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Choose two characters from “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and compare their response to the experience of visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store.
Please be sure to address comments to others by name.
Week 4 Discussion
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67 thoughts on “Week 4 Discussion”
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara few but two characters share similar experiences and emotions about what they encountered during their time visiting the FAO Schwarz to store. Rosie was confused as to why anyone would pay so much for toys just to have them break, it seemed as if she was implying that spending so much money on toys seemed pointless. When Rosie was asked what she thought about the toy store she replied by saying “white folks crazy”. Sylvia had an identical response to Rosie, in fact Sylvia talked about how many useful things money can be spent on instead of toys. Sylvia talked about how it could pay for her families bills, piano lessons, and even visiting her grandpa Nelson in the country. Both young women thought about how wasteful it would be to spend money on things that seem so insignificant compared to everything else. It even made me realize that sometimes I too take the money I have for granted when there are in worse situations.
Hi Giovanni
I don’t agree with you that their reactions to what miss more was trying to teach them were the same because Rosie ended up saying that white people are crazy, while Sylvia got an idea of the lesson but decided to not say anything. I kind of know that me having money where I can have a roof over my head is something that I just take for granted, so if I can give money to the less fortunate I will.
Hi Giovanni!!! I don’t know if it just me but I think that the response of those chapters were not that similar, Think Slyvia understand the lesson, and understand the economic inequality but this doesn’t change that she is not agree with spend money in unnecessary things but Rosie was giving like her opinion or what she think, but never understand the lesson.
Hey, Giovanni,
I wanted to add on to your response. “Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup” (1). This tells you so much already – our narrator is so self-centric. Everybody out there is so young and foolish with only the narrator and Sugar being the right ones. And this lady who’s moved onto the block has proper speech which tells you about the narrator’s immediate vicinity. They all speak in a vernacular along those lines and lays down a lack of appreciation towards education and being educated. Being educated makes the narrator have this assumption that the educated believe they are better than her.
Is this a lower-class story or an upper-class one? Bambara gives a gut punch right at the beginning making the reader unsure of the direction she is going. In comes Ms. Moore, and educator whose purpose is given by the title. “She’d been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young ones’ education…” (1). This implies a lot to the reader since it insinuates that the neighborhood – at least the parents – don’t bother to actively pursue an education. What does that say about the narrator and Sugar? If you were to teach them a lesson, would they even listen. The brilliance of Bambara’s writing comes from the subversive tact of Ms. Moore when it comes to teaching the narrator, this self-interested person, through active learning.
Hi, Giovanni Wright
I agree with your assignment because in this story the writer was trying to convey the message through the story. Money can be used for good things instead of buying the toy and wasting it. Children were also able to think that how people are wasting money by buying toys. The overall story was so nice and interesting where the children learn the big lesson from the toy store.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara I choose miss Moore and Sugar because I like the experience of this two character because miss Moore take the students to F.A.0.Schwarz, so the students can see all the expensive toy and see how people are spend a lot of money only in a simple toy. I like when miss Moore say “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”. I think people spend a lot of money in things that they don’t need. Sugar character is my favorite because I think that Sugar is the type of person that say what is going on with this society and I like how Sugar was acting after the experience that she have in the F.A.O.Schwarz.
Hello Kemeli, I think this is a great choice of characters because Sugar in fact got a deeper understanding in what Miss Moore was trying to show her along with everyone else. I also like how you stated what Miss Moore said because she was able to open up the perception of the children but the two I would say that understood it the most was Sugar and Sylvia but only Sugar stated her input. But great commentary.
Hi Kemeli, I think it’s interesting that you chose to examine Miss Moore, and after reading the text, I think she was actually disappointed by the lack of reactions in the rest of the kids, besides Sugar. After Sylvia stops Sugar from continuing on in her evaluation of what a democracy looks like, “Miss Moore looks [at Sylvia], sorrowfully” (Bambara). Perhaps what is saddest to Miss Moore is that as soon as Sylvia walks away, “Sugar has to run and catch up” (Bambara), which shows that though Sugar is capable and desires to reevaluate her situation (as Miss Moore wanted to show), she is heavily influenced by the other kids, such as Sylvia, who don’t share the same desires.
Kemeli, when Miss Moore says, “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, is an important part of the lesson. It shows the importance of how spending can be important because it can go into needs rather than desire or wants. However, I do agree and like the lesson Miss Moore is trying to teach the kids.
Hi Kemeli,:) I just wanted to say that I didn’t realize the effect Miss Moore had on the children, including sugar. I think Miss Moore did what she did because she wanted to inspire the children enough for them to become a part of the small percentage of people who gets a proper education. I believe that sugar is a really outgoing person, but she is also realistic, and I think she will be one to watch. It’s so bizarre that back then lives were so different between the upper and lower classes, its like living in a color-blind world, not being able to experience simple joys in life because you aren’t rich enough.
In ‘The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara the two characters responses that are comparable is in fact Rosie’s and Sugar’s though they share some interest in the toy store the perception thats lead back to it is coming to the realization that the way how society is showing the unfairness socioeconomic status that deeply affects the children because they have to suffer behind it. Rosie response is “White folks crazy” but, it goes deeper than that if you study the nature of why it was said in the first place. In my perspective it was more so said because if you look at society today everything around us is still increasing in money currency. Back in the 90’s a loaf of bread might’ve been 10cent but now it ranges from the price of anywhere between $1.89-$2.57. If noticed a lot of Caucasians run businesses that will benefit them in the long run and they place their businesses in areas that are predominately around a pay rate that will keep their businesses open. So back to Rosie’s response when she says white folks are crazy what she’s implying is that whatever it is they do for a living spending a thousand dollars on a boat is like spending a $1 for it theres no deep or real concern about the actual perception kids might look at it as. Then Sugar comes in an says “I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” realizing that money became a powerful way of actually getting what you want. Also realizing that it’s no way looking into the actual world that price ranges will actually go down for the satisfactory of the gift itself and actually making every child happy no matter color or race of one’s family. They response becomes comparable because they start to look at it through the lenses that in order to be happy with what you could possibly have unfortunately you have to have the money for it.
Hello Samijahrodriguez, I quite agree with you, it is good enough for many poor people can maintain everyday life. But it’s crazy for the rich, willing to spend so much money on this sailboat, this little money is nothing to the rich. There is really no money missing in real life, money always can make people happy, a small gift can make children happy for a long time.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore takes a group of poor kids who “live in the slums” (Bambara) to the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store on Fifth Avenue. In the story, the kids react similarly, in awe of toys that they have never seen, which represent a lifestyle that they have never experienced. However, Sugar’s verbalization of her experience at the toy store is different from that of the others. She says to Miss Moore that she doesn’t “think all of [them] put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs” (Bambara). Sugar goes on to question how she is living in a democracy, especially seeing that she is not getting “an equal crack at the dough” (Bambara). Sylvia and Mercedes, on the other hand, aren’t yet at the point where they quite understand the significance of the difference in prices. For example, Mercedes says that she’d “like to go [to the toy store] again when [she gets her] birthday money again” (Bambara). Sylvia, similarly, could see herself “asking [her] mother for a $35 birthday clown” (Bambara), despite knowing her mom will compare the price of the toy to that of their living expenses.
Hi Anna,
Mercedes and Sylvia almost have a similar desire and hope to one day buy whatever they want at FAO Schwartz. They both seem to know what they want and may stop at nothing to get it. Mercedes wants to be like the rich, undisturbed by the price tags. Although Sylvia is tough, she has pent up rage which she may use to propel her life in a different route. The path may help her achieve wealth.
There are nine characters in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. The article claim that the Miss Moore took eight children to learn about things outside of the slum area, that is a trip to the toy store. I really like the experience of two roles-Miss Moore and Sugar. Among them, I like Miss Moore very much because she has a sense of responsibility. She takes these poor children to contact them with unknown things, make them aware of the unequal distribution of wealth and reflects the inequality between the poor and the rich, and expresses her own beliefs. Sugar reflected that their combined food cost in a year is not as good as the cost of sailboat. She is the only child who shows inequality in American society and does not properly reflect the democratic principles on the nation was founded. No matter for which age the difference between rich and poor is always great. Money can indeed do a lot of things, but must be to have a respect heart.
Hey Shihao, I like your assessment of Miss Moore and Sugar. Miss Moore takes it on herself to educate the kids and expose them to the injustices of the world, if they like it or not. I thought it was out of character for Sugar who is a troublemaker who speak out the way she did. That goes to show how powerful the lesson truly was, that even she Sugar can’t pretend that the injustice is not there.
In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, I would like to compare the narrator of the story and sugar, they were similar but only one of them learned the lesson that Miss Moore was trying to teach them. The narrator showed rebellious behavior and would make comments on things he saw that he didn’t like. When the other characters in the story showed interest in the toys in the toy store, he tried to hide the fact that he was amazed. In the story, he got mad because of the prices of the things he saw, and he knew he couldn’t get them. Instead of telling miss Moore, he threw a tantrum saying that he wanted to get out of the store. This shows that he is the type of person who chooses to not say how he feels, and rather lie about it. But sugar when miss Moore asked about how people spend the same amount of money on a toy that could feed a whole family. She proceeds to answer with if there was more quality then everyone would have money and everyone would be equally happy. While the narrator doesn’t understand what she means and instead gets mad that she responded to miss Moore.
Hi Rances, I see that you said “he” when referring to the narrator, maybe because of the male voice in the audio because that’s what I thought at first, but the narrator is a girl (Sylvia). Also your analysis stood out to me because of the way you explained the differences between Sugar and Sylvia’s reaction. Even though they’re both coming from the same place financially, they seemed to have two different reactions. While sugar was curious and being engaging in Ms. Moore’s conversation, Sylvia was getting upset because she knew Ms. Moore’s intentions and didn’t want to feed into it.
“The Lesson” is a story of a woman (Miss Moore) from a neighborhood who makes an effort to teach the children in her neighborhood about the importance of money and education, and the financial inequality they will eventually face. Miss Moore, who is teaching the children to fight discrimination, comes up with the idea to take the children to the famous FAO Schwartz toy store in New York City. The plan was met by different reactions of the children. But Sylvia and Mercedes were almost similar. They are both confident, but unaware of the wealth disparity around them. Mercedes is unbothered and almost feels at home by all the wealth in FAO Schwartz. Sylvia, who is quite angry by the wealth and the lesson Miss Moore is trying to teach them. But when she leaves, she goes home and decides to work on herself and build a better future for herself.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Sylvia and Ms. Moore both had interesting responses to visiting the toy store, in fact, they both had responses towards each other (as we spoke about in class). In the beginning, Ms. Moore seemed to just casually want to take the kids to a toy store; that is until I seen the shift in mood of the story , where Ms. Moore was responding in ways with body movement and a clever tone to the children, as if she was trying to teach them something. Sylvia slowly had a realization of this change in the mood as they finally enter the store, and she starts to question it in her head, but she also starts to question Ms. Moore. As Sylvia begins to question her financial status, she asks, ” Whatcha bring us here for, Ms. Moore?” Then Ms. Moore responds with, “You sound angry, Sylvia. Are you mad about something?”. This minor back and forth between them is what allowed me to realize that Ms. Moore’s intentions were to get their reactions and see how this trip changes and expands their mindset. Her looks and body language is what convinced Sylvia that their was something going on, as Sylvia repeatedly exaggerates Ms. Moore’s expressions using similes. “Givin me one of them grins like she tellin a grown-up joke that never turns out to be funny.” (Bambara 5). These similes are also a way of viewing Sylvia’s mood now as she’s realizing what Ms. Moore is trying to do. Sylvia’s anger continued to grow while Ms. Moore remained humble, but still happy to see that the children were learning.
This week reading the lesson written by Tony Cade Bambara, focus on the reactions group of kids had while visiting an expensive toy store. Among all characters, Sugar and Silvia presented different behaviors while being questioned by Ms. Moore. But both reached the Intended conclusion.
Sugar was hooked on the discussion, openly concludes that in a democracy, there should be an equal chance for people to make the same amount of money. The text does not provide further details about how she felt about that. She possibly just accepted that she did not live in an equal society.
On the other hand, Silvia, who was not interested in being there in did not engage in the discussion, felt deeply overwhelmed after that day, where she clearly saw the contrast in how she and other people would spend their money.
Both characters are smart. Sugar focused on the whole picture about unfairness. Silvia focused more on how she feels about that present inequality which could be interpreted as unfairness.
Hello Deanne,
I agree that Sugar must have come to terms with the unjust situation rather quickly. Personally, I would have loved for the author to include more about Sugar – I find her rather interesting. More so, I like that you used the word ‘overwhelmed’ to describe how Sylvia felt after her experience at the store. It was so much for her to take in that she needed to go somewhere private to think things through. I need to do this when there is a lot of information to be processed about events that have taken place in my life. She must have been a reflective person. Yes, both Sugar and Sylvia struck me as rather intelligent individuals. I appreciate your observation of how Sugar observed the larger picture while Sylvia really needed to deal with her personal emotions concerning the matter.
Hello, Deanne I also agree with you. In this story how the children were focused on the price of the toy. And how the money can be utilized instead of buying the toy. And I was also so surprised how the writer was trying to give everyone that massages from the story.
Hi, Deanne. You are right. By the way, the main character’s name is Sylvia. Sugar and Sylvia understand what Miss Moose wants to teach them. The rest of kids are not. Sylvia is clever, but rebellious. She understands that black people treated unfair in America. However, she does not like the Way miss Moore teaches her. She likes to follow her desire to think and analyze things.
“The Lesson” is a tale of economic inequity imparted to a group of adolescent African Americans by Toni Cade Bambara. This truth hits them on a seemingly innocent trip to the toy store. They discover this when every item that catches their eye is unaffordable or to them downright absurd.
Two reactions that stand out are that of Sylvia and Mercedes.
Mercedes first stands out when it is mentioned that she is the only child who’s home has a desk and stationary. To the dismay of the other kids. Mercedes also appears to be the only kid there not shocked by the prices. She even says “I’d like to go there again when I get my birthday money.” Implying her parents are wealthy enough to spend that amount of money on toys.
Sylvia on the other hand contemplates her parents reaction to her wanting a $35 toy clown, the cheapest toy there. She thinks about what essentials her family could put that $35 to instead. Sylvia is very reluctant to accept this lesson here as it is quite the rude awakening to her. She would rather be ignorant to the situation and keep up her tough-girl persona. However the truth of economic inequity is undeniable.
The difference between the two characters is that Mercedes sees the toys as a symbol and uses it as something to blindly aspire to while Sylvia notices that their injustice there. At the end of the trip Sylvia is left with a sense of inferiority to whites while Mercedes doesn’t see the greater lessons and wants to be more like the whites.
Hello Charran,
It is very sad to see that out of eight children, only one of them has a desk and proper stationery. This somehow made Mercedes an outcast. She is the only one who was brave enough to walk straight into the toy store and act like she belongs there while others felt out of place. She is also the only one who thinks about going back to the store to get a toy in the future. Sylvia is the exact opposite. She realized the harsh reality of huge inequity between the two communities. It seems that Mercedes did not get the point of the trip that day whereas it made a big change to Sylvia.
In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the protagonist Sylvia, and Sugar are close friends. Since the beginning of the story, Sylvia mentioned Sugar repeatedly in a positive manner. The lesson of the day had the most impact on Sylvia and Sugar. As the story continues, the responses to the day trip to F. A. O Schwarz begins to differs between the two friends.
Although their responses and attitude cross path from time to time, “So me and Sugar turn the corner to where the entrance is, but when we get there I kinda hang back … so I step away from Sugar to lead. But she hangs back too” (5). They also had the same reaction when they bump smack into each other and did not have their regular reactions where they would laugh and do a fat-lady bump-stomach routine (5). However, we can see that there are times where Sylvia held back her feelings. She would not even touch the toys, but just stare at the prices. Meanwhile, Sugar did run a finger over the whole boat (5).
The main difference between the two characters is their attitude at the end of the story. While the trip made Sylvia reflect back onto their daily lives and situations and Miss Moore’s lectures on their way home, Sugar was focused on the extra cab money. “Sugar nudges me in my pocket and winks” (6). In the end, it shows that Sugar responded to Miss Moore by satisfying her with a very smart remark. This made Sylvia mad. Sugar suggests to end their tiring day by treating themselves some snacks with the extra cab money that Miss Moore gave Sylvia. It seemed Sugar had moved on from the day’s experiences and settled by into her life, but Sylvia had just started on her new goal with a firm determination.
Hello Thin,
I agree with your observation. Although both of them took the lesson of inequality from the trip, how they let the lesson affect them differed. Sylvia clearly let this new found knowledge of inequality change her outlook on life. First, Sylvia let this lesson make her feel inferior and angry. She then took this feeling and channeled it into new found strive and sense of injustice. Its quite interesting how two people of similar backgrounds were able to interpret a lesson as it relates to their worlds. To me, the difference stems from Sylvia’s observational skills and elevated intellect, which force her to ask the questions and realize the impact this inequality will have on her life.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Sylvia and Mercedes responded to the experience of visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store differently. Sylvia seems to me, that she may be older due to the fact that she understood the lesson that Miss Moore is trying to teach them about money and spending. I can say Sylvia understood because when seeing that the toy was $35 she knew that it was not realistic or ideal to purchase that toy when those $35 could go int more important stuff like the bills.However on the other hand at the end of the trip Mercedes is saying that she will return to the store with her birthday money. The responses were different because Sylvia saw the meaning behind the lesson which is why Sylvia was mad whereas Mercedes is doesn’t see the meaning of the lesson and still want to make an unnecessary purchase.
In “The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara I choose Slyvia and sugar because they has a very similar response to the experience of visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store because they both has the same social status, two people that leave in the same apartment and have the same needs and the belief that does toys cost to much and they need money for things that are more important. Sylvia talks about all the useful things that she can buy, things that she really needs, such as sugar. The “toy” that impressed then was a gemstone paperweight that cost $450, slyvia says how this can cost too much when it is just a piece of class with different color. Miss moore try to explain the economy inequality and why Some people can understand the price when they think that is stupid pay that much for a toy. After this experience they could understand the economy inequality.
I totally agree with you that Sylvia and sugar had a very similar response to the experience of visiting the FAO Schwartz toy store because they both had the same social status, but they both reacted differently, Sugar explained what she understood from the visit to Miss Moore, unlike Sylvie who did not want to share Her opinion with Miss Moore. Sugar was more intelligent and more aware of what Miss Moore is trying to explain, which is economic inequality. Good choice of characters but I wanted to point out the only difference between them because they are not the same in everything
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, there are a few but two characters who share similar experiences and emotions about what they encountered while visiting the FAO Schwarz store. I think only Sugar and Silvia realized the purpose of the visit, as Miss Moore tries to lead them to the wasteful spending of money on things that seem insignificant compared to everything else. Unlike Sylvia, Sugar has given Miss Moore her due by expressing those ideas about economic inequality. Miss Moore felt her lesson had been well received. On the other hand, Sylvia is angry at seeing what Miss Moore has shown, but she does not want to share it with Miss Moore, unlike Sugar. In fact, Sylvia talked about how many useful things money can be spent on instead of games. Sylvia also talks about paying her family bills, piano lessons, and even visiting her grandfather Nelson in the country, yet at the end of the story she is determined to do something about it, at least in her own life. Rosie, on the other hand, was at a loss as to why anyone would pay So much for games just to break it , and it seemed like she was hinting that spending a lot of money on games seems pointless. When Rosie was asked what she thought of the play store, she replied that “whites are crazy” but did not explain what she meant by that. In the end, this story affected my thinking as well. I actually pay a lot of money for what is not important, and when I need it for the necessities, I can’t find it.
Hello Amr I agree with what you stated about how Sylvia and Sugar both had similar experiences going to the toy story but they expressed it differently. Sugar is the person who wants to speak her mind and actually make her voice heard. On the other hand Sylvia is the person who keeps her thoughts to herself and tries to make Sugar do the same as you can see when she tried stopping Sugar from talking and elaborating her answer to Miss Moore. Both Sylvia and Sugar understood what Miss Moore was trying to teach them by bringing them to the toy store but they both had their own way of expressing their thoughts.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the teacher Miss Moore takes a group of eight children to an elaborate toy store, F.A.O Schwarz. All the kids live with a bubble around their world, each of them thinking their lifestyle to be the norm amongst the rest. seven of them were left in shock when seeing the enormous price of the toys, specifically the sail boat. Their reactions stem after the initial price shock. The two who took the comparison of the 50 cent sail boats at home and the $1,195 sail boats at this store and began to see the economic inequalities within were Sylvia and Sugar. On the other hand Mercedes is on the opposite side, where she did not compare the prices to the struggles of her own community, but simply saw it as another thing to strive for, saying “I’d like to go there again when I get my birthday money.” Mercedes simply wants to strive for what the white people have and to be more like them. Both Sylvia and Mercedes do not want to consciously be aware of the injustice and lack of equality for the African-American community. Because of Sylvia’s intellect and her ability to observe closely, she is not able to live in the ignorance Mercedes resides in. In the end Sylvia takes away the lesson that Miss Moore wanted to present. Although Sylvia is angry that her bubble was popped and left her feeling inferior, with her headstrong nature, she takes the inequality presented and decides “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin”. She does not strive to be white like Mercedes but strives to not let her race get her from getting what she wants in life.
I really like your observation.I love how you put quotes in here to verify your answer better.And I also believe that these two characters share a lot and experience a lot and what Mis Moore shows the kids is kind of a Lesson.Surely, the indirect lesson taught and motivated Sylvia more to thrive for better.
Toni Cade Bambara wrote “The Lesson” about economic and social injustice among social groups in America. There are many characters in the story and each one of them presents different viewpoint. Visiting expensive toy store left great impression on children and some of them faced so much more than just overpriced toys.
Sylvia is the most distinguished character of the story and not because she is the narrator but because she took the most out of this experience. We can see how irritating it is for her to face the harsh reality that Miss Moore exposed to her. She realizes that there are certain people in this world who would spend so much money on the silly clown that could pay the rent and piano bill for her family. Sylvia starts thinking of the differences between these social classes and how unfair the world is. She’s irritated by the fact that Sugar is talking about this matter out loud which makes all these feel even more real for Sylvia. The most impressive phrase that we have from this character is “she can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin”. Readers can see how Sylvia can be that person who will stand up, raise her voice and tell the world who she is and how she deserves no less than everybody else. For this reason, I think she took the most out of this experience: she will think about such injustice and she will make a change.
Another character in the story is Flyboy. I think that he also sees how differently those white people can live while he perseveres through his poverty. However, differently from Sylvia, he is not the one that shows the desire of making a change. He saw what reality looks like and how it’s not in his favor but I think he already has his own coping mechanism – “he knows how to use his poverty and deprivation to make people, especially “white folks”, feel pity for him”. For this reason, I think he got used to it and now he’s just trying to make the most out of what is given to him rather than changing it into something that is in his favor too.
These two characters are different from one another and not only them. Each child showed different perspective.
In “The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara I would like to talk about Miss Moore and Sylvia.I chose this characters because I believe the experience they had kind of resembles with the topic.Both Miss Moore and Sylvia come from the same neighborhood or Slum as I believe. But Miss Moore is the kind who went to school got her studies done and is more educated about life and the society.She is someone who got out of the 4 boundaries that her neighborhood is in.She knows more about the world.
And that is what she wanted the kids to know aswell. She wanted to teach them and show them how diverse the world is.Sylvia sounded like someone like Miss Moore.Sylvie felt surprised that first knowing about the prices of things and sight seeing. But later that suprise turned into frustration as she felt like Miss Moore did this intentionally even tho knowing they can never afford which is true this frustration and Miss Moore’s intention could turn into a great motivation for Sylvia to walk in her footsteps.This looks like a great lesson to me as she motivated atleast one amongst others.
In “The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara there are two character who stand out to me and are comparable based on there experience visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store and that is Sugar and Miss Moore. I think these two character are comparable because Miss Moore had a purpose on bringing the students to the toy store so they can see the big picture behind it. Sugar was the one who spoke up and expressed her feeling and when she did so the story states how Miss Moore “Lights up like somebody goosed her. And? Urging sugar on.” This shows how Miss Moore was waiting for someone to realize the reason behind going to the toy store in the first place. Miss Moore knew most of the kids won’t be able to afford or come close to buying anything from the toy store but she brought them there to see what she was trying to show them. Sugar was the one student who spoke up and shared her thoughts and her belief in what a democracy should be.Which is everyone getting a fair chance of making money. Sugar was able to speak up even with Sylvia trying to prevent her. They are both thinking the same thing just that Miss Moore is trying to open up the student eyes and Sugar was the one to do it.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore takes a group of kids from a poor community to an expensive toy store called FAO Schwarz, After visiting the toy store both Miss Moore and Sugar had similar experiences. Sugar states “You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat cost” Sugar realizes that the toys being sold in the toy store don’t sum up to what they can all put together in a year. Miss Moore then states “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.” Miss Moore also thinks that the prices of these toys are absurd and she adds that they would be enough to feed a family. The trip to the toy store made both of them feel like there is a lot of money being wasted by the rich people on unnecessary things, meanwhile, the poor people have to use the little bit of money they have on things that they need.
In “The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara there are two characters who stand out to me which are comparable due to their experience visiting the FAO Toy store. These characters are Miss Moore and Sugar. Miss Moore is a great character who takes kids on a trip to the toy store to educate them on the inequality between rich and poor people. Sugar is comparable because she makes a statement saying ” I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs”. Sugar is smart and realizes that these toys are a waste of money and how unintelligent it would be to buy a toy for the price of feeding a big family. Miss Moore and Sugar are very similar in the way they think because they want to educate each other and the other students how inequality is a real issue in this world just by looking at the toy store prices.
In Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson,” the narrator and her friends, African-American kids from a working-class neighborhood of New York City, are taken to a fancy toy store on Fifth Avenue by Miss Moore, a tidy-looking, college-educated, irreligious (or at least non-practicing), socially-aware woman who has made her mission to educate the kids in her community. The narrator is presented as assertive, very sure and proud of herself, and entitled to the point of acting mean towards others – stealing, hitting, insulting, and insulting them. The only other person she describes as “just right” is her friend Sugar, yet she bullies and bosses her around just the same. Both Sugar and the narrator take away the message about socioeconomic inequality that Miss Moore wanted to convey by taking them there and having them observe the absurd amounts of money that rich people can afford to spend on frivolities. However, the girls’ reactions are quite different. Sugar shares her conclusions out loud, spelling out everything Miss Moore hoped the kids would understand. Meanwhile, if she felt the symbolical violence of being out of place in this extravagant store, the narrator stubbornly refuses to validate Miss Moore and give her satisfaction. She also unsuccessfully tries to stop Sugar from doing so, seeing it as treason against her group of peers. She is shaken but is too proud to crack in front of others, especially in front of the figure of authority Miss Moore is. Full of anger and feeling the weight of her cognitive dissonance, she runs away to save face.
Hi Anastasiia Espinoza,
I agree with everything you wrote as I also analyzed Sugar and Sylvia. More importantly, the part of your analysis that caught my attention was how you described the narrator as being “very sure and proud of herself”. I had a different perspective. I felt that she sees herself in a lower position than the others due to the financial inequality. The aggressive behavior would be one of the reasons she bullies Sugar and the others. Yet, she is not as bad as Sugar, with whom she shares more similarities in lifestyle.
In the story called “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara there are two characters that have awesome backgrounds that I would love to talk about. First would be Miss Moore, she is one of my favorite characters because she has a serious attitude. She brings all of the children to FA0 Schwarz toy store located in Manhattan so that they can learn about all of the toys that cost way more than all of the children’s household incomes but also on how other individuals are spending loads of money without even thinking about. Teaching them about the full value of money and the financial inequalities that they will confront in the near future. Second would be Sylvia because she has been the type of individual who speaks out about what is actually taking place in the world around her. I enjoyed how Sylvia responded since her interaction with in FAO Schwarz toy store, the child demonstrating the unfairness within Society. Reading about these two characters made me realize on how similar Miss Moore and Sylvia can be.
Hello Angel, I also think that Miss Moore and Sylvia seem more like each other. It is worthy to mention that Miss Moore is the one who knows about the problems that their society has and Sylvia seems like the one who is going to step up and make a change. I think Miss Moore made a huge difference in Sylvia’s life even though that little girl does not realize it.
An important layer in “The Lesson” the motif of crab mentality. Picture a bunch of crabs in a bucket and there’s zero reason that one of them couldn’t reach up and grab up edge of the bucket and pull himself out – but what happens when crab does just that? If you watch crabs, they sit there and they snip at each other; their claws will rake down the one that’s trying to climb up and pulls that crab back in. So crab mentality is while someone is trying to pull themselves up out of poverty, other people will pull them back down. They’ll hurt you: emotionally, physically, mentally to make you not want to leave, to guilty you into wanting to stay in poverty, and lastly to make you think you’re not better than them and stay down in your place. Your efforts will be undermined by others, ensuring the group’s collective demise.
This term (to my knowledge) did not yet exist, but the behavior certainly did. Bambara perfectly uses that in this story with quotes such as, ““I have a box of stationery on my desk and a picture of my cat” (4), responded by “Who wants to know about your smelly-ass stationery” (4). Immediately the child cuts that boy down. And later, “We just stare at that price tag. Then Sugar run a finger over the whole boat. And I’m jealous and want to hit her. Maybe not her, but I sure want to punch somebody in the mouth.” Again, this draws on that theory that suddenly when Ms. Moore touches that more expensive item – when that crab started reaching out of that bucket – what does the narrator (revealed to be name Sylvia soon after) have emotions of internally? Sylvia wishes to punch someone, put them back in their “place” for zero reason, exactly how the one child starts talking about something the others don’t have, he others cut him down. We all pull people back down into our social status because we envy their success. In short, “If I can’t have it, neither can you” – the basis of this crab mentality. Bambara paints this group of children as a herd, moving around together, and as soon as one of them brags, shows success, or touch success in some kind of way, the other kid swiftly cuts them down.
What’s makes it so fascinating is when this idea is layered on top of the story of education, it sets the mindset in these children that’s it’s not cool to educated.
Hello Gamby,
The crab bucket is an interesting metaphor. I do think, however, that the author meant to depict a broader sense of herd mentality in the narrator’s community. Miss Moore is being gossiped about because she dresses differently, doesn’t go to church, and is educated. Yet, the narrator hates her the same as she hates the alcoholics that urinate and litter in her neighborhood. The narrator has an innate sense of superiority, describing herself as the only one “just right” (with her friend Sugar). After the toy store experience, Sugar acquires more class consciousness, while the narrator temporarily doubles down on her individualism to protect herself. As for Mercedes, she is slightly better off than her peers and she presents a petty-bourgeois attitude. The narrator is upset at her for this but is even more upset at Miss Moore for bursting her bubble. Her animosity towards her is her way to deal with her intense emotions and save face. If it could be said she acted like a crab earlier, I think she realizes that Miss Moore isn’t her enemy by the end of the story.
Sugar and Sylvia had similar responses to the store initially; they both excitedly and forwardly claimed items as theirs. However, they both received rude shocks upon uncovering the unbelievably high prices of the store items including the $300 microscope and the $1,195 sailboat. In agreement, they commented that the microscope is overpriced. In fact, Sugar claimed that Big butt would’ve outgrown the equipment by the time he and Junebug were able to save enough of their allowances in order to afford it. This suggestion of Sugar sheds light on how unsettling these pricetags were for her- Sylvia alike. These items were expensive! Another similarity was their joint but a temporary break from refraining from engaging with Miss Moore. Sugar stated that she heard herself speak as though she did not speak consciously. While Sugar boldly expressed her distaste for the unjust reality of the unequal distribution of income in the United States. Together, they felt strong feelings of indignation.
However, I notice that although Sylvia and Sugar shared an attitude of boldness when they first arrived at the store and abrupt disappointments upon discovering how pricy the products were, I believe that Sylvia was more unsettled by her experience than Sugar was. One reason I say this is because Sugar could dare to feel the boat with her hands while Sylvia did not share the same courage. More significantly, Sugar spoke up about the unjust social system of America and the false claim the country made about equal opportunity. At that moment, Sylvia’s disapproval didn’t mean much to Sugar for it did not stop her from speaking her mind. It is mentioned that this was not typical of Sugar. On the other hand, Sylvia was rather speechless and out of the mood for any pleasures of life. After the trip, Sugar ran to Hascombs for some chocolate while Sylvia headed to the Drive to think – to reckon with all that she ahd been exposed to that day
“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara introduced Miss Moore and eight children’s experiences in Manhattan, New York. I will choose Miss Moore and Sugar. In the story, Miss Moore is an educated woman and speaks standard English. During the trip in Manhattan, she teaches the children through asking them questions. Sugar is a very smart kid in the group and good at math. She really is a clever kid. She tells her cousin Sylvia the sailboat costs all their expense in eat in a year. At the end of the story, Sugar and Sylvia are the only two know what Miss Moore wants to teach them-wealth inequality. Also, Sugar’s response makes Sylvia mad. From Sugar and Sylvia’s responses, even though they are playing together, they have totally different traits.
The short Story “the lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is an Interesting story. Where children were taken on a trip to toy store. And the experience of children while the visiting toy store was their good experience. I like the character miss Moore and sugar as the best performer of the story because Miss Moore was so strong and inspiring lady who always try to deal with many problems but still she supports the children and she always show them a good path. And Sugar was the best part of this story where she is the only character who was the best friend of the author of the story(Main character). the best part I like about sugar was she was teasing the speaker(Main character) My supporting miss Moore and make her emotional and again she know how to make her friend happy. Likewise, While in the Toy shop, Sugar was trying to steal the toy but Miss Moore stop her this made me respect Miss More to the top. The overall story was so interesting to me which reminds my childhoods too because when I was a child I was like Sugar who was the best character in this story.
The Short Story “The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is an Interesting story. Where children were taken on a trip to the toy store. And the experience of children while the visiting toy store was their good experience. How children learn that buying expensive toys is a waste of money and they were also able to think that how people buy an expensive toy because that money can be used in the necessary situation. In this story, I like the character miss Moore and sugar as the best performer of the story. Because Miss Moore was so strong and inspiring lady who always try to deal with many problems. And still she supports the children. And she always shows them a good path. And Sugar was the best part of this story where she is the only character who was the best friend of the author of the story(Main character). the best part I like about sugar was she was teasing the speaker(Main character) My supporting miss Moore and make her emotional and again she know how to make her friend happy. Likewise, While in the Toy shop, Sugar was trying to steal the toy but Miss Moore stop her this made me respect Miss More to the top. The overall story was so interesting to me which reminds my childhoods too because when I was a child I was like Sugar who was the best character in this story.
Hey Saroj, I agree with your claim. I feel as if Ms. Moor was trying to educate the children to show them that the life that they are living is a choice its not who they have to be unless they put their mind to it and make a change and she thought that them being young The toy store should teach them a lesson and also motivate them to wanting better.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Mercedes and Sugar have almost contrasting experiencing after vising the FAO Schwarz toy store. Before Mercedes even enters the store, she’s already admiring and asking questions about the things on sale, contrasting with Sugar’s reluctance to enter due to the shame she feels. Mercedes is the first person to enter and after Miss Moore asks what they all though about the store, she comments about coming back with birthday money. Again, contrasting with Sugar’s attitude towards the store, acting if everything was made out of glass and the idea she gathered from that visit. Mercedes values psychical things, while at the same time, hasn’t realized the full scope of the difference in wealth between her and the people who regularly shop there. Sugar, after comparing the situation she’s in, the fact that a faction of the amount of money that an item costs there could help tremendously, made her realize the full scope of the situation that surrounds the wealth gap.
I think you made a great observation regarding the reaction between Sugar and Mercedes when entering the FAO Schwarz toy store. Mercedes was unaware of any problem and the lesson Miss Moore was attempting to teach while Sugar completely understood the inequalities and lesson. Sugar was able to articulate her thoughts and feelings into words when she stated, “I think, that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” Unfortunately, Sugar’s conversation/discussion with Miss Moore was cut short because of Sylvia and her refusal to accept Miss Moore’s lesson.
Hi Daniel, I thought you made a good analysis of Sugar and Mercedes. Although Mercedes seems to have enjoyed the trip, remarking that she’ll be coming back later with her birthday money to buy a gift for herself, Sugar was able to learn a valuable lesson from the trip. Although Mercedes very well could come back with money enough for a gift, I believe that the lesson Sugar learned is the better reward from their trip to this toy store.
The two characters I chose were sugar and Sylvia—the narrator. Sylvia seemed to react negatively with anger and denial while sugar was more open to speaking about how unfair it is for people to make more money than others. Sugar states, “I think, that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” She is saying though society & democracy claim we all have equal chance at happiness they don’t give us equal pay. So many people are in poverty forced into survival mode, while others can spend thousands on children’s toys. This realization understandably made Sylvia angry. Miss Moore intended to teach the children a lesson about the inequalities that exists in this world. For the most part it worked; Sugar was able to understand and explain how she believed it was unfair and how “that this is not much of a democracy…” while others like Sylvia were more angry at the situation, in denial and unable to put her feelings into words. It was almost like she (Sylvia) would rather ignore the problem than talk about it. Maybe Sylvia feels hopeless. Maybe Sylvia thinks it’s impossible to bring about change. Is that why she refuses to speak on the matter and avoided the problem rather than to learn more about it like Sugar and discuss possible fixes?
Hello Shadai, I think Sugar and Sylvia are the most impressive characters in the story. To me, they are quite different but they fulfill each other. As you mentioned, Sugar talks about the matter while Sylvia avoids taking about the problem. I think it’s because she needs to think about it at first. Also if you put her feelings into the words, I think that harsh reality becomes even more real and Sylvia needs to get prepared first. Sugar and Sylvia fulfill each other because we see how Sylvia feels while we listen to Sugar explaining the cause for these feelings and emotions. Overall, I don’t think that reality was as hurtful for Sugar as it was for Sylvia (perhaps, for now).
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, I decided to compare Rosie’s and Sugar’s experience on visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store. Both Rosie and Sugar had similar perspectives on the toy store, one of the main ones was how could rich people want to spend so much money on a toy. These characters came from a lower-class so for them to see high prices for toys was very shocking to think people would actually buy them, Rosie even mentioned how “parents are silly to buy something like that just to get all broke up”. After asked their thoughts at the end Rosie said “whites are crazy” I believe in a way of where it is pointless to waste so much on toys throughout the passage sugar seems to feel a bit uncomfortable to where she just stood at the corner of the entrance after seeing the prices of the toys. Both characters had similar views on how it was crazy how people spend so much money on toys.
In “The Lesson”, Miss Moore, an older woman takes a group of children to a high scale toy shop, where they encounter various items with prices higher than they ever imagined. This was done with the intention of teaching the children a lesson about economic inequality, and to show them that there are things in life you can only achieve through money, whether it comes from hard work or, in some cases, luck.
Sylvia, the narrator, reacts to the toy store with anger. She expresses her anger, very directly, over a “Hand-crafted sailboat of fiberglass at one thousand one hundred ninety-five dollars,” when she says “Unbelievable,” I hear myself say and am really stunned. I read it again for myself just in case the group recitation put me in a trance. Same thing. For some reason this pisses me off.” Sylvia is also even hesitant to enter the store in the first place, along with Sugar, as they both feel as if they don’t belong in such an establishment.
Sugar reacts in a more reserved fashion than Sylvia, seemingly observing the store and having her own thoughts about it. After some time, she comments on the prices of the items, and realizes the purpose of this trip. She becomes aware of the economic inequality portrayed by this store, filled with all these items she thinks she could never afford. She proclaims, seemingly defeated, “that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”
Sylvia however, at the end of the story, perhaps using her anger as fuel, seems to be filled with a determination to succeed in life.
“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. I choosed Silvia and Sugar because i feel like they share a similar feeling or opinion at the start you can clearly see how exited they are for going in by this line on the first chapter “can we steal”,”this is mine,that’s mine ,i gotta ,i gotta have that,that was made for me ,i was born for that ” And they even argue with a class mate for an item that was on the store ,but after sugar saw the prices she changed her mind ,you can tell this by the line on chapter 6 that says “i think that this is not much of democracy”, and we can clearly see Silvia was disgusted by her opinion
In ” The lesson ” by Toni Cade Bambara the children are bought to an expensive toy store not for pressure but for a very important life lesson that would teach them the importance of economic inequality. The Two characters Sugar and Syliva has similar experience and responses visiting the FAO Schwarz toy store but the difference is how they allow their experience affect them. When first entraining the store the two girls are shocked and amazed. Sugar runs her finger on the the toys analyzing them while syliva seems ashamed and can’t even bring herself to touch the toys in the store but she continues to hold her pride up and acts nonchalant about the whole situation. Towards the end Ms. Moore asked the children what do they think about the FAO Schwarz toy store and as the others doesn’t seem to understand the lesson that was supposed to be bought to their attention Sugar replies to Ms. Moore “You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” Showing that she understands there’s two different type of people in the world one who can afford and one who can’t. On the other hand, Syliva secretly understands the lesson that’s being taught today but is dramatically bothered by it because she is ashamed. This story reminded me the value of money to different types of people in society Those ones who actually spend thousands of dollars on toys are finically free while the others such as Syliva and the others who can not afford the toys are finically trapped. Wether you have it or not I strongly feel like people should value their money.
“The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. I chose Monroe and Sugar because first, they hate Monroe for taking them to that store but they didn’t know yet was that she had a purpose. The children and Miss Moore travel from Harlem to Fifth Avenue to visit a toy store. Expensive toys frustrate children. Especially the thousand-dollar toy sailboat. Children realize that toys for the richest children represent a month or a year of salary for their parents. In the end, Sugar learns a lesson about how democracy doesn’t really offer the same opportunities. Even Sylvia reflects on what she observed in the toy store and discovers that white people do not dress like African Americans, even if they share the same type of weather condition. She acknowledges that they have money and they tend to give you an idea of how rich they are.
In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the characters that stood apart to me were Sylvia and Ms. Moore. At the outset, Ms. Moore appeared to simply nonchalantly need to take the children to a toy store, where Ms. Moore was reacting in manners with body development and an astute tone to the youngsters. Sylvia gradually had an acknowledgment of this adjustment of the mind-set as they at last enter the store, and she begins to address it in her mind, however she likewise begins to address Ms. Moore. This minor to and fro between them is the thing that permitted me to understand that Ms. Moore’s goals were to get their responses and perceive how this outing adjusts and extends their mentality. Her looks and non-verbal communication is the thing that persuaded Sylvia that their was a going thing on, as Sylvia more than once misrepresents Ms. Moore’s demeanors utilizing metaphors. These likenesses are additionally a method of survey Sylvia’s temperament now as she’s acknowledging what Ms. Moore is attempting to do. Sylvia’s resentment kept on developing while Ms. Moore stayed humble, yet glad to see that the kids were learning.