Summary Of The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara

The story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara shows the struggles of a group of neighborhood kids learning about their lives and the differences in social classes. The Marxist approach is appropriate because the story displays clear dominance in social classes and human nature. Throughout the story it’s obvious to see that Sylvia and the other kids become aware of their social status through the many lessons Miss Moore tries to teach them. Although she is from the same area as them, she can be seen as an inspiration to the kids due to her education. The kids know Miss Moore as an educator with no close connection to this community, but her intelligence can be seen as a higher social class to them at time. She feels responsible for the kids education, everything she does with them is to help them deepen their education and understanding of life. Throughout their time together, and going to the toy store, the kids become more aware of the differences in social classes, as well as how different classes of people spend their money.

Once in the store they find that their assumption was true, and start realizing that the toys are much more expensive compared to what they already have. They see all the white boys and girls running around, picking up whatever toy their parents will buy them. These mixed feelings causes the kids to become more insecure about who they are because they realize this is a store they wouldn’t normally come to. This insecurity makes them think that they might not be able to afford anything in the store. As the kids look around and see the prices of some of the toys, they begin to understand that they would rather spend money on things for their families rather than fancy