Tony Ng Wu Discussion 4

In the short story ‘‘The Lesson’’ by Toni Cade Bambara is about a group of children living in a poor area of New York City who are taken on a trip to a wealthy neighborhood. The two main figures I chose are Miss Moore, a highly educated local teacher, and Sylvia, a pupil on summer holiday. The main character immediately describes her crowded, scarcely populated neighborhood.

As the narrative goes on, Miss Moore concludes that it would be best for the kids to purchase gifts in a more affluent area. Most adults in the city of F.A.O. Schwartz pay for their own accommodation, but most children reside in government-subsidized housing. Like a woman wearing a mink coat in the summer, Sylvia immediately observes the stark socioeconomic differences between affluent White people and disadvantaged Black people.

Sylvia receives four dollars from Miss Moore at the end of the tour, which she saves for herself. Although it’s conceivable that some will assume Sylvia is stealing the cash from Miss Moore, I think is more likely that she has just lately learned the value of money. This is clear because from the fact that she had no idea how much money she had before heading to the toy store, particularly when she was in the cab. Sylvia had stolen Miss Moore’s four dollars, but she had also learned a valuable lesson.

Miss Moore decides to teach the kids about their living situations and how they should work to change how other people view them. Sylvia, a student, learned a lot from stealing to learning a moral even how vast the differences are, they can still prove their worth in the future. This is something that happens throughout the entire novel. The business, in Miss Moore’s opinion, will impart valuable lessons to the children and inspire them to develop into the kind of people she wants them to be.