"the Lesson" Analysis

The lessonBy Toni Cade BambaraSummary:“The Lesson” takes place in a time where equality was nothing but an idea, where blacks where still treated as inferiors because of the skin tone they were born with. “The lesson” is about a group of black children living in a slum being taken to market by their teacher as a school trip, where they will come to form their own ideas of their place in life by comparing the price tags on the luxury items around them to the money they get to spend themselves on such activities. The main character, Sylvia, comes to realise that she is at the lower end of society and becomes increasingly irritable and distant as the realisation forms, eventually running away to enjoy her day and hopefully forget the truth.Analysis:“And she’s boring us silly about … how money ain’t divided up right in this country”This passage sets the stage for the rest of the story, the inequality in the world as well as Mrs. Moore’s struggle to make the children understand it. Furthermore, this is Sylvia’s first introduction to the above lesson, the inequality of their world. Sylvia’s reaction to this information was boredom, showing she either didn’t really understand these things like she claimed she did, or that she doesn’t really care. Either way, Sylvia makes it clear she has other things to worry about, such as the local barbeque, which is understandable due to her only being a child.