"The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara is far more than just an uplifting story of a lower class little girl, out of her element in an overpriced, high-class toy store; it is a social commentary. "The Lesson" is a story about a young African-American girl's struggle with her increasing awareness of class inequality and discrimination. Her teacher, Miss Moore, introduces the facts of social inequality to a very inattentive lower class. Sylvia is the most cynical; the other children in her class see Miss Moore as an unsolicited educator, but Sylvia is unamused with her lessons and expresses the utmost disrespect.The conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore, "This nappy head bitch and her goddamn college degree", represents more than the everyday dislike
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Don't nobody want to go for my plan, which is to jump out at the next light and run off to the first bar-b-que we can find". When it's time for her to give the money to the driver, she doesn’t know so Sugar has to advise her of the proper amount. Sylvia's thoughts are divided between childish immaturity and adult responsibility: her daydreaming conflicts with her desire to respond to real situations. During the drive to the toy store, Sylvia devises a plan to escape from the class field trip: "I say we oughta get to the subway ‘cause it's cooler and besides we might meet some cute boys". By keeping her mind busy with thoughts of what she’d would rather be doing, Sylvia imagines a safe place in her mind where she is protected from unsettling …show more content…
"Don't none of us know what kind of pie she talking about in the first damn place". Before Sylvia sees the toys, she doesn't consider "the lesson" because she has never been granted the opportunity to see let alone acknowledge the opulences afforded by the wealthy, therefore has never been conscious of her own poverty. Sylvia expresses her anger hatefully on her friends to protect herself from her new thoughts and feelings of envy and jealousy: "Then Sugar run a finger over the whole boat. And I'm jealous and want to hit her. Maybe not her, but I sure want to punch somebody in the mouth". Sylvia is hiding her envy of the rich with ferocity. As Sylvia leaves the toy store, she internally fights with her many complex emotions. The reaction she has to visiting the toy store awakens an internal struggle and sadness she has never felt of being unfairly born into poverty. She feels cheated. Seeing the toys, their prices, and thinking about the ones who buy them, it’s clear Sylvia understands Miss Moore's lesson of social inequality and her trying to accept that she is underprivileged and poor is a shameful disgrace and a hit to her pride: "ain't nobody gonna beat me at
Don't nobody want to go for my plan, which is to jump out at the next light and run off to the first bar-b-que we can find". When it's time for her to give the money to the driver, she doesn’t know so Sugar has to advise her of the proper amount. Sylvia's thoughts are divided between childish immaturity and adult responsibility: her daydreaming conflicts with her desire to respond to real situations. During the drive to the toy store, Sylvia devises a plan to escape from the class field trip: "I say we oughta get to the subway ‘cause it's cooler and besides we might meet some cute boys". By keeping her mind busy with thoughts of what she’d would rather be doing, Sylvia imagines a safe place in her mind where she is protected from unsettling …show more content…
"Don't none of us know what kind of pie she talking about in the first damn place". Before Sylvia sees the toys, she doesn't consider "the lesson" because she has never been granted the opportunity to see let alone acknowledge the opulences afforded by the wealthy, therefore has never been conscious of her own poverty. Sylvia expresses her anger hatefully on her friends to protect herself from her new thoughts and feelings of envy and jealousy: "Then Sugar run a finger over the whole boat. And I'm jealous and want to hit her. Maybe not her, but I sure want to punch somebody in the mouth". Sylvia is hiding her envy of the rich with ferocity. As Sylvia leaves the toy store, she internally fights with her many complex emotions. The reaction she has to visiting the toy store awakens an internal struggle and sadness she has never felt of being unfairly born into poverty. She feels cheated. Seeing the toys, their prices, and thinking about the ones who buy them, it’s clear Sylvia understands Miss Moore's lesson of social inequality and her trying to accept that she is underprivileged and poor is a shameful disgrace and a hit to her pride: "ain't nobody gonna beat me at