“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is about Miss Moore taking children on a trip to the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store. The children live in poverty. This was an expensive toy store and she wanted to see the outcome of the children’s view on it. Mercedes had a different approach and view on the store. When asked what she thought about it, she said she would want to return with her birthday money (Bambara). From the text, I can tell that she enjoyed it because when the other kids were not ready to go in, she squeezed in between them to go first. She had a few smart remarks like asking if the other child’s boat runs with water and that she has a stationary desk from her godmother. The readers can tell that she does not suffer from poverty like the other kids since she is able to return to the store and has things that the other children do not.
On the other hand, Sylvia is the complete opposite. When seeing the clown toy that goes for $35, she thought of the things that her family can do with that much. “Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Grand-daddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill to” (Bambara). She was stunned that people can spend so much money on toys when there are people in poverty that would use that money for more helpful things. She feels like it is not right that people are able to do that when her family and the others are struggling.
One thought on “Araceli Cortez Discussion 4”
Hi Arceli Cortez,
I like your characterization of Mercedes. She definitely had a different approach on visiting the store from Sylvia. She wasn’t scared to show that she was excited to be in the store although she made funny comments about the boat. Mercedes was different from the rest of the the characters because she was willing to learn and wasn’t scared of showing it.