In Toni Bambara’s short story, “The Lesson”, many ideas of living are expanded upon. Bambara uses the main protagonist, Miss Moore, as a sort of gateway for the youth in the story to learn these ideas. “The Lesson” takes place in the 1960’s, which helps provide the reader with a sense of how social standards are set in the story. The story revolves around two main characters, an elderly woman named Miss Moore and a younger girl named Sylvia. The two characters are constantly having a battle over their central views of everyday things. The author uses Miss Moore as a way to introduce themes throughout the story. Although there are many prominent themes in Toni Bambara’s “The Lesson,”¬¬ the most paramount of these themes is that one can better
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Shortly into the story, Miss Moore sporadically burst into a lesson about money. “So we heading down the street and she’s boring us silly about what things cost and what our parents make and how much goes for rent and how money ain’t divided up right in this country” (Bambara 171). Miss Moore then takes the children into a toy store to display the obscene amount of money that simple toys cost. Later in the story she quizzes the children on his or her opinion of the toy store, asking, “…what kind of a society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?” (Bambara 174). When a girl named Sugar finally answers saying she thinks it, “is not much of a democracy,” Miss Moore feels a sense of accomplishment in teaching the children the importance of understanding the economic system. The author also uses this lesson as an attempt to show the reader the hardships some people had to undergo in the …show more content…
The author sets up many situations where the children must think for his or her self. One situation is when Miss Moore takes the children into the toy store and Sylvia asks how much a real boat would cost. Miss Moore responds saying, “Why don’t you check that out and report back to the group?” (Bambara 173). Miss Moore, rather than give them the answers, challenges the children to find the answers out by themselves. At the end of the story, the author shows that Sylvia wants to “think this day through”, signaling that Miss Moore accomplished her goal of igniting curiosity in her mind (Bambara
Shortly into the story, Miss Moore sporadically burst into a lesson about money. “So we heading down the street and she’s boring us silly about what things cost and what our parents make and how much goes for rent and how money ain’t divided up right in this country” (Bambara 171). Miss Moore then takes the children into a toy store to display the obscene amount of money that simple toys cost. Later in the story she quizzes the children on his or her opinion of the toy store, asking, “…what kind of a society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?” (Bambara 174). When a girl named Sugar finally answers saying she thinks it, “is not much of a democracy,” Miss Moore feels a sense of accomplishment in teaching the children the importance of understanding the economic system. The author also uses this lesson as an attempt to show the reader the hardships some people had to undergo in the …show more content…
The author sets up many situations where the children must think for his or her self. One situation is when Miss Moore takes the children into the toy store and Sylvia asks how much a real boat would cost. Miss Moore responds saying, “Why don’t you check that out and report back to the group?” (Bambara 173). Miss Moore, rather than give them the answers, challenges the children to find the answers out by themselves. At the end of the story, the author shows that Sylvia wants to “think this day through”, signaling that Miss Moore accomplished her goal of igniting curiosity in her mind (Bambara