Toni Cade Bambara The Lesson Analysis

In life, the mature or elder ones are needed because they guide use through the paths they have already traveled. They are able to give advices or help the young ones to make their life better. Not only are they needed but they help create a homeostasis in society. In the short stories “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker we can see two adults who takes control of their specific situation to better the life of the young ones. In “The Lesson” the author discusses about an elder woman name Miss Moore who take some African American children in her neighborhood to see an experience a different side of life, one that is more extravagant. In “Everyday Use” the author addresses a mother named Mama who is eager to reunite with her daughter from college and

The authors highlight that adults have major influence on a child’s life and help shape their lives of young ones. In society today we hear things like “children are what their parents make them to be”, hence the reason adults try shape their children positively. It is the little things one adult can do, is what make a big difference in the future. In the story “The Lesson” by Bambara, the main adult Miss Moore is someone who wants kids such as Sylvia and her friends to experience life beyond the so called “Projects”. She volunteers to take the children on a trip to F.A.O. Schwarz, where the children saw lavish and expensive toys. As a result of this trip the children were able to notice the economic disparities between New York City wealthy and poverty. Additionally Miss Moore presented the group of kids at the ending of the trip with a question so they can reason on how this trip changed their point of view of the world. Miss Moore said “Imagine for 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. What do you think?” This