The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara was a story about a group of children taken to a toy store by an older woman named Miss Moore. It is clear from the text that she is an educated woman and wants the children to really think about the environment that surrounds them. The store they entered is strictly for the privileged who have money to spend on expensive gadgets. As the group of children walk around they are constantly heckling the price tags and making assumptions on the people who would purchase these kinds of items. The children that Miss Moore is with are clearly not financially well off and the presence of the store seems to irritate them due to its extravagant existence. The lesson that Miss Moore was trying to show them was That the …show more content…
Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for junior and Gretchen’s boys. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit granddaddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the and the piano bill too” -(pg100). In This quote the narrator is ranting on about how far thirty-five dollars can be stretched but is un aware that the narrator s slowing understanding the true value of money and its purpose in one’s life. One reason why the children were brought into the store was to see how far the dollar can be stretched when buying unnecessary frivolous items. The thirty-five dollars can be spent on things that are needed more and that will be valued more to them. The children are slowly learning that money can be used in all sorts of ways but it is up to the individual to access the value of what is being purchased. “Imagine fir a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven” -(pg101). This was an important question that was posed to the children at the end of the adventure. This was said to challenge their point of view on the value of money. It was stated so that they could really think about the money that they have and the money that they will