Paper Topic:

The lesson (Short Story)

It 's unclear what exactly is the lesson learned in Toni Cade Bambara 's The Lesson . Only that Sylvia , our heroine and narrator , is meant to gather it from however she ultimately goes on to answer the question of what she thinks of a society . in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven

The narrative action of the tale is simple : Ms . Moore , the self-appointed mentor of Sylvia and other pubescent neighborhood children , has carted them all off for a

summer 's afternoon at a Fifth Avenue toy store where they eye toys and gadgets that of them can afford . Sylvia , brash , sassy , headstrong , would rather be cooling off at the pool or at a show . She attempts on a couple of occasions to convince her closest cohorts to escape with her , but the momentum of the afternoon and not to mention the implied authority of Ms . Moore that accedes from their parents and guardians keeps that from happening

In spite of being compelled to go along , Sylvia is a leader among her peers . It is she to whom Ms . Moore entrusts the fare for the cab that delivers half of the group to their destination it is she who first dares to enter the ritzy toy store . Among personalities like the snooty and herself cocksure Mercedes and the quick-tongued Rosie Giraffe Sylvia 's prowess is no small feat . And , importantly , she 's also smart She 's observant about the world around her and expresses herself freely and in her own language , remarking , for instance , on the hypocrisy of gossips , the obsequiousness of her Aunt Gretchen who would go for any ole dumb [bleep] foolishness ' and the crazy ' spectacle of the white folks ' she sees downtown in stockings in and [o]ne lady in a fur coat , hot as it is

All of this naturally pits her against authority in general and Ms Moore in particular , who has her own distinctions . In a poor , working class neighborhood , Ms . Moore is college-educated , nappy-headed wore no make-up ' and didn 't go to church on Sundays . She was strange enough for gossip , but harmless enough that she was allowed a matriarchal position in this close community where one could go to Pop 's ' and get a sailboat for fifty-cents rather than spend the 1 ,000 that the downtown store wanted for one . She isn 't from this community , but she likely is a product of one just like it , which puts her in good stead . Her gifts of sachets and gingerbreads are accepted warmly and , childless herself , she is easily given charge over their children

Teenage insouciance is the root of the simple tension between Ms . Moore and Sylvia . And it 's a curious tension . The two are reflections of each other . The afro Ms . Moore sports , in the days when girls wore pinafores , is also a statement of militancy both within her home community and without and it compares...

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