Toni Cade Bambara was an artist and civil rights activist for twenty-five years, through her writings she turned out to be specifically important with the social and sociopolitical actives in the urban groups the nationwide (Doerksen). Bambara was a writer who was not afraid to be assertive in her stories as she was “raised to be combatant” (“Toni Cade” 63). In one of her short stories, “The Lesson”, published in 1972, Bambara writes about a group of children visiting a toy store (FAO Schwartz) in Manhattan, New York. The narrator, Sylvia, is a pre-teen girl who resents going to the toy store and would rather do anything else. The educated adult who chaperones them is Miss Moore, who occasionally, takes the kids in the neighborhood on educational
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Miss Moore doesn’t respond but she does continue to push Sylvia into learning as much as she possible. The older woman takes the kids on outings, insisting they learn ‘how much rent is, what things cost, 10 percent tip,’ (65). The conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore were Bambara’s way of expressing the struggles of the Civil Rights Movements. Despite her bravado, Sylvia is actually listening to what Miss Moore is telling her: If Sylvia is willing to learn and works hard she can escape her neighborhood and leave poverty behind.
In “The Lesson,” there is also a conflict between Sylvia and fate, Sylvia was born African-American, female and living in the poverty of Harlem (all of which Sylvia could not control). Already at a disadvantage from birth (like Bambara) but willing to learn and grow, to conquer those disadvantages, mirrors the expectations of the Civil Rights Movement that Bambara was a part of.
Toni Cade Bambara tells us about the disadvantages African-Americans face within the nation with social, economically challenges. “The Lesson” was written during a time of great change throughout nation that Bambara herself helped and witnessed. This short story tells about the social inequality and economic differences people even to this day face, particularly in the African-American
Miss Moore doesn’t respond but she does continue to push Sylvia into learning as much as she possible. The older woman takes the kids on outings, insisting they learn ‘how much rent is, what things cost, 10 percent tip,’ (65). The conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore were Bambara’s way of expressing the struggles of the Civil Rights Movements. Despite her bravado, Sylvia is actually listening to what Miss Moore is telling her: If Sylvia is willing to learn and works hard she can escape her neighborhood and leave poverty behind.
In “The Lesson,” there is also a conflict between Sylvia and fate, Sylvia was born African-American, female and living in the poverty of Harlem (all of which Sylvia could not control). Already at a disadvantage from birth (like Bambara) but willing to learn and grow, to conquer those disadvantages, mirrors the expectations of the Civil Rights Movement that Bambara was a part of.
Toni Cade Bambara tells us about the disadvantages African-Americans face within the nation with social, economically challenges. “The Lesson” was written during a time of great change throughout nation that Bambara herself helped and witnessed. This short story tells about the social inequality and economic differences people even to this day face, particularly in the African-American