This story “The Lesson” gives a glimpse into the mind of a child growing up in the ghettos of the inner city. The narrator, Sylvia and her peers are taken on a trip to F.A.O Schwartz by Miss Moore. Miss Moore seems to be kind of a mentor to the children in the story. She is described as a college educated black American woman. She has a sense of obligation and duty to expose the children to the differences in class and society. Sylvia points out every detail of Miss Moore, from her hair, the way she speaks, even the way the parents react to her. I think Miss Moore being the opposite of what Sylvia is used to elicits her negative feelings towards her. I detect a great amount of destain from Sylvia towards Miss Moore. It’s as if Miss Moore’s way of mentoring gets under Sylvia’s skin. I believe Miss Moore does this knowingly to provoke thought. This is the set up of the day described in the story.
Something that really stood out to me in the story was the power dynamic in the group of peers. Sylvia though young, seemed to be very opinionated and head strong. I view her as a leader in this group. It seems as if Miss Moore pointing out the glaring inequalities they all experienced, was a threat. This is highlighted when Sugar was intrigued by Miss Moores lesson. Sylvia immediately attempted to stop her from engaging with Miss Moore. After the day was concluded, Sylvia did get the lesson that was intended, thought she never admitted it to Miss Moore. She considers a toy clown that costs $35.00, and ends up questioning who are these people that shop here. I believe the job Miss Moore set out to do was accomplished that day. If nothing else, the children had something to think about, even Sylvia. The wonder of being a mentor is that lessons you teach can be learned for years to come.
The story was a great picture how growing up in poverty can distort your view of the world. These children had no idea what they didn’t have. This one instance gave them a taste of how the other half lived. Great story in my opinion.
4 thoughts on “James Terry Discussion 4”
Terry, thanks for jumping in so early in the week. Your observations about Sylvia and Miss Moore are astute. I’m especially struck by your comments about how Sylvia feels threatened by what Miss Moore has to offer. Her antagonism toward Miss Moore seems to come from her knowledge that the woman she so dislikes is right. Only Sylvia, of all the children, truly takes the lesson to heart and determines to control the direction of her life.
I agree with you that growing up in a slum is going to distort a child’s world view, they have limitations in the way they see things. Miss Moore takes them to visit a toy store and they find out that the price of one toy is enough to buy furniture for their whole family. This will make them question what kind of people are buying these expensive toys and the children will take this lesson to heart.
Thank you for valuable discussion, John. I like your vision of Sylvia’s experience. It seems to be really stunned and painful for her, she has never thought about the unfairness of the society before, however very often only that kind of shock can open your eyes to the disgusting reality. That’s a driving force of changes, that’s how new “Rosa Parks” can be born.
James* my apologies