They say change is the law of life. We all experience change and pass through a series of stages. From adolescence to adulthood, in each stage the person confronts and hopefully masters, new challenges. Time brings change; a decade can flash by in an uneventful second. Our dreams change, but as the decades go by, lessons are learned and transformations occur in our lives. And sometimes these changes are unexpected and can be difficult to proses, yet somehow we do. Sylvia the main character in Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson,” learns about classism and social inequalities from an early age. The lesson shows story readers the importance of educating children on real life issues, encourages children to see a bigger world and experience life outside of their comfort zone. “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara is a lesson on social class and presents the choice of which society we choose to live in.
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It analyzes, experiments, and puts to the test economic inequality within America. Bambara creates the character of Ms. Moore, the antagonist, who is a special piece to the story because she strives to teach the children of her community what their life could be like pass their own neighborhood. These characters within the story help demonstrate and bring to the light issues that face the poor and minorities in the United States. Although education is free in America many children are left behind and don’t receive a proper education, especially the unprivileged, low-income students that attend public schools that lack of skilled instructors and have limited resources. On account of this inequitable system, Ms. Moore feels that it is, “her responsibility for her young one’s education” (364) helping these underprivileged children’s learn that this does not have to be their reality forever, to break the cycle in which their were born in. Ms. Moore being the only women in the neighborhood to earn a degree feels is her responsibility to teach theses children the lesson of self-empowerment and finding the rode out of poverty. Ms. Moore has a unique lesson plan for her students, however these children were stubborn and bitter, such as Sylvia for example. Making Ms. Moore lesson plan more challenging. The children in the story are proud of themselves and their life. As many children out there in this world, they do not know anything other than what they have been expose to. Ms. Moore realizes the problem and wants to help her distracted students become more aware of the harsh reality of inequality and to learn the value of dollar. But to Sylvia, the main character, this is her ‘world’ and Ms. Moore “This nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree” (307) as Sylvia describes her, was just trying to stop her and her friends from having fun. The reader becomes aware of the conflict between Sylvia and Ms. Moore; however, it was more than your common dislike of authority by a young adolescent. Sylvia has her own perception and how things work and was blinded by her surrounding, Ms. Moore challenges her to think outside the box, but Sylvia prefers to give into her own pretending’s. In the back of her head, Sylvia knew she was poor and rude to Ms. Moore, however Sylvia shelters her mind and ignores Ms. Moore lessons, in fact she always criticize Ms. Moore, as a defense mechanism. But it never bothers her until she sees her disadvantages in blinding contrast with the luxuries of the wealthy. According to James Esch, author of Notes on Toni Cade Bambara 's "The Lesson”, “Miss Moore is an actual ally to the children; her mission is to raise their consciousness, to teach them to recognize the social inequality endemic to America.” Instead of simply teaching the children knowledge, Ms. Moore forces them to apply their math and logic skills to the real world, Creating knowledge and raising awareness of reality using practical situations. As Miss Moore introduces her to the world of the rich, Sylvia begins to attribute shame to poverty, and this sparks her to question the "lesson" of the story, how "money ain 't divided up right in this country" (308). Sylvia was introduced to the world of the wealthy when Ms.
It analyzes, experiments, and puts to the test economic inequality within America. Bambara creates the character of Ms. Moore, the antagonist, who is a special piece to the story because she strives to teach the children of her community what their life could be like pass their own neighborhood. These characters within the story help demonstrate and bring to the light issues that face the poor and minorities in the United States. Although education is free in America many children are left behind and don’t receive a proper education, especially the unprivileged, low-income students that attend public schools that lack of skilled instructors and have limited resources. On account of this inequitable system, Ms. Moore feels that it is, “her responsibility for her young one’s education” (364) helping these underprivileged children’s learn that this does not have to be their reality forever, to break the cycle in which their were born in. Ms. Moore being the only women in the neighborhood to earn a degree feels is her responsibility to teach theses children the lesson of self-empowerment and finding the rode out of poverty. Ms. Moore has a unique lesson plan for her students, however these children were stubborn and bitter, such as Sylvia for example. Making Ms. Moore lesson plan more challenging. The children in the story are proud of themselves and their life. As many children out there in this world, they do not know anything other than what they have been expose to. Ms. Moore realizes the problem and wants to help her distracted students become more aware of the harsh reality of inequality and to learn the value of dollar. But to Sylvia, the main character, this is her ‘world’ and Ms. Moore “This nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree” (307) as Sylvia describes her, was just trying to stop her and her friends from having fun. The reader becomes aware of the conflict between Sylvia and Ms. Moore; however, it was more than your common dislike of authority by a young adolescent. Sylvia has her own perception and how things work and was blinded by her surrounding, Ms. Moore challenges her to think outside the box, but Sylvia prefers to give into her own pretending’s. In the back of her head, Sylvia knew she was poor and rude to Ms. Moore, however Sylvia shelters her mind and ignores Ms. Moore lessons, in fact she always criticize Ms. Moore, as a defense mechanism. But it never bothers her until she sees her disadvantages in blinding contrast with the luxuries of the wealthy. According to James Esch, author of Notes on Toni Cade Bambara 's "The Lesson”, “Miss Moore is an actual ally to the children; her mission is to raise their consciousness, to teach them to recognize the social inequality endemic to America.” Instead of simply teaching the children knowledge, Ms. Moore forces them to apply their math and logic skills to the real world, Creating knowledge and raising awareness of reality using practical situations. As Miss Moore introduces her to the world of the rich, Sylvia begins to attribute shame to poverty, and this sparks her to question the "lesson" of the story, how "money ain 't divided up right in this country" (308). Sylvia was introduced to the world of the wealthy when Ms.