Vivian Rodriguez Discussion 3

Toni Cade brings us through many different facets in “The Lesson.” She explores economic disparity, the lack of socioeconomic security, and the effects of growing up in a marginalized community. A part of the story that I found very interesting, and one I could resonate with, is witnessing how Sylvia’s attitude changed as they made their way through the toy store. At the beginning of the story, Sylvia appears to be a very outspoken individual with strong opinions on her classmates, environment, and Miss Moore. However, as Miss Moore takes the children outside of their comfort zone, she’s able to evoke many different emotions out of them, including Sylvia. As an individual who grew up in the North Bronx within a poor community, I could resonate with her feelings of apprehensiveness and uncomfortability being in such an expensive store. I’ve had the pleasure of being a nanny to many different wealthy families in NYC, with whom I’ve traveled to The Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, and overseas. Similar to Sylvia, initially being within those dynamics and out of my element, I would feel uncomfortable as if I didn’t belong, “But I feel funny, shame. But what have I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody” (Sylvia). I would often times find myself rationalizing my being there and meeting such successful people. Unlike Sylvia, my feelings didn’t manifest into anger and resentment but more so a curiosity to learn as much about the places I was visiting and the people around me to further educate myself. Which was Miss Moore’s objective with the children—to provide them with exposure to cultivate a new way of thinking. I was saddened to realize that, unlike Sugar and Mercedes, who adopted an introspective attitude at the end of the trip, Sylvia remained indifferent and held on to her ignorant attitude. Regardless of the outcome, the trip proved to be beneficial because the children began to ask themselves who were the people who could afford such toys and what they did for a living. Being in the store had a positive effect on all of the children, regardless if they walked away taking anything from it. If I could rewrite the title of the essay, I would name it “The World Doesn’t Exist As We Live In It.” The reason I chose this title is because when you have a lack of knowledge and resources, you believe that the world around you merely exists as you see it. But the trip to the toy store helped the children expand their minds.