Week 4 Discussion

In a post of about 150 words, please tell which of the semester’s readings had the most meaning for you and why.   Firstly, I would like to point out that all reading materials in this class were very interesting, informative and deep. Each and every reading would make me see things differently. After reading the weekly materials, my point of view would get broader and broader. Personally, my favourite article is the one I chose for the research paper “Araby” by James Joice. “Araby” is my favourite reading due to various reasons. The most interesting part of the story is how the meaning of it is really deep and hidden behind the words. “Araby” is one of the articles you cannot analyze after reading it once, but you have to at least go through it twice to understand the main idea. I love how the author uses the ligh and darkness to show us the difference between real world and the fantasy. I love how the author describes each moment in details and puts the meaning behind every sentence. I would highly recommend this article to any of my friends!

During this semester the reading that had the most meaning to me is “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. This reading had the most meaning to me because Young Langston was forced to lie and sit at the alter with the other children. When I was young, I remember going through something like this. My mom loved going to church and would drag me along. She would get really upset and hated that I refused to participate. A few times my mother called me into her room, just so I can listen to her read the Bible; I always fell asleep, and she hated it. One day I told her I’d take the Bible and will read it, from that day on she calmed down a little. She wanted me to believe in God and Jesus just to make her happy, but it made me miserable; that’s when I came up with a way to make her happy without making myself sad or mad. This goes to say that “Salvation” by Langston Hughes is an example that sometimes adults will force kids to be religious when a child can care less.

In “The Lesson” the secondary main character is a black woman named Miss Moore. She has a somewhat jumbled appearance which lets the townespeople feel justified in making fun of her. Unfortunately, eventhough she is college-educated, as a result, she tends to spend her time with the kids of the town. She invites any and all the kids with their vastly differing lives and backgrounds. Most of the kids don’t exactly enjoy their time with her and call her boring.  As naive as kids are, they don’t understand the reason for her bringing them to these places. When in reality, she is trying to educate them on the economic inequalities of the town and how far it reaches.  On the other hand, probably her most inexperienced child, Mercedes, is a young girl with a wealthy family. In turn, she was more happy and more well-off. She didn’t exhibit the kind of bitterness the other kids did as she didn’t have a reason to. I liked the example of the paperweight. One of the kids pointed out an expensive paperweight not knowing its purpose of it. Mercedes not only tells the kids that she has her own desk but with other goods on top of it… along with the paperweight. 

Miss Moore is trying to teach the students about the injustice of her country. She took the students to the toy store so they knew how some people could afford to buy things that would cost them their food money for the year. She wanted the kids to learn a lesson about how unfair their country is. She was like a role model for the students. Sylvia is the story’s main character who’s telling the story from her point of view. She tells us how she doesn’t like her teacher, Miss Moore. Sylvia tells us how she thought the toy story was too expensive and why people would buy the toys for too much money. Even though Sylvia and the other students talk behind the teacher’s back and do not appreciate what she has done for them, she still tries her best to teach the students a lesson.

The two characters from “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Mercedes, and Sylvia clearly show contrast in their experience and point of view in response to the visit to the FA0 Schwarz toy store.  I associate Mercedes with a wealthy family(one little portion of the society) when she emphasizes that the price tags of the toys were not much of a surprise for her and whenever she wishes to have one, she can get it. On the contrary, the rest of her classmates were stunned by every piece in the store, especially by the price tag which didn’t make sense to them since similar products were found in a different location at a way cheaper price. Sylvia was one of my classmates and all she could think of was who would pay for those insane prices.  She expresses her anger by asking Miss Monroe “Watcha bring us here for, Miss Moore?” but later on everything falls in its place and the lesson of the experience is revealed. At the end of the trip, everyone was overwhelmed to know that there is a part of society that lives differently from what they used to see and live.  When did Miss Monroe ask what did you learn from the class? Mercedes responded that she will return when she has her birthday money while the rest of the class including Sylvia thought that price tags could equal to the rent or feed six-seven family expenses. The inequality gap between poor and rich was huge that so the lesson was “poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie” and change the system.

The two characters I choose from “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara are Mercedes and Sugar. Mercedes is the only one of the eight children that doesn’t seem fazed by the insane prices at the toy store. She barely even talked when visiting the toy store that I forgot she was a character until she finally said something. When she did start talking it was to join the conversation about the paperweight and desks and unlike the other children she has a desk and stationery. When entering the store she is the only one able to walk into the store and act normal. After the day is over and everyone is asked what they thought about the store she is the only one who actually wanted to go back to buy something. Sugar’s experience is different as she went from a child who would yell about wanting this and that. She then like the other children was surprised about how expensive everything was and felt out of place when in the store. When asked about her experience only her and the narrator Sylvia understood what exactly Miss Moore wanted to teach them about inequality.

“The lesson” is a story which shows how some young people are aware of socio-economic inequality. There are two characters, Sylvia and Sugar, that show the difference in their understanding of socio-economic equality their thoughts and actions when they visit FAO Schwartz. For example, Sugar said “You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” This statement of hers clearly shows that she has some understanding of finances as she knows that the amount of money spent on one of her and her friends’ necessities is inconsequential to those who shop at FAO Schwartz. Therefore, it shows that she is aware of the socio-economic inequality that she faces. On the other hand, Sylvia is angry at the situation but is not able to put it into words. “And I’m jealous and want to hit her. Maybe not her, but I sure want to punch somebody in the mouth.” Sylvia is angry at the fact that the sailboat cost a lot but is unable to communicate why she is angry at this particular situation. This clearly shows that Sylvia is not as knowledgeable as Sugar regarding socio-economic inequality.

The passage, “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, teaches children about the different viewpoints in the world, and how in certain circumstances we all see different things, more specifically our financial circumstances. The children in the passage were taken to the FAO Schwarz Toy Store. The prices in the toy store were remarkably high, which taught the children to learn more about money and purchases, that not everyone has access to everything, and more importantly, to be grateful, because what may seem a reasonable price to you, may not seem the same way to someone else. Sylvia is the main character in the story, she explains to the readers what she sees, hears, and thinks. Sylvia is a very observant young lady and kept detailed notes in her head about the people she comes into contact with, as well as what she does. She explains her hatred for Ms. Moore at the beginning of the passage by explaining how she always assigned them boring activities. When she arrives at the toy store, she immediately belittles the prices and was stunned by the items that was being sold. She kept on complaining about ridiculous they were. On the other hand, Mercedes was another student that did not seem too bothered by the prices and the items that were being sold. She explains that she would like to pay a visit to the FAO Schwarz Toy Store again when she can get her birthday money. This immediately explains that, financially, her life was more stable than the other children’s. Her family had money, and whatever she asked for she had probably gotten without any hesitation.  She immediately stood out to me, because of her enjoyment and agreement at the store, while other students were complaining around her.

“The Lesson” is a very interesting story by Toni Cade Bambara. In this story, there are two people named Mercedes and Sylvia and they both visited the “FAO Schwarz Toy Store”, they both had different experiences. When they first arrived, Sylvia realized the area they are in is dressed in expensive clothing. It made her upset and annoyed by it, and I think it’s because she came from a family that wasn’t very wealthy. Throughout the whole time, Sylvia was thinking how the money people are using to buy these expensive toys could be used for her family with rent, and more important things. On the other hand, Mercedes came from a wealthy family and was surprised by all the expensive toys and how the world is sort of different in the expensive toy store. She was sort of motivated and wanted to go back to the store with her own money to purchase. Mercedes had a complete opposite “impulsive” reaction that Sylvia had to the toy store. Mercedes was not bothered by the store, while Sylvia on the other hand was completely bothered and made it clear she did not like the place.

In the short story “The Lesson” we learned that Ms. Moore’s goal was to inspire and motivate these young girls but also shed light onto economic inequality going on. It seems to be that without teaching these kids about wealth, they would have never really imagined a life that has more to offer other than living in poverty. I loved Ms. Moore’s as their role model, she is educated, well spoken, patient and very caring. Ms. Moore was determined from the start about influencing the kids, she didn’t lose sight of her goal. Sylvia was a carefree girl that is used to living a limited lifestyle with zero ambition. She doesn’t seem to have much knowledge about the outside world in terms of wealth. Her character changes dramatically from bravery to shame. She felt as if she didn’t belong, she felt threatened about entering such an expensive store that didn’t align with her lifestyle.

Ms. Moore is a representation of a new future, “a symbol of changing times” as it was described in the critical essay on “The Lesson”. Ms. Moore stood out in the neighborhood and was different from all the parents not only because she had a college degree but with her outlook on life and her understanding of justice, unlike the rest of people in the community she disdains the church and even her physical appearance highlights her being different “she has nappy hair” and she “wears no makeup”. When Ms. Moore brought the kids to the F.A.O Shwarts toy store it opened up a curtain into the world they didn’t know of and we could clearly see a difference in kid’s reaction. While Sylvia, who is usually so confident and bossy in her hood, for the first time feels shy and ashamed, scared to go into the store. Finally “tumbled in like a glued-together jigsaw done all wrong”, getting everyone’s attention at the store and being out of place. Meanwhile Mercedes acts like she belongs to that world unlike the rest of the kids in the group she confidently squeezes past them “smoothing out her jumper and walking right down the aisle”. She was the only one to have a desk at home and proudly comments that her father would buy the sailboat toy for her if she wanted it. Mercedes feels proud to belong to this “white world reality”. The only lesson she takes home with her from this field trip is that she would like to come back there again with her birthday money. Meanwhile Sylvia’s vision of the reality has been shifted significantly and she is going through a rollercoaster of emotions that challenge her perception of the world she’s been living in up until now. She […]

In the short story “The Lesson” by Toni Bambara you are introduced to a wide variety of characters. There are 3 characters that stand out to me for how much they contrast in the toy store. Sylvia, Mercedes, and Miss Moore all stood out to me. Sylvia stood out for how headstrong she is always wanting her 2 cents in every conversation, wanting to be the leader and drag Sugar with her to any event that Sylvia had planned for the two. She has a very negative view of the world due to the environment that she is growing up and seems to not care much about others and only cares for herself and Sugar since she was “just right”. Miss Monroe was an educated woman who graduated from college and took it upon herself to look after the young ones’ education. Mercedes as she contrasted Sylvia as she seemed the nicest and most caring out the bunch. Miss more decided round up all the kids by the mailbox and wanted to take them on a trip down to the toy store. Once they got into the cab and started making their way to the store Miss Moore decided to hand Sylvia a 5 dollar bill and told her to give the cab driver a 10% tip of what the total come out to. Once they got to the destination the meter came to 85 cents and for a while Sylvia tries to calculate the 10% until Sugar tell her to give the cab driver a dime. Sylvia thought to herself that the man didn’t need the tip and kept it for herself. Once everyone got out the cab they decided to look into the windows before heading into the store. For every item that each kid wanted Sylvia had […]

When reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara there is a clear distinction between two characters and their experiences in the FAO Schwarz toy store. These two characters are Mercedes and Sugar. From the very start once they get out of the taxi they see all the white people in their attire. They head to the toy store and see a toy that catches their eyes instantly but once they know the price they are in awe. Mercedes seeing all the fancy stuff shows from the start that she is more educated on certain things and is more fortunate than the others seeing that she owns a stationary and that she would go back when she got her birthday money. On the other hand, Sugar tells us that even saving up all the allowance money they would have already outgrown the microscope that they had seen in the window. The clear separation of social class and education shows that they have completely different upbringings. Mercedes isn’t fazed when she finds out what stuff costs at the store and wants to come back when she gets money, while Sugar knows she isn’t fortunate enough even if she saved for some time.

The two characters I chose are Mercedes and Sylvia who visited the FAO Schwarz store and seemed to have different reactions. They both saw that toys were so expensive. They both realized that a sailboat toy cost was the same as the cost of rent, but it seemed like Mercedes really wasn’t surprised. She mentioned that she would like to go back on her birthday when she gets money. She seemed to come from a family who didn’t struggle. I felt like this isn’t something new to her and she is okay with it. As opposed to Sylvia, was upset and angry about it. She was surprised that there are people who are okay with buying these toys when that same amount of money can be used for bills and rent. Sylvia seemed like she was interested at the store but didn’t want to show it to Miss Moore. I think was Mercedes was nonchalant about it. On the other hand, Sylvia was processing her thoughts. I think Sylvia didn’t find it fair that she wasn’t part of that life.

The story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara focuses on equality, class, appearance, and education. The story raises the issue of unfairness in society and the way children learn about it.  While we read the story, we come across with multiple characters. Miss Moore is  a school teacher who constantly plans different  activities for the kids. One day she decides to take kids to the FAO Schwartz on the fifth avenue. As soon as kids arrive to the location, everyone seems very intimidated by the prices and the toys. I would like to discuss and compare behavior of two characters, Mercedes and Sylvia. Sylvia has always had a very negative attitude towards Miss Moore. She did not like the way Miss Moore would speak or dress. She hated her for her college degree. Sylvia and her friend Sugar mock the woman because of her “nappy hair” and “proper speech.” Once they arrive at the FAO Schwartz, Sylvia realizes that they’re on Fifth Avenue, where everyone is dressed in expensive clothing. It immediately makes her feel upset and irritated. When they enter the store she did not understand what was the point of seeing all those fancy expensive toys without any money.  She imagines how ridiculous it would be to ask her mother to spend that much on a toy clown. Sylvia thinks about all the things that much money could pay for in her family. On the other hand, how see a different reaction from Mercedes who was very excited and happy to see the place. She even says that she wants to go there with her birthday money. She truly appreciated everything she was and felt motivated at the end. She felt that she could do so much more in life regardless of the circumstances. Seeing all the amazing […]

Two characters that caught my attention in “The Lesson” are Sylvia and Mercedes. Firstly, Sylvia doesn’t want to go to the store at all and doesn’t even know why she’s going as she knows she doesn’t belong there. She has a feeling of shame when Miss Moore urges the children to go inside and has the shame of being lower class, hating Miss Moore for even taking her. Sylvia doesn’t understand why people buy such expensive toys as she sees such an expensive one but then sees one that’s $35 that she likes but realizes the money used on it can help her family instead. On the other hand, Mercedes wasn’t surprised by the prices of the toys and she’s already an upper-class girl and it’s normal for her. She knows more of the items than the other kids as she has expensive things and it’s nothing to her. She wants to come again with her birthday money and buy more toys and it’s like a shrug on the shoulder for her, nothing expensive really. 

In “The Lesson”, the two characters I want to compare are Mercedes and Sylvia. Their characters had a different experience in the lesson that Miss. Moore was trying to teach them. Mercedes didn’t see the lesson because she out of the group had the most money the the only one that had a desk at home. On the other hand, Sylvia realizes that there was no equality in the world. Sylvia realized that in order to afford these expensive toys, you’ll have to be like the who’re people or live like them, but for Mercedes she wanted to be like the white people, seeing no wrong in what she learned. This story is what I can relate to because me being in the “hood” I never realized the inequality in the world because everyone around me had the same. It was until I went out of my neighborhood to travel to school was when I seen the difference and mine and other neighborhoods. And also social media had open my eyes that in the “ rich or suburban” neighborhoods had more than mines. They had “better”. They they buy things that I wouldn’t even touch because what was taught in the “hood” was to be cautious on what you spend. Sylvia was right when she stated “…this is not much of a democracy if you ask me.”

     In “The Lesson”, Flyboy is someone who comes across as more mature and way more talkative than the others. Based on what he said and did he was someone who understood a lot about the things around him like how to manipulate the adults into pitying him by saying things like how he doesn’t have a house. He also spoke up more and was more confident with himself even though he might be wrong at times.      In contrast, Junebug was way more naive about things and it shows how she said she didn’t have a desk at home and then questioned if she was right by saying “do we?”       Although they were both different in terms of personality they both seemed to understand that the toys in the store were for pretty wealthy people and were able to see the financial differences even if it wasn’t at a deeper level than others might have.

The short story “The Lesson’ By author and advocate for African American and women’s rights, Toni Cade Bambara included nine characters. Eight of which are adolescents and one adult. The emphasis of this story in my eyes were put on Sylvia and Miss Moore, two other supporting characters are Sugar and Mercedes. Sylvia had a rotten and bitter attitude towards most things, especially anything that Miss Moore had to say or do. Sylvia wanted to control everything around her, she despised the idea of not being in charge. I think it made her feel belittled and not much of anything other than a young black girl that felt poor and helpless, she needed her ego to drive her to feel of importance, apart of her being headstrong made her a good leader, but not always a good student. Sugar was her right hand girl, they were “the only ones just right.” Sugar followed behind Sylvia most of the time. Mercedes was a little different from all the other characters, she had more than what they had to settle with and her outlook on the division between her African American community and the White American community differed. Miss Moore was an educated black woman, a neighbor that felt responsible for the children in her neighborhoods education. Although, the parents talked poorly of Miss Moore at times, they knew what she could do for their children’s futures and success. Miss Moore took all the children to a toy store, unfortunately it was not the children had hoped. It was a lesson, not a shopping spree. Mercedes thought highly of the rich and white, she wanted to reach that level of success. What she did not realize is that there was a separation of her community and the other communities, that what she […]

In the short story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara we read about the kids’ visit to FAO Schwarz and their experience there. We understand that those kids come from a poor neighborhood. They went to FAO Schwarz with the new neighbor who they hated, Miss Moore. Miss Moore believes in education for the young generation, which is why she took them to this store, to let them see and experience something that they never see in their neighborhood. The goal of this trip was to teach them about money, democracy, and equal chances for all citizens. How rich people can enjoy the possibility of buying luxury goods, in this case, expensive toys. The two characters I decided to compare between are Sugar and Sylvia. Sylvia is talking about her and Sugar as one team during the story, they both were “the only ones just right”, and they both hated Miss Moore together. That is why it was such a shock to Sylvia when Sugar decided to respond to Miss Moore’s question after their experience at the store. It seems like Sylvia is more stubborn and is not open to new people or views. On the other hand, Sugar, who suppose to be on Sylvia’s same page was suddenly answered Miss Moore’s question of what they think about the trip to Schwarz.

The two characters from Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” that I’ll talk about are Sylvia and Miss Moore. Sylvia is shown to be an arrogant person who doesn’t mind expressing herself, speaking fluently and unhindered, singing the truths if necessary, and freely just as she also seemed to dislike Miss. Moore. Sylvia got a different experience compared to the others as she was angry and distressed visiting FAO Schwarz because the prices in the store were close to what it might cost to feed some families meaning they were very expensive this showed the Economic inequality within their society. In the end, she ended up being an optical person to improve her life. In addition, Miss Moore is an educated person, a black woman who sought improvement for the children and her understanding of Sylvia’s thoughts towards her. However, the trip to FAO Schwarz was definitely an eye-opening experience for both Sylvia and all the children and it really gave them what society is like for different groups of people this was something that really made her see what Miss. Moore shared with her the same point of view on the unbalanced system in their society.

The characters I want us to focus in is Ms. Moore and Sylvia, In “the lesson” by Tony Cade Bambara” e can see Ms. Moore as a very intelligent and educated person, she is first introduce and is compare like a old weird woman, but than as the kids meet her, We get to really know her and she is a well educated person and a person who sees society and others things their true color’s, Sylvia, is a girl who we know as a person who thinks different than the other kids, she Is also smart her way, she looks out for herself and she ha her own skills, We can compare both there experience as a “way of saying what in the world is this, ” or “Is this society crazy” as angry too because they can realize how those who are rich can, or are crazy enough to spend more than 5 dollars and more to buy a toy, In my opinion, they think the same way because Ms. Moore wanted the kids to know how bad is the society and how those just who have money can send money on whatever even if it’s nonsense. Sylvia is angry because she can’t believe or does not like the way those who have money spend money on whatever they want and do not actually see how hard is to get or seen money, like those who do not have as much money as them.

The characters I want to focus on are Mercedes and Sylvia. Mercedes is a very clear outlier to all the children in this story. Everyone else had some sort of reaction to the toy store. Every other child was in some state of disbelief. She was the only one that walked in and was not shocked by the amount of money that all the toys cost. She treated it like it was something that she was used to seeing, that was normal to her. Mercedes seems to know more about the items than the other children like she knows what the paper weight does. Her main response to the whole experience was when she casually mentioned she wanted to come again when she got birthday money. Now Sylvia had the complete opposite response. Her was one of shock and more anger. She seems to almost understand the point that Miss Moore is trying to show her, but Sylvia is having a hard time accepting it. It angers her that other people get to have these extremely expensive toys, and have the money to so causally spend 1,000 dollars on a sailboat. I’m sure that it is also worse that one of her classmates gets to have this kind of life and Sylvia doesn’t.

Miss Moore’s character is presented as a kind, good-hearted, educated black woman that wants to help the people in her community, specifically the children. This alone brings about a sense of jealousy within her community because of how she carries herself and the life that she chooses to live. In the story we are told that the people in the community talk about her and not in a good way, she chooses to do things differently such as not going to church and throughout history we see how important religion is in a black community. But that doesn’t stop Miss Moore from living her life and sharing her knowledge with the kids, she still remains kind and this shows that she really does have a good heart.  Sylvia is one of the kids that Miss Moore extends her knowledge with but they don’t always see eye-to-eye because of Sylvia’s pride. Sylvia is shown as this independent kid that won’t hold her tongue back on anyone. But as we get to know her character more she lets her guard down a bit and she starts to see the lesson that Miss Moore wants to teach them.The trip to FAO Schwarz was definitely an eye opening experience for all of the kids and it really showed them what society is like for different groups of people.  Before even entering the store the kids noticed how the people around them dressed from the way adults in their community dressed, it was more luxurious and expensive. Miss Moore blended in well with these people but the kids were so amazed by everything. The lesson that Miss Moore taught them after being in the store was an eye-opener for all because the money that people spend on useless stuff in that store could be spent […]

Ms. Moore’s character juxtaposes the narrator, Sylvia’s point of view in a lot of ways. It was done purposely to show the main theme of the story. Class and status is the common theme throughout  “The Lesson”, Toni Cade Bambara uses both characters to show their similarities yet differences. Ms. Moore is depicted as a put-together wealthy educated woman. Not only does she have a college degree but she tries to educate the children in their community. It’s also alluded to that she is unmarried and doesn’t go to church. Sylvia is the opposite. She’s a young girl who is shown to be very outspoken and rowdy. When they go to the store, Ms.Moore is very calm and collected, watching the way the children react to being in the store. Sylvia before heading into the store was very headstrong and confident but after entering was timid. She felt shameful being in the store with such expensive toys far out of her budget. Everyone else in the store is acting unphased, being regular shoppers.    Ms.Moore took them there on purpose to learn about money. FAO Schwarz represents what Ms.Moore achieved in her life. She can blend in amongst the people in the store while Sylvia starts to understand that the way her family lives compared to people that can shop there is completely different. Bambara uses things we couldn’t imagine being privileges that Sylvia and the other children don’t have such as a desk and stationery in your home. Both characters are very intelligent but have very different ways of living. Ms.Moore’s proper socially acceptable way of living clashes with Sylvia’s childhood rebellion. In the end, both of them have the upper hand, both having the intelligence to understand the way the world works and where they stand in society.

Alex Barrios  Professor Conway  ENG 201 Sec. 0517  September 14, 2022  Personally, Sylvia’s attitude towards her peers and to Ms. Moore contrasts to her friend Sugar but it’s relatable and understandable. Sylvia wasn’t all too interested nor was she concerned with the social and economic inequalities that were going on at that time period. She showed agitation towards Ms. Moore who is an educated and older woman that simply wanted the kids to know that there is more to experience out in the world. Sugar, who was more open and receptive to the lessons, asked questions and showed curiosity. She was aware that the toys were so expensive that even if you were to combine the allowances between all the kids. However, Sylvia only focused on taking the money for herself, which perhaps says a lot about her mentality. She was raised to spend money on what’s necessary only. That any toy regardless of the price was simply a luxury that she could never afford and that her passive-aggressive attitude could simply be her feeling jealousy and resentment towards her current circumstances and to Ms. Moore for reminding her of the hard reality that black people were living in during her time. 

The characters I plan on talking about would be Sylvia and Sugar.  In the beginning, they were just kids in a neighborhood doing what kids do, then a lady name Miss Moore moved in and taught the class Sylvia and Sugar are in.  Miss Moore asked the type of kids if they knew what money was. She then brought the course to a toy store called FAO Schwarz. The kids then began touching and looking at multiple toys, wishing those toys were theirs and how a kid name Mercedes said, “My father buy it for me if I wanted it.” Sylvia and Sugar were shocked by the price tags in the store. Sylvia saw a thirty-five-dollar clown. She started comparing what she could buy with thirty-five dollars; the whole household could visit Grand-daddy Nelson in the country, pay the rent, the piano bill, and a bunk bed for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Sylvia was so shocked that a toy could cost so much. Sugar, on the other hand, started talking about the cost of a toy and society, “Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?.” Sylvia is unhappy about Sugar talking all smart, so she tries forcing Sugar to shut up by stomping her. Sylvia seems jealous and mad about how smart Sugar was talking in class, so in the end, Sylvia leaves Sugar and goes on her way, saying, “ain’t nobody going to beat me at Nuthin.”

Miss Moore vs Sugar Miss Moore is most likely the teacher for the group of kids. She is the one that took the group to the toy store and her response to the experience was probably the calmest of everyone. She planned the trip out to teach the kids the lesson and has seen this before in her life but she is still in this lower class of people. In the end, she was very happy that her lessons came through for some of the students for example Sugar, who is the narrator’s friend who also lives in Harlem with her family, who spoke up about the inequality she saw after the trip. Sugar started out the trip by asking “Can we steal?” Sugar asks very seriously like she’s getting the ground rules squared away before she plays.” (2). this really showed her thinking process of how stealing is normal where she lived but then she see the boat which made her realize the inequality in the society.

After reading “The Lesson” By Toni Cade Bambara. The two characters I will be choosing to compare during their visit to F.A.O. Schwartz are Sylvia, and Sugar. As sugar entered the store she expressed how everything is expensive and was upset about the $1,000 she wasn’t really fond of being there. When Ms. Moore asked “what did you think of FAO Schwartz?” sugars response was “I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat cost”. Sylvia who I believe is the protagonist in the story reaction to Ms. Moore question was her feeling embarrassed because Ms.Moore gave her a shrilly look. After M.S Moore asked “did anybody else learn anything today?” she walked away because she didn’t like the fact that Ms. Moore brought her them to that expensive toy store. but overall I feel as though they both had the same feeling but sugar was more vocal and nice about the whole ordeal and Sylvia did not speak about it she chose the rude approach and walked off.  

Upon arriving at FAO Schwartz all of the children seem to be very intimidated by the prices of items and the visual of fancy toys. However Mercedes did not allow that intimidation make her feel less than. Miss Moore took these children on a trip to show them something different from their normal everyday lives growing up poor. I feel like her hopes were to enlighten them to have a mindset that there is more to life, and they too can accomplish becoming wealthy. When the children approached the doors of this fancy toy store they hesitated. They had a sense of feeling like they didn’t belong. Mercedes confidence led the group inside. Her mindset became rich and that is how she portrayed herself regardless of her circumstances. Sylvia on the other hand was stuck in her ways and not budging to change her way of thinking. She felt like there was no point in being there especially if they didn’t have the money to buy anything. She even became upset with her cousin Sugar for interacting with Miss Moore about her experience in the store. In my opinion as Mercedes grow into adulthood that experience alone is going to motivate her to want more out of life. As for Sylvia she just may be content with what she is used to, which would be unfortunate.

The two characters I want to talk about are Mercedes and Sugar. I’m under the assumption Mercedes is a little younger than Sylvia and Sugar. I think Mercedes was trying to have an open and innocent experience at F. A. O. Schowartz. Instead of having to think about the price she just admired the toys and even wanted to come back with her birthday money.   Sylvia had a really different experience. She was angry and appalled about the prices in the store being close to what it could cost to feed multiple families. I understand Sylvia, it’s really sad as a kid realizing that you are poor. You see your parents struggling to put food on the table and become hyper aware to how much less you might have than others around you. You see your friends at school getting huge gifts or going on vacations. You don’t really get to enjoy your childhood. I think that is why Sylvia felt so much anger towards this experience. Being at the store probably made her feel like she was being taunted.

“The lesson” was about these group of kids that were taken on a field trip to 5th Ave by Miss Moore. She took them on this trip to teach them about money show them how the other side lived, the group noticed how expensive things were. They were one person in the group that stood out her name were Mercedes it was obvious she was a clear difference in the group because it seems like money wasn’t hard for her to get so she was treated different. They noticed how expensive things were on  that side of town, Miss Moore also were teaching them the value of money and to see how the other side lived. It also show how unfair the system were in the United States, Miss Moore opened their eyes to their reality of the world.

I just wanted to pop in here to give some general feedback about your posts for the first two weeks. Week 2: Your responses to  “The Most Handsome Drowned Man”  were sensitive and intelligent. Some of you mentioned the compassion that is seen in the story. Others focused on the idea of keeping an open mind and having a willingness to change. Others wrote about the importance of imagination and inspiration. All of these observations were wonderfully expressed, and many directly addressed the prompt about why I might have assigned this story as the first. All were valid and part of the reason. One answer by Alex Barrios hit particularly close. He wrote, “Maybe some of us are the village, and this course is our Esteban.” For me, this story is about the power of stories to change lives. In the story, a community comes together to create a story from their imagination about a man who has no story when he washes onto  the store. In their made-up story, they imagine a life for him that is greater than their own. Then they set out to change their own lives to live up to the myth they have created. My hope is that the stories we read in this class will expand your perspectives in a similar way. I hope that at least one of the works of literature we read in this course will stay with you forever. Yes, I mean it. Forever. Week 3: What I noticed and appreciated about most of the Week 3 responses was the clear response to the prompt about the change in the narrator. Sometimes students who are new to studying literature end up retelling the story rather than analyzing it. In ENG 201, we are not writing book reports like the […]

In this story two of the characters seemed to have had different experiences at the toy store.  Sylvia, the main character, was observant and put on a false bravado through most of the story.  Despite having a dislike or “hatred” for Miss Moore, she seemed to absorb all the information she was giving to the children.  Even reciting it back with a cynical tone. The story reminded me of myself as a child. I was bold and loud and aggressive. I remained in my comfort zone which were the borders of my neighborhood. Like Sylvia, I was confident when I was there. It was familiar and everyone lived similar to how I did; In poverty, in the street with friends misbehaving.  Going into the toy store she expressed a feeling of shame. She said she’s never felt shy before and she didn’t know why she was feeling funny about being there.  The experience for her friend Mercedes was very different.  Mercedes seemed comfortable and assured that she could even come back to this highly expensive toy store and possibly buy something for her birthday.  Immediately I could separate how Sylvia and Mercedes life experience was very different. Especially after all the children shared the lack of study space and furniture because they were too poor to afford a luxury like that even though Mercedes explained how she had a nice study desk with personalized stationary gifted to her by her god mother.  I believe the shame Sylvia felt was the feeling of not belonging. Not being part of that world where a toy clown that merely flips and does pull ups on a bar could be equal to the expense of a household bill.  Unlike Sylvia, Mercedes pushed her way passed everyone in the entrance to the store and did […]