Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson"
Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" is a tale told from the eyes of a teenage African American girl called Sylvia. Bambara employs the title character, Sylvia, and the schoolteacher, Miss Moore, as vehicles to express her message about African Americans' problems with social status, inclusion, and justice. Furthermore, Bambara incorporates the lesson on social justice with the idea of children maturing, as the children, especially Sylvia, gain a better understanding of the world around them. What makes the story great is the fact that it concentrates on the effects of social, economic class differences, and defines the hidden means of a woman (Miss Moore) who has risen above the unjust society at the time, conveys her message the young generation who greatly need it.
The Economic Struggles
First and foremost, the story is set at the time when the many African-Americans were moving to settle in the north so as to escape poverty to no reprieve. Even though the story was written in the past millennium, Bambara manages to invite the audience to parallel the character's circumstance with those facing the same social-economic struggles in today's society. For example, when Miss Moore takes Sylvia and her classmates to Fifth Avenue's F.A.O Schwarz toy store, she intended to give the children a hint of the unjust economic system in the society that they knew not. Here, Miss Moore illustrates her idea of the immorality of the economic system by asking the children to marvel at the $300 price tag of the microscope, $480 for the paper weight, and $1000 price tag of the sailboat (Bambara, Toni Cade, 2). Though others are reluctant to comment, Sugar expresses the sad truth that the sailboat's cost could feed all six of them the whole year (Bambara, Toni Cade, 5). Pleased that they understood "the lesson," she asks what this tells them about the society, and Sugar utters that "equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough (Bambara, Toni Cade, 5)." Therefore, the lesson of economic injustice is already printed into the minds of the children, and they can understand that the world is not fair to all human beings.
The Significance of Summer
Secondly, Bambara clarifies in the story that the events narrated took place in the summer. The significance of this is that, in a town like New York City, where she bases her story, most of the middle and the upper-class residents leave the city for summer holidays. The ones that remain behind are those that earn relatively less or the ones that are low-class residents. The income disparity forces the town to dwindle to those who are poor and cannot afford a vacation in a different place, thus have to remain and fight the harsh conditions.
When defining economic disparities, Bambara shows that even to those of the same class, or those considered lower-class, the situation is the same. Apparently, all the children in the narrator's group cannot afford the toys in the store, but even so, there is evident diversity in their income. We can conclude that Mercedes comes from a relatively well-off family by the way she describes her bedroom, stationary, and her hope that she will return to F.A.O (Bambara, Toni Cade, 3). Schwarz on her birthday. Meanwhile, another member of the group, Flyboy, is homeless. The apparent social-economic injustice in such a small group is evident of the society the people lived in at the time, as it is today.
The Flawed Society
Lastly, it is evident that the author seems to endorse Miss Moore's opinion of economic inequality in an unjust society, as a symbol of a flawed society. Even so, the real lesson in the book does not arise from the children's experience. On the contrary, the lesson comes from Miss Moore, the "strange character" living a strange life in the neighborhood (Bambara, Toni Cade, 2). Instead of letting the children learn the lesson by themselves, she forces it down their throats. For this matter, rebellious characters, such as Sylvia are reluctant to take in "the lesson." All in all, the truth that Miss Moore hopes the children lingers on, and as Bambara suggests, children will need education, as well as awareness to rising above the challenges.
Conclusion
In conclusion, "The Lesson" is a strong story combining humor, lessons and a vivid picture of the world around us, regarding social and economic injustice. Furthermore, the hidden lessons in Miss Moore's questions serve as the guide to inspire Sylvia to rise above the conditions that she and many like her go through their entire lives. In fact, the complexity "The Lesson" leaves the reader to make their interpretation and examination of the story, and to get the lesson right, the reader, therefore, immerses himself/herself in the narrator's life and surrounding. Moreover, the literary craftsmanship of Bambara blends well in leveling the characters through the eyes of the teenage narrator, giving the reader the full picture and experience from her point of view.
Work Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” Gorilla, My Love. New York, Random House, 1972.
