Summary Of The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara

When you first hear the title of “The Glass Castle” written by Jeannette Walls you may think it's a book about fairy tales. However that’s not the case, imagine not being able to experience childhood the way it’s supposed to be with toys, friends to play with, and parents when they come home from work cook a huge family dinner. This is the case for Jeannette Walls. She is the second oldest of four children and grew up needing to take care of freewheeling, creative, but neglecting drunken father Rex who could never keep a job and oblivious mother Rosemary who was an artist. Also while looking after her younger siblings Brian and Maureen with her oldest sister Lori.

According to the U.S Department Of Education, 32 million adults in the United States can’t read (Huffington Post). Illiteracy is a growing problem around the world, and is being passed on from generation to generation. This continuous cycle is affecting the lives of children tremendously, with statistics showing that 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read (Do Something). Me Talk Pretty by David Sedaris, The Human cost of an illiterate society by Jonathan Kozol, and The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara show the consequences of being illiterate in various ways. Illiteracy negatively affects individuals every day life in today’s society.

Jared Keim Mr. Bowne AP English III November 19, 2016 Teaching the Lesson of Inequality The television is on. The bottom line reads, “ Black unarmed teenager killed walking down a street at night-- top anonymous executive says the gender wage gap is because one week at of every month, women are irrational due to their period.” Gender and racial inequality is a problem faced by society throughout time. In Toni Cade Bambara’s, “The Lesson,” the divide between the black American children, and the privileged, upper class white children is used to demonstrate social inequality.

Rhetorical Analysis of Jerome Cartwright’s "Bambara's the Lesson” Jerome Cartwright’s feature article on Toni Cade Bambara’s “the Lesson” was published in 1989. This piece provides a scholarly secondary source for Bambara’s short story because it was featured in The Explicator, a quarterly journal of literary criticism published by Taylor & Francis, Inc.

The significance of Mrs. Moore trip with the kids to FAO Schwartz is caught in Bambara's utilization of Symbolism. The youngsters took a gander at various elite toys outside the store. Some of these toys incorporated a sailboat and a paperweight. The kids had no clue what the paperweight was. Sylvia said to herself "my eyes reveal to me it's a lump of glass broke with something overwhelming, and distinctive shading inks dribbled into the parts, then the entire thin put into an over or something.

Sylvia feels she betrayed by her best friend because at first they hate Miss Moore and after the trip, everything has changed. However, Sylvia realizes that what Sugar say are all true. Sylvia and other children understand what Miss Moore is trying to teach them a lesson. Sylvia changes her point of

Sylvia was the youngest girl in the game and the only girl that carried a gun. Sylvia's Main thing was to prove that she was just as tough as her older brother Marcus. Sylvia was asked by Marcus's homies to help rob a gas station They walk to the gas station Marcus's homies held Sylvia on their shoulders When they got there they used the handle of their pistols to break the window and pushed Sylvia through the window and told the cashier we are here to rob you and you better not press any buttons with a gun held to her face Sylvia took all the money from the register gave it to the Bloods then she demanded her share. Marcus's homies looked at her crazy and said we'd buy you a Popsicle or something Sylvia looked at them and said no you won't that job is going to give me some money too so Marcus’s homies gave her a whole bunch of change. Sylvia always stood out from The Pact she wasn't like the other girls who took orders from the men and listen to them Sylvia did not Sylvia wanted to be one of the guys she wanted to prove she was just like her older brother.

The two stories, “The Lesson” and “Everyday Use” involve main characters that hold differences and similarities. In both stories the main characters were well educated, African American woman. During Toni Cade Bambara’s story “The Lesson”, the main character Miss Moore used her education to help the children in her hometown. Whereas in Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use”, Wangero decided to use her education in a way that took things away from her family and past. Wangero could care less how her family was doing and entered their home like a fire taking everything in her wake.

The symbols present in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, depict the economic and social injustices faced by specific members of society, specifically the children in the story. The characters in the story are being mentored by Miss Moore, a woman from their block who has taken up the role of taking them out on weekly outings. The story touches on the situation of the children that are stuck in living in almost poverty. “The Lesson” focuses on the socioeconomic disparities between the different racial groups and how. Bambara uses several techniques such as irony, othering, and second person point of view to make the story meaningful and demonstrate the characteristics of the characters.

In John Updike’s short story “A&P,” Sammy is the narrator and cashier at the grocery story A&P. The author uses dynamic characters with immensely different personalities to portray conformity and rebellion in our society. Through out the story Sammy challenges conformity and social norms at his work place for personal reasons. Sammy is very bitter character and taken as a realist which fuels the story. Queenie, a rebel against conformity, sparks Sammy’s emotions after the way she is treated by his boss Langel when she walks into the grocery store with nothing but a bikini covering her skin.

With the context given, readers can only assume Sylvia will use the information gained negatively. She could turn into a criminal-a thief- since her pride will not let her acknowledge the lesson. Her fall will soon come. As for Sammy, now jobless, he has nowhere to go in life. Sammy comes from a poor family, which is inferred by the quotation: “when my parents have somebody over they get lemonade” as

Sylvia believes she needs the money more than the taxi driver. Once all the

It is easy to dislike someone when they spoil fun. Just like Sylvia declares “I’m really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree.” It is obvious that Sylvia sees Miss Moore as an outsider that is ruining her summer’s day worth of fun. Sylvia is used to doing whatever she wants and dislikes Miss Moore and her presence of requesting to take the kids on a field trip. Although there are several kids with Miss Moore, she seems to have focus on Sylvia.

In Sociology, stereotypes are described as "pictures in our heads" that we do not acquire through personal experience. I believe that stereotypes are a mental tool that enforces racial segregation and self-hate. As well justification for dehumanizing minorities. Such as Black women are "Mammy", "Welfare Mothers", "Uneducated", " Inferior", and "Poor". White women are "Pure", "Desirable", "Affluent" and "Superior".

This is where Sylvia begins to wonder how the amount of money a toy costs on Fifth Ave could be used to help her family. She explains that if she asked her mother she would say “Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too” (Bambara 59). Among several things, only thirty-five dollars could make an enormous difference in Sylvia’s family. They would need it to have a roof over their heads, compared to the people on Fifth Ave who would use that money to buy a toy. She then beings to question “Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats?