The Lesson Toni Cade Bambara
Some experiences change a person and their outlook profoundly. The process of growing up can be gradual but when a transformations occurs abruptly and unexpectantly it can be difficult to handle. Sylvia, the main character in Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," learns a lesson about social class and the implications of wealth and in the process loses some of the innocence that characterizes childhood. Sylvia resists this lesson, therefore the changes that take place in her are subtle, yet they are extensive. Ms. Moore tells the children to go into the store, but she doesn't lead the way. Here Sylvia becomes uncharacteristicly unsure of herself, "But I feel funny, shame, But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody. But somehow I can't seem to get hold of the door, so I step away for Sugar to lead." Sylvia seems to be very much the leader until this point and so she is clearly disquieted by the differences she sees between her world and that of Fifth Avenue. Sylvia doesn't yet understand her discomfort but she will be unable to ignore it. This experience unnerves Sylvia and challenges the perception she has of herself, "And I look at her and she looks at me and this is ridiculous. I mean, dam
" But rather than an inconsistency, this shows that Sylvia has a new understanding about what in life is important, Sylvia doesn't mean that she won't be beat in terms of athletic competition or even when it comes to material possesions. n, I have never been shy about doing nothing or going nowhere. The character that Bambara introduces us to at the start of the story in Sylvia is a robust, headstrong girl. She then seemingly contradicts herself in the final line of the story, "But ain't nobody gonna beat me at nothin. The reader comes to see Sylvia as a child who doesn't often allow herself to be beaten in a game or competition. In the cab Sylvia is supposed to calculate a tip for the driver, She'd rather formulate a new plan for the money Ms. But when Sugar challenges Sylvia to a race at the end of the story and gets ahead, Sylvia says that it's okay by her. " Previously Sylvia would daydream as a defense against unpleasant subjects. Moore's intention is not to produce in the children the type of greed that is evident on Fifth Avenue. The reader finds another example of Sylvia's tendency to avoid addressing issues of commerce. Sylvia, at the end of the story, has lost some of her brashness and she seems more calmly self assured. This lesson was so profound, however, that her defense was rendered ineffective. The reader sees Sylvia refuse to examine these issues and so the conclusion of the story is an obvious change in her propensity to analyze situations relating to money, wealth and social class.
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Acceptance Essays
