skills

درآمدی بر ادبیات (PERRINES’s literature: structure, sound and sense fiction)

The lesson

Summary and analysis

“The Lesson” is a complex, layered story of a girl’s awakening to the unfair
circumstances she was born into under the guise of a simple story about a group of
children and a neighborhood woman taking a trip to a toy store. The theme of “The
Lesson”, by Toni Cade Bambara, is analyzing the intense effects of socioeconomic class
differences in America, and the hidden way a woman who rose above the prevailing
racism and unjust economic differences of the time passes her message to children who
desperately needed it. The underlying meaning of Bambara’s lesson is created using the
rich culture and heritage of the stories’ setting, diction, and the complex and layered
characterization provided by “The Lesson.”

“The Lesson” is set in a time in which many African-Americans were moving
north to escape racism and poverty. Although faced with much of the same in a newer
urban environment, the African Americans that made cities like New York their new
home brought an identity to their surroundings that is vital to understanding the culture a
reader encounters in “The Lesson.” The culture is very interwoven with city living and
their environment affects their education, family values, traditions and social standing. As
Miss Moore says, “Where we are is who we are” (Bambara 140). The characters in the
story live in apartment complexes close to their extended family because when they first
came north they all lived together in the same apartment. This is an example of the
poverty they live in. The places that the children socialize are littered with alcoholic bums
that urinate all over, further emphasizing the poverty that members of their community
endure. The action in the story begins at the mailbox with all of the children and Miss

Moore. The mailbox is symbolic because it is where mail and information is received,
and the lesson is started and ended at the mailbox. The next setting is the taxis that the
group rides in. This is significant because a taxi is a luxury that the children’s families
could never afford. This is shown by the children's amazement at the meter in the taxi.
After they get out of the taxi they realize that they are on 5th avenue with people in fancy
clothes. Sylvia points out when she sees a lady in a fur coat in the middle of the summer
that she thinks white people are crazy. When confronted by the white people she does not
understand, she denies the upper class’s values (Champion “Passing” 73). This is an
example of how her neighborhood dictates her feelings about large groups of people.
Because she lives in a place that white people are not likely to inhabit, her understanding
of white culture is very little. This underlying barrier between the black members of their
community and the rest of white America at the time would put these children at a great
disadvantage because it distances them from a majority of authority figures, educators,
and law enforcement.

The next setting of the story is FAO Schwarz, a store that the children’s families would not be likely to shop at or even browse in. Miss Moore suggests that they look in the windows first because she wants them to notice the prices before they go in. This is because she wanted to demonstrate that the store is not a place that their families could buy anything in, and would not have any business visiting. It is likely that Miss Moore chose to visit a toy store to emphasize the amount of money that some Americans spend on items that are purely for leisure, and so that the items within the store would catch the children’s attention. She patiently waits for them to notice the prices and after they have digested this she suggests they go in, but waits and allows them to lead the way. When Sugar and Sylvia get to the door they stop and start to feel shame. This is because Sylvia and Sugar are beginning to understand the lesson that Miss Moore is teaching them.

Mercedes, who has not noticed this, gets through and goes in. Sylvia then parallels the
shame she felt in the Catholic Church with what she feels entering the toy store that
people of her social class cannot afford. Connecting the two experiences shows that
Sylvia is starting to understand the lesson. She doesn’t fully understand the feelings yet
because when Sugar touches the boat, she childishly wants to hit someone. Violence is a
reaction to the unknown that is very basic and shows Sylvia still has more to learn.

After FAO Schwarz, they ride back home on the subway because Miss Moore
wants them to compare the taxi and the subway after they have seen what they don’t
have. This choice of transportation is an effective end to their trip because it allows the
children to begin a comparison of their circumstances with those of the people that have
money for the luxuries they are exposed to on the trip. This choice is effective when
Sylvia realizes how much the money the toys cost would mean to her family while on the
subway (Cartwright “Bambara’s” 62). They then return to the mailbox and Sugar
verbalizes what Sylvia had previously had been unable to understand. Sugar is able to
reflect on the money that others spend on toys and games, and how it is so scarce for the
people of their community. After they walk away and Sylvia lets Sugar run ahead, Sylvia
puts the lesson to use and thinks, “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nothin.”

The diction used by the characters in “The Lesson”, give the story a rich
connection to African American culture. This culture is exemplified by George Yancey
when he poses the question, “What other linguistic medium could I use to articulate the
rhythm, the fluidity, the angst, … and the beauty involved in traversing the ghetto streets
of youth than the dialect of African American English?” (“Geneva” 273) (Wright
“Dialect” 73). The effect of the dialect of African Americans is fully explained by Katy
M. Wright when she explains, “for through dialect, Bambara discloses and explores
empowerment, disapproval, and celebration, and successfully challenges how those

listening hear the voice of the marginalized” (“Dialect” 73). Through this, it is understood
that the characters dialect and diction are a way of challenging societies’ norms. In a
sense, their linguistic freedom is a form of empowerment. Specific examples of their
culture’s linguistic differences are their contractions, removal of the suffix “ly”, lack of
tense agreement, and removal of redundant conjunctions and prepositions (Wright
“Dialect” 75-80).

Complex and hidden characterizations pour from the lines of “The Lesson”, and
create the meaning and underlying intent of the story. The use of flat and round
characters, as well as characters with varying degrees of ability to change, make it
possible to determine the varying degrees of effect that Miss Moore’s lesson had by the
end of the work. Her tendency to seize every opportunity she has to teach a new lesson
implies that she understands that the children need not only a lesson; they need an
education (Cartwright “Bambara’s” 61). Miss Moore’s education and intelligence, as well
as evidence of the lesson she tries to convey, are evident in many examples throughout
the story (Cartwright “Bambara’s” 61). By the stories end, one can ascertain that Miss
Moore serves to connect the children with the white world they are so distant from.
Laurie Champion, in “’Passing it Along in the Relay’: Struggles for Economic Equality in
Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘Raymond’s Run’ and ‘The Lesson’”, explores this connection to
the white world when she states, “[some African Americans] associated individually with
privileged whites but never became part of the privileged society, creating instead a
divided subset of the African American community” (69). This connection and
acceptance of the upper class’s education provide her the opportunity to provide the
lessons the children need. Jerome Cartwright further explains this idea in “Bambara’s
‘The Lesson’” when he explains, “She has more money – enough to hire two cabs to take
the kids to F.A.O. Schwarz and not worry about the $4.00 change that Sylvia has kept and

which Miss Moore has surely not forgotten.” The money Miss Moore gives Sylvia is
likely in an effort to teach Sylvia financial responsibility, which is an example of how
Miss Moore hides a lesson in everything she does with the children. Sylvia is not quite
ready for this challenge, however, and she decides not to tip the driver. This selfish action
indicates an immaturity in Sylvia’s character that is likely to become the subject of
another lesson by Miss Moore. Although Sylvia and Sugar think they have gotten away
with keeping the rest of the money, the reader may assume that the money was a test of
Sylvia’s responsibility. When she fails to do so, it is likely that Miss Moore allowed the
remaining taxi money to become a gift that Sylvia would have been too proud to accept.
Initially, Sylvia has no real understanding of true wealth and the economic differences
Miss Moore is attempting to show the children (Champion “Passing” 73). Throughout the
story Sylvia takes notice of the hints provided by Miss Moore, however, and the affects
the lesson had are left to the reader’s speculation.

The minor characters of “The Lesson”, although subtle, give the work depth and
open it to analysis and interpretation. Aunt Gretchen, who serves to represent members of
the black community who have been manipulated into submission, is an example of
Bambara’s hidden cry for readers to open their eyes to injustices that still pervade our
society. Characters such as Mercedes, who had no understanding of the lesson, emphasize
Sugar and Sylvia’s understanding. Her value of the toys based on the fact that they are
expensive is another method of Mercedes’ use in the story. The name Mercedes is an
obvious signal that her character also is used to examine wealth. She is an example of
those who accept the upper classes’ material wealth, without accepting the means to
achieve it. Although people that place great value on material wealth, such as Mercedes,
accept one aspect of the upper classes’ culture, these ends cannot be attained without also
accepting the means to earning them. This reveals Bambara’s critical view of members of

the African American community that glorify material wealth without also accepting

education.

At first glance Fat Butt is just a gluttonous character that serves to provide comic
relief. Upon closer analysis, however, Fat Butt serves to represent the academic and
intellectual potential of the children. This is accomplished by his interest in the
microscope on display in the window. If the inner-city schools the children likely
attended had funding to provide a better education, his interest in the microscope may
have been an interest that sparked him to pursue an education in science. In Bambara’s
creation of the setting, diction, and use of characterization, an inspiring intent is revealed.
“The Lesson” invites readers to parallel the character’s circumstances with those of so
many unfortunate people today and find little change. The lessons hidden in Miss
Moore’s patient questions challenge and inspire Sylvia to wake up to the unjust
conditions she and so many like her must bear for their entire lives. The complexity of
“The Lesson” allows for unparalleled examination and interpretation. A full
understanding of the story is elusive, and almost requires the reader to fully immerse
himself in Sylvia’s culture and life. Luckily, Bambara’s literary craftsmanship allows for
the immersion “The Lesson” demands. The level of characterization and detail that
Bambara attains, with an adolescent girl who is deprived of a sufficient education as the
narrator, is staggering. After giving “The Lesson” a full analysis, even readers whose life
experience sets them far apart from the characters in the story can attain an understanding
of their culture and struggles.