Symbolism In Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson

Improved Essays
Register to read the introduction… Bambara does not explain what kind of neighborhood this is but the reader is able to get an image of it through the language. "And the starch in my pinafore scratching the shit outta me and I'm really hating this nappy-headed bitch and her goddamn college degree" (Bambara 136). This sentence gives the image that this is a poor, low class neighborhood. The reader is able to identify that this is not a high-class place, but one possibly in the slums. The language is symbolic because it represents the area of the city that the story is taking place. It also lets the reader know what kinds of characters are being presented.
Bambara also uses the character names in "The Lesson" to symbolize what kind of character they will be. One character that she names is Fat Butt. From the name, the reader knows right away that this will be a fat kid who probably eats a lot. Bambara supports this by writing, "Fat Butt was already wasting his peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich like the pig he is" (Bambara
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When someone thinks of a Mercedes, they think of someone being wealthy. Mercedes says, "I do. I have a box of stationary on my desk and a picture of my cat, My godmother bought the stationary and desk. There's a big rose on each sheet and the envelopes smell like roses." All of the kids had replied that had no desk, but Mercedes did. She had a godmother who had bought it for her. By Mercedes saying this, the reader knows that she is from a family who has more money. Also Mercedes takes charge when heading into the toy story. This is a symbol because people who tend to have the most money appear to take charge over those who are lower than they do. Sugar, Sylvia's cousin, was not the way that the reader would picture her by her name. She was a wild rebellious child. By looking at the name, the reader would assume that she would be a sweet and innocent type of girl. However, Sugar was not; she was just the opposite. The way Bambara names each character is a reflection on the type of person they …show more content…
Moreover, when Mercedes tells Miss Moore about her stationery with "a big rose on each sheet" and "envelopes [that] smell like roses," Rosie, like Sylvia, joins in mocking traitors: "Who wants to know about your smelly-ass stationery?" (309). Mercedes's identification with Miss Moore's ideals is punished. Condemning those who side with Miss Moore is a means of discrediting her lesson.
Bambara uses symbolism in her short story, "The Lesson," to help the reader get a feel of what is going on. This is seen through the title, language, and names of the characters and the way each symbol is used helps the reader to interpret the story.

Bibliography
Paul H. Connolly, editor, On Essays: A Reader for Writers
(Author of foreword) The Sanctified Church: Collected Essays by Zora Neale Hurston
Mari Evans, editor, Black Women Writers, 1950-1980: A Critical Evaluation

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