The first thing I noticed when I started reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, was the writing style. Her writing style would be considered “Informal” due to how accurate the dialogue is when actually spoken in conversations. I myself wouldn’t consider it informal, taking a language that was forced on you and making it your own shouldn’t be considered informal given its history. The quote “Literature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it” (C.S. Lewis) embodies this story because of the writing style. The descriptiveness and the spelling of certain words give the reader the true essence of the setting, the era, the emotions, and the characters. The author can grasp the feelings of anger and hesitation of the character who has seen clear differences in the character’s social and economic lifestyle compared to others. This adds to reality, especially for adults reading this story who at some point in their childhood also felt like this.
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One thought on “Citlali Ramos Discussion 3”
I agree with you fully on what you said in your response. I also pointed out in my response that the way the author talked and used slang was very helpful to better connect with the characters. I also like how you point out the way she describes Sylvia showing and expressing her anger. I felt like she was very upset at the fact that all the other kids were siding with Miss Moore and she was feeling powerless over them now. I believe that she understood the lesson that Miss Moore was trying to explain, but chose to find little things to make her angry and give pushback on the topic. I just wished that her cousin Sugar would’ve stepped up more for herself at the end and spoke up about how she felt, instead of siding with Sylvia, basically allowing her to win her over.