Sylvia's Foul Language

Sylvia hated her “nappy hair and proper speech”. She despised the way her parents kissed her ass. But most of all, she hated that Miss Moore had a college education, something her parents did not have. That “nappy-head bitch” had seen parts of the world that Sylvia had not, she had experienced things in life that Sylvia may never see. This is part of the reason Sylvia hated her so much. But Sylvia also did not like Miss Moore because she opened her eyes to the reality that her life is not as perfect as she thought. She thought that life was perfect the way it was, a care free life with no education. She continues to say that she would rather have fun than listen to her.

Sara Smolinsky is the youngest of four sisters; the eldest is Bessie, whom everyone calls the “Burden-bearer” because the whole family lives on her pay check. “I knew the landlord came that morning hollering for rent. And the whole family were hanging on Bessie’s neck for her wages. Unless she got work soon, we’d be thrown in the street to shame and to laughter for the whole world.”(1) The second eldest

Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story she identifies with race, economic inequality, and literary epiphany during the early 1970’s. In this story children of African American progeny come face to face with their own poverty and reality. This realism of society’s social standard was made known to them on a sunny afternoon field trip to a toy store on Fifth Avenue. Through the use of an African American protagonist Miss Moore and antagonist Sylvia who later becomes the sub protagonist and White society the antagonist “the lesson” was ironically taught. Sylvia belong to a lower economic class, which affects her views of herself within highlights the

In the essay “What’s Your Name, Girl?” Maya Angelou explores the injustice and suffering of her childhood as a black girl living in Stamps, Arkansas. Immediately, as the essay begins, you acquire insight on how Angelou seemed to be envious of white girls: “But Negro girls in small Southern towns, whether poverty-stricken or just munching along on a few of life’s necessities, were given as extensive and irrelevant preparations for adulthood as rich white girls shown in magazines. Admittedly the training was not the same. While white girls learned to waltz and sit gracefully with a teacup balanced on their knees, we were lagging behind, learning the mid-Victorian values with very little money to indulge them.” (17-18). Angelou recognized how unfair black people were treated. They had to scrounge up money whenever they could, while white people would effortlessly “waltz and sit gracefully” whenever they wanted to. She was envious of white people’s social statuses and what little work they had to do in the world and she wanted to be one of them; she wanted to live an easy life.

Some experiences can change people as individuals and how they view things. The process of people growing up can take time but when a transformation occurs it  can be difficult to handle. Sylvia, the narrator in Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," learns a lesson about social class how the rich are different from poor ,she realizes that the money rich people spend for their kids toys can feed a whole household of poor families.In the process, she loses some part of her pride that characterizes her childhood because she thought she was living a good life  till she realizes that rich kids toys can feed her entire household so she  begins to look for hints  or ways of being wealth so that she can  have better life than her family. She

Likewise, in the novel, there are also examples of being poor and people struggling financially. "Spanish Harlem needed a change and fast. Rents were going through the roof. Social services were being cut. Financial aid for people like me and Blanca who were trying to better

Based on their reactions to Miss Moore, they treat her as if she is an eccentric lady. However, that doesn’t provide a reason for the audience to hate her too. Due to Sylvia’s unwarranted negative attitude towards Miss Moore, Bambara conveys Sylvia as a rude and distasteful character. Despite her youth and immaturity, her disrespectful behavior is not excused. Not only does Sylvia call Miss Moore a “nappy-head bitch” but also believes that the lessons are “boring-ass things” (p. 60).

Despite all her rebellious actions, Sylvia feels slightly uncomfortable when everyone is about to enter F.A.O. Schwarz. She states, “…but when we get there I kinda hang back. Not that I'm scared, what's there to be afraid of, just a toy store. But I feel funny, shame.” (Bambara 4). The quote signifies that for some reason, Sylvia is feeling insecure. She is not afraid of a simple toy store, but it is something different. She knows it is embarrassment. In this context, the cognizance is coming to Sylvia in the form of embarrassment. After witnessing the immensely different lifestyles on Fifth Avenue, she starts to understand Miss Moore’s ideas. She is slowly learning just how big the cavity is between the different economical classes. She feels like an outsider. The child in her is slowly growing up, absorbing the harsh reality of the world in the process. In addition, when the children are at the store, the exorbitant prices of the toys compels Sylvia to question herself of the social and economic differences. She states, “Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain't in on it? ” (Bambara 5). According to the quote, all the children have arrived at the toy store F.A.O. Schwarz and got a look at the inflated prices of the toys. Sylvia is questioning herself about

Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be

In the story it is summer time and Sylvia is on summer vacation, “And school suppose to let up in summer I heard, but she don’t never let us” (Bambara 147). Summer vacation for Sylvia is spending time at the park, at the show, and at the pool, and as Sylvia proclaims “its puredee hot” (Bambara 147). Sylvia's first thought is further reflected in her desire to “go to the pool or the show where it's cool”(Bambara 147), where she would just let life happen to her, and never get worked up and angry over the social injustice created by class distinctions. When Sylvia did not got the satisfactory answer from Miss Moore for the price of real boat her anger was spotted, “if you gonna mess up a perfectly good swim day least you could do is have some answers” (Bambara 149). This emphasize that she want the answer of every injustice that she is facing in her life. Just as Miss Moore is trying to create a feeling of “ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin” (Bambara 151), she is also trying to provoke the anger which is necessary for the children to get motivated.

Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story she identifies with race, economic inequality, and literary epiphany during the early 1970’s. In this story children of African American progeny come face to face with their own poverty and reality. This realism of society’s social standard was made known to them on a sunny afternoon field trip to a toy store on Fifth Avenue. Through the use of an African American protagonist Miss Moore and antagonist Sylvia who later becomes the sub protagonist and White society the antagonist “the lesson” was ironically taught.

The children in the neighborhood are probably the most influential people in Sylvia’s life, since she is around them most frequently, and they are her peers. They too seem to come from the same kind of background as Sylvia—poor, defensive,

The Jackson environment was featured by a rough social structure and certain rules of behavior. Rich, color, family background and reputation specified your social status and your relationship with others in the society. Although the racism had no legal foundation, it was hard for color people to move between classes or make their way into high social circles. If color people do Any act of rebellion could mean a lot of social problems and complete isolation in the community. This would cause very bad consequences especially in terms of employment or marriage considerations. We obviously touch this through the character of Celia and her relation with Hilly and the Junior, of which Hilly is the leader. Hilly considers Celia as “white trash” because she comes from a poor area of Mississippi called Sugarditch. She disregards Celia’s offers to help with arranging a Donations interest. Celia is a good and somewhat simple girl who just wants to be one of the Jackson women. We see that when at the benefit one of the Junior League member’s comments on Celia’s because she wears revealing cloths. She says “bosoms are for bedrooms and breastfeeding. Not for occasions with dignity. I want her to cover. Them. Up”. Hilly also thinks to herself that Celia does not have the “gentility” to join the Junior League which consists of respectable women in the community”. These instances expose how Celia was judged according to her look and background instead of her personality. The setting is important to make it easy for readers to understand the inequality that a lot of women faced during this 1960’s

I recall growing up when my mother would lecture me prior entering a store. My mother would say, when we go in the store, do not touch anything because she did not have money to pay for broken items; or do you have the money to pay for it? I grew up poor, on welfare, and lived in the projects, so I can relate to Sylvia. However, my mother instilled in me that being poor do not define me, but that education is vital for survival. Just because one the lack resources for a better education, do not mean one must give up; perseverance and determination make you strong. If you think it, you can achieve it was my mother’s motto.

To Sylvia, being educated means seeing things as they are. Sylvia and Miss Moore both have a considerable amount of pride. Sylvia thinks Miss Moore shows disrespect when she describes their neighborhood as a slum and their families as poor. Bambara has indicated that Sylvia 's family is striving for better conditions through the mention of the piano rental. Miss Moore views the children 's acceptance of their economic condition as ignorance and their ignorance as disrespect for their race. Miss Moore wants to change this attitude and encourages the children to demand more from the society that keeps them down. By the end of the story, both of these characters have made their points. Sylvia realizes