Sep 16 2009
The Lesson ^_^
The Lesson” by Toni Bambara, is a story involving a well educated teacher revealing the inequities of life to children that don’t understand. Although this story is very short, it is also exceedingly complex. The main character, Sylvia, is the story’s narrator and she is stubborn and hard-headed but also bright and determined. At the beginning of the story, she seems uninterested in receiving an education in any way, and she thinks learning is a waste of a “perfectly good swim day” (199). However, her negative attitude towards life shifts when her teacher takes her and her classmates to an overly-priced toy store. All of the students are awe-struck by the prices of such simple toys, and Sylvia even compares a $1195 sailboat to a sailboat set she bought “for a quarter at Pop’s” (199). With the unbelievable price of the toys on her mind, Sylvia begins to think about what kind of people would spend that much for “performing clowns and $1000 for a toy sailboat” (200), addressing how that kind of money would be a precious treasure for her family. Sylvia understands the purpose of the trip to the toy store, but she is too humble to speak her mind. However, one of the other less modest students, Sugar, has an epiphany and states how she thinks it’s foolish for people to spend a ridiculous amount of money on toys when that money should be equally given to the people of society who want to pursue happiness, despite any aspects that might get in the way. At the end of the story, Sylvia changes by becoming determined to get her part of the pleasure of life. She understands the unfairness of society and she won’t let anything stop her; completely opposite of the stubborn, uncaring girl at the beginning of the story.
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