the responsibility he’s father had. During the 1950s after the father die the son usually took over the family and all its
The story begins with the narrator’s brother, Sonny, being arrested for using heroin. When the narrator discovers what has happened to his brother, he slowly starts to relive his past. Up to this point, the narrator had completely cut his brother and his childhood from his life. He disapproves of the past and does everything in his power to get rid of it. The narrator had become an algebra teacher and had a family who he moved to get away from the bad influences on the street. As a result, it is shown in the story that he has worked hard to maintain a good “clean” life for his family and himself. Readers can see that he has lived a good life, but at the toll of denying where he came from and even his own brother. For years, his constant aim for success had been successful. However, as the story progressed everything he knew started to fall apart.
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...
The use of Richard Hoggart’s The Uses of Literacy in this story is very thought-provoking. While we are presented with the image of a young Richard Rodriguez and his struggle to deal with his education and family life. We are also presented Hoggart’s image of the “Scholarship boy” the student who has ...
Dorothy Parker's "The Standard of Living" & Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" This essay takes its inspiration from Dorothy Parker's "The Standard of Living" (pages 337- 341) and Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" (pages 342-347). These stories have been written not only by different authors but with different styles as well. This essay basically addresses the issues of literary style between the two writers. DOROTHY PARKER'S "THE STANDARD OF LIVING" The young women are Annabel and Midgè crave for a lavish standard of life. They wish to be arrogant and leisure loving. They imagine lunching as per their want means they are wealthy and can buy what they want. They lunch on sugar, starches, oils, and butterfats that show the women are fat looking. They are shown to be food lovers eating sandwiches of spongy new white bread greased with butter and mayonnaise. They also take thick wedges of cake lying wet beneath ice cream and whipped cream and melted chocolate gritty with nuts. Dorothy is at her best describing the standard of living of the two young women starting with what they eat and they are shown to be eating lavishly. Dorothy then comes to the main point or the reality by telling that the lavish spending was just a dream. As an alternate the two girls are shown to be eating patties and other cheap food according to their own standards. Annabel and Midge were the best friends. Dorothy describes the starting of their friendship from the company that employed the two. The girls supported their families by working as stenographers. Dorothy describes the working conditions of the office of the two girls explaining where do they dine and take their lunch, how do they sit and what do they discuss. They passed Sundays in each other’s...
Most people dedicate a big portion of their life slaving away in education when there are so many other things that they would rather be doing. So why does a person put up with the long hours and the headaches? What is the importance of education? In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson,” the main character and narrator, Sylvia, could care less about school and her new teacher, Miss Moore. The kids in her class are made up of her neighborhood friends and the children do not actually attend a real school but are forced to meet up at this woman’s mail box everyday instead. This story is focused around Miss Moore’s battle to teach her kids, especially the most stubborn one, Sylvia, the importance of education. The theme of the story is
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 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
...of the group. Miss Moore feels that if she can get through to Sylvia, then all the other children will begin to catch on to the lessons. Throughout the work, Miss Moore maintains her frame of mind that the children do not, in fact, know how disadvantaged they truly are. However, Sylvia, being the stubborn young child that she is, does not feel that she is at a disadvantage until near the end of the short story, where she says “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin,” (The Lesson). This, in itself, is an exemplary exhibition of determination.