"The Lesson"

Book Review # 109995

English > Analysis
Literature > American

"The Lesson"

An analysis of the themes of social and economic injustice in "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara.

1,018 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2008 Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, in Bambara's "The Lesson", the protagonist, Miss Moore, takes a group of young black children from the slums of New-York to a toy store. To most readers, a toy store would seem like the most unlikely place for a social loss of innocence. However, the scene at F.A.O Schwarz, a high end toy store, serves as a social eye opener for Sylvia as she discovers how money is unfairly divided between classes and that she needs to fight for her piece of the pie. In particular, the paper looks at how, thanks to Miss Moore's hands-on approach, Sylvia faces the social and racial inequalities she is victim of and how this event marks the loss of innocence of a young black girl oblivious of her condition to eventually becoming a socially conscious girl enraged of her disadvantages in society.

From the Paper:

"Sylvia's initiation begins as soon as she enters the taxi: a luxury she is not used to as she doesn't know how much to tip the driver. Miss Moore gives her five dollars to pay and tip the taxi driver. Miss Moore knows the taxi won't cost nearly that amount; she just wants Sylvia to see how meaningless it is compared to what upper-class people have. Her first encounter with wealth comes when she sees a woman in fur coat in the middle of summer. Sylvia thinks that the woman is crazy; she isn't. The fur coat symbolizes wealth and the white woman shows off her wealth because she can. The main part of the initiation comes at F.A.O Schwarz. As Sylvia and her peers are looking at the toys through the windows and are screaming out which toy they want without any concern about the price. "