Summary of The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara Essay -- Toni Cade Bambara

The Lesson by Toni Cade BambaraThe Lesson, by Toni Cade Bambara, portrays a group of children bread and butter in the slums of new-fangled York City around 1972. They seem to be content living in poverty in some real unsanitary conditions. one and lonesome(prenominal)(a) character, turn a loss Moore, the childrens self appointed mentor, takes it upon herself to further their education during the summertime months. She feels this is her civic duty because she is educated. She used F.A.O. Schwarz, a very expensive toystore, to pick up them a lesson and inspire them to strive for success and attempt to better themselves and their situations.At the beginning of the tosh, the author gives us the feeling that a child is narrating this flooring. She as well shows that the child, Sylvia, is at that age where she feels that adults are silly and she knows everything. Back in the old age when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones jus t right, this lady moved on our block with nappy pilus and proper speech and no makeup. (Bambara 470) Sylvia also tells us about her milieu while referencing Miss Moore. And we kidna hated her too, hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our handb whole walls and stank up our hallways and stairs so you couldnt halfway play hide-and-seek without a damn gas mask. Miss Moore was her name. The only woman on the block without a first name. (Bambara 470) This is our demonstration to Miss Moore. She is an educated, well groomed person and the children resent her because she is different and their parents mogul them to spend time with her in the interest of education.On the day the story takes place, Miss Moore has rounded up the neighborhood kids and is going to bring them to F.A... ...t. We all start reciting the pricetag like were in assembly. Handcrafted sailboat made of fibreglass at one thousand one hundred ninety-five dollars.Unbelieveable , I hear myself say and am really out(p). (Bambara 472) The prices of the previous two items stunned the children, but the sailboat really brought home the idea.At the end of the story is when Miss Moores motive was revealed. She did not want to bring the kids on a field trip. She was interested in giving them a sustain to succeed by showing them that some people are very successful and can afford such things. She hopes that they will want to be one of those people instead of a person that, like so many others, are just content with what they have.Works CitedRoberts, Edgar V., Jacobs, Henry E. Literature. The Lesson. 470-475. Toni Cade Bambara. New Jersey Prentice-Hall. 2001