Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson

There are a few themes in Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson,” but the one that stood out was the socio-economic status of African Americans. There is almost no story to date about African Americans that does not touch on the idea that African Americans tend to live in the “ghetto” or the “slums.” It is a stereotype most African Americans cannot escape; “The Lesson” is not different in this regard. It is clear from the narrator, Sylvia, that she is from a low socio-economic status based on her word choice and language. Sylvia’s language and grammar do not highlight someone with a formal education: “You got some ole dumb shit foolishness you want somebody to go for, you send for Aunt Gretchen” (Bambara 98). Sylvia uses a lot of slang for a young

However, that does not stop Miss Moore from attempting to educate the young students. Miss Moore decides to show the children around, in which they stop at a toy store. Sylvia and all the other children become confused by the outrageous prices, eventually, they decide to enter: “But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody.” Sylvia can feel how different she is compared to the people that normally shop there. For the first time in her life, she is incredibly aware of her low economic status and her race. Sylvia feels mad and confused about it and eventually sulks away to think about everything she just learned. The first-person narration is important in the text because it is incredibly powerful to read young girls experience in discovering what it means to be poor and black in modern society. In literature, we rarely receive that perspective. In fact, the audience feels empathy for Sylvia because, before the trip to the store, she had no idea how different she was compared to whiter, richer

However, it is safe to assume it is a woman, speaking to a younger girl, possibly a daughter. The entire text reads as a how-to guide, “How to be a properly lady and not turn into the slut you are trying to become.” The first indication that the speaker is speaking to a female is the use of the word “slut,” which is a derogatory word used for women that choose to live a sexual lifestyle. The second indication that the text was meant for a girl was the number of rules that the presumably young girl was hearing, “Always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming.” Boys are not typically told to walk like ladies or eat their food a certain way. It sounds as if the speaker was trying to give the young girl helpful advice (because nothing is worse than being branded a slut apparently), but her rules reflect the time the text was written because most modern women do no abide by these specific rules, women have more of a choice in today’s society. However, the text also reflects gender-inequality with the use of the word “slut” and ensuring that the young girl was to be proper at all times, something modern women can understand. Women today are pigeonholed in being proper, loving, and clean; without these traits, we are merely gum on the bottom of men’s shoes, rarely seen as a