Analysis of The Lesson in ‘the Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara

Practical learning can be explained as the ideal avenue towards learning real-world experiences and providing ideas on how one can cope or change the current or future way of life. In the short story ‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore allows the selected neighborhood children to learn the nature of American society as far as economic welfare is concerned through the field trip. The narrator (Sylvia), who is a black girl, is from the low-class neighborhood based on the explanation that ‘while our mothers were in a la-de-da apartment up the block …’. ‘The lesson’ Sylvia learns in the text by Bambara is on social inequalities and classism, whereby, the society at hand is structured based on economic wellbeing, and individuals spend according to their level of income.

Evidence of classism is reiterated by the notion that ‘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 of six or seven’. Based on the events in the short story, my understanding of the lesson is that hard work and opportunity are the available remedies towards the challenges associated with low standards of living in economically deprived communities. The life of Miss Moore provides an important reference in understanding the idea that changing one’s quality of life is largely dependent on individual choices.

Sylvia describes Miss Moore as ‘the only woman on the block with no first name’. It is apparent that as opposed to the case of other women in the neighborhood, Miss Moore is significantly different as far as lifestyle and perception towards life are concerned. Sylvia observes that Miss Moore is a proud woman solely due to her upward mobility and education, and while the other women ‘talk ill’ of her secretly, people welcome Miss Moore’s idea of educational outings. A college education is marked with the need for persistence, hard work and overcoming challenges including financial hurdles especially in the case of students from relatively poor backgrounds. Sylvia learns the idea that education is a primary factor in changing one’s quality of life through the observation of Miss Moore.

My understanding is that individuals from the neighborhood including Sylvia, ought to emulate the path of Miss Moore in order to change the prospects of their lives. I perceive that while the advocacy for affirmative actions to change the lives in poor neighborhoods can be deemed as imminent in changing lives, solving classism and economic equalities call for individual effort, and Miss Moore in the short story provide a perfect example of the idea. Change of mindset and creation of persistence will allow individuals from the lower social classes to witness the growth and financial capability in the long run. The short story and the observation made by Sylvia from Miss Moore’s teachings is that people can identify and work towards what they desire. In reference to knowing what one wants and the virtue of perseverance, Sylvia reveals that Miss Moore is inquiring that ‘how long would it take Bigg Butt and Junebug to save up their allowance’. My understanding based on Miss Moore's sentiments as she teaches lessons to Sylvia and the rest of the children is that there is a need for the allocation of time, which in turn calls for patience and perseverance to achieve any given goal.

By developing a broader view of the aspect of classism and economic inequalities, I perceive that individuals do not have the capacity to choose where they are born, but they can change the state of life as they grow. Real-life lessons, including the development of virtues such as financial literacy characterized by savings, allow communities and individuals to amass the requisite capital to initiate business projects and social amenities such as better schools. I perceive that Miss Moore’s lessons sought to expand beyond the literal savings by Bigg Butt and Junebug. Sylvia learns that classism is imminent in a society based on her experience in the neighborhood and during the field trip with Miss Moore. However, the pertinent issue is on defining the remedy to the given occurrence.

Sylvia is critical and recognizes the fact that Miss Moore is centered on the change as opposed to complaining about the existing circumstance. My understanding is thus founded on the notion that Miss Moore sought to deviate the children’s attention from the missed opportunities due to classism and focus on the solution to the problem. Social inequities are characterized by differential lifestyles, and people from the lower class find it difficult to understand the motive of spending of the richer societies. From the text, Sylvia questions the expenditure of certain people and asserts that ‘Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats’. While Sylvia views the sailboat as ‘magnificent,’ I understand the fact that the price and her inability to purchase the item make her perceive it as impractical and unreasonable. Here, it is evident that the driving factor for expenditure is income, which consequently creates classism in society. According to Mallach, inhabitants of cities are segregated and more unequal despite the contemporary urban revival and individuals experiencing poverty see no new opportunity or hope. However, the lessons learned by Sylvia in the short story, reveal aspects of hope. Sylvia learns that opportunity is vital for the change in life and observes the perception ascribed by Miss Moore by revealing that ‘she says like she got something up her sleeve’.

The short story by Tamara allows the children to learn of the lifestyle of the upper-class communities and create a comparison with the state in their neighborhoods. However, while the narrator (Sylvia) learns of the existence of classism and social inequities, the approach of Miss Moore allows the narrator to deviate from the focus on the problems and create the notion for hope and impending changes guided by personal effort. Miss Moore’s lifestyle creates the primary learning point for the idea that hard work and opportunity can guide the community towards revival from the existing poverty. Sylvia learns of the existing gaps between the lower and the upper social classes. My understanding is that there is a broader lesson in the text and Sylvia understands that there is a solution towards social inequalities. While Sylvia may not explicitly mention the fact that individual effort is required, her description of Miss Moore and the lifestyle of the rich people indicate a further lesson that a different approach is required for the individuals in the lower class to improve their mobility.

Works Cited

1. Bambara, Toni, C. The Lesson (Short Story). 1972 Heitkamp, Kristina L. Learned Helplessness, Welfare, and the Poverty Cycle. New York, NY: Greenhaven Publishing, 2019
2. Jensen, Eric. Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Seven High-Impact Mindsets for Students from Poverty (using Mindsets in the Classroom to Overcome Student Poverty and Adversity). Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree, 2019.
3. Mallach, Alan. The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America. Washington; Covelo; London: Island Press, 2018