The Lesson
Since the start of slavery there has been a large problem with poverty, equality, and social class with Caucasians and African Americans. African Americans have been through a rough past, for the most part they are generally looked down upon, and are said to be of lower class. They are the same people as you and I, but not in everyone’s eyes. In “The Lesson”, by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore takes on the role as the children’s teacher, or in other words their instructor. The one thing Miss Moore wanted out of all of it, was to teach the kids a lesson. She wanted the children to know that they need to be goal oriented and work hard in everything that they do, and that education will lead you to success no matter who you are, or where you come from. She wanted them to know that the race they were wasn’t going to change who they would be in the future, or lower their chances of success, because you can do anything when you work hard and set your mind to something.
In “The Lesson”, Sylvia plays the role of the Dynamic Character. She’s seen as the Dynamic Character because throughout the whole thing she is learning a lesson. Although she doesn’t want to admit or feel as if she is, in the end she realizes that she really does learn a valuable lesson. When Sylvia went along to the toy store with Miss Moore and the children, this is where she learns her lesson. The toy store that they were in appeared to be very expensive. It was nothing like any place that Sylvia was ever taken to. She doesn’t quite understand how some people could have such wealth to come into a store like the one she was in. Sylvia felt as if she were disconnected from the world she had grown up in. Miss Moore exclaimed, “You sound angry, Sylvia. Are you mad about something?” I’m mad, but I won’t give her that satisfaction (Bambara). In this event it changes her outlook on the situation. She admitted to feeling funny, and full of shame that she was in a store that society would not allow someone like her to be in. Someone like her as in someone who wasn’t wealthy, or African American. After all of the words from Miss Moore, Sylvia saw the world through a different perspective. Even though Sylvia didn’t share her thoughts with Miss Moore, she now knows that the world can be fair to you as long as you strive for success.
On the other hand, Miss Moore plays the role of the Antagonist. She is the Antagonist in the story because she teaches the other characters in the story a lesson. The children find Miss Moore to be boring, and that she is giving them pointless instructions. Sylvia said that…” She’s boring us silly about what things cost and what our parents make and how much goes for rent…” (Bambara). But she is actually trying to lead these children to success in their near future. She wants to teach the children actual life lessons, rather than things they may not really need in the future. She helps them to apply their education to events they may come across and have to over go in the long run. All of the kids have an understanding and are pleased with what Miss Moore had to say except for Sylvia. It took her a while to fully understand what Miss Moore meant. She eventually understood what she had meant, but doesn’t want to admit the lesson she has learned from the situation. She didn’t want Miss Moore to have that kind of satisfaction of knowing she learned something.
Sylvia and Miss Moore are similar and different from each other in many different ways. Sylvia is a young, strong, African American girl. Sylvia is the kind of girl who knows what she wants in life. She is not the type to be so easy to accept change in her life. It’s difficult for her to adapt to drastic changes. She’s not very outspoken, and tends to keep to herself quite often. Miss Moore on the other hand is a middle aged Caucasian woman who is very outgoing and considerate to others. She wants to get her thoughts and opinions out there to help the future of the children. She wants them to go into life with a goal in mind, something that they are able to work toward. She wants to teach them long lasting life lessons that will change the way they look at and do things in life. In this case it shows how much of a thoughtful and considerate person that she is by wanting to better their lives. She tells them a lesson, a lesson these children will never forget, so that they will never look down upon themselves or think any less of them.
I feel as if friction and anxiety is shown between the two characters Sylvia and Miss Moore, because they start out by having different thoughts on the way that society is. Sylvia has been led to believe that her race is of the lower class, and that she shouldn’t be associated with anyone of wealth. She felt as if she wasn’t welcome in a place of such high class. This shows that Sylvia is a very straight minded person, while Miss Moore is very open minded. One is welcome to change, and the other isn’t. I feel this is why their personalities clashed so much with one another. Sylvia doesn’t want anyone to know what she’s thinking, or how she’s feeling. Sylvia is in shock when she first arrives at the toy shop. She doesn’t seem to understand how you could spend so much money on a toy, rather than spending it on something useful. She says” Imagine for a minute, what kind of society it is in which people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family” (Bambara). Miss Moore explains to the children the difference between the poor and the wealthy. That there was nothing different from them, and not something one could do that the other couldn’t, and that everyone could do great things in life. She was an inspiration to these children.
Even though Sylvia didn’t want Miss Moore to know that she had taught her a lesson, she took that lesson to heart and really understood the reasoning and meaning of it. Miss Moore was doing nothing but helping them, and educating them about equality and fairness that different classes of society have. The two should be treated equal, even through their differences that the two classes may have.
I think later on in Sylvia and the children’s life the lesson they all learned will definitely make a difference on them. They were taught valuable life lessons, on what the real world is actually like, and things they will have to face in the long run. Sylvia will never admit to learning a lesson that day, but she will remember it and it will forever impact her and make a difference in her life. As you can see “The Lesson”, by Toni Cade Bambara, is a very inspirational story on the lessons you can learn in your everyday life. A lesson that could change your entire outlook on a subject for the better, and open up your mind to different thoughts and beliefs. Maybe you may not think something is the best option at first, and you aren’t so sure of change. But who knows, in the end that lesson you learned can really open your eyes. It can help you to understand that equality is a great thing, and you should never think less of yourself. Everyone is equal to one another, and that’s the way it should always be.