A Lesson in Social Injustice and Economic Inequality
At some point in life, everyone regardless of their social or economic background, will desire to have a decent life. What does vary between children of various economic backgrounds is their perception of what a decent life consists of. The knowledge of economic inequality is typically not taught by educators in classes, but through everyday social interactions. In “The Lesson”, Toni Cade Bambara uses character, setting and point of view to suggest that education is not just obtained in school, but the discomfort felt from life experiences results in knowledge, which promotes positive change. The characters in this story are a group of young inner-city children and their neighbor Miss
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Detailing their life in the inner-city is important in revealing that the children are obviously unaware of the disparity between poor and rich people. It provides a glimpse into their lives at home, in school and on the city streets. Although most of the story takes place in New York’s inner-city, the life altering knowledge is obtained in a downtown Manhattan toy store, F.A.O Schwarz. This location reveals that the children are not accustom to being in places outside of the inner-city, therefore making them naïve to what others would consider a decent lifestyle. After discovering what people are willing to pay for the toys, one of the children, Rosie Giraffe mumbles, “White folks crazy.” (285) The children’s lack of knowledge about the items in the store reveals the level of education being offered in their local schools. When Rosie Giraffe notices a paperweight that costs $480, she resorts to describing the item because she does not know what it is, “My eyes tell me it’s a chunk of glass cracked with something heavy, and different-color inks dripped into the splits, the whole thing put into a oven or something.” …show more content…
It also shows how being outside of ones comfort zone can lead to valuable knowledge. Taking the children outside of their environment helped them realize the extent of economic inequality and social injustice they were facing. The anger felt from this knowledge, provoked Sylvia to want to work harder to achieve what others have. After gaining this knowledge, she could no longer be complacent with her situation and in her environment. She became determined to make positive changes so that she would never feel the way she felt in that toy store again. That was made evident in Sylvia’s last comment, “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.”
Basic education is mandatory for all kids in the United States. There are laws with minimum and maximum age limits for required free education, but this does not make all education equal. The minimum age varies from four to five to begin kindergarten, while most students graduate high school by age of eighteen or nineteen. However, there are kids that begin their education much earlier. Bell Hooks’ “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor”, Jonathan Kozol’s “From Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid”, and Barbara Ehrenreich’s “How I Discovered the Truth About Poverty” have a common topic, “poverty”. Moreover, each of these readings has a different perspective with a different agenda attached, but “poverty”
The children in this book at times seem wise beyond their years. They are exposed to difficult issues that force them to grow up very quickly. Almost all of the struggles that the children face stem from the root problem of intense poverty. In Mott Haven, the typical family yearly income is about $10,000, "trying to sustain" is how the mothers generally express their situation. Kozol reports "All are very poor; statistics tell us that they are the poorest children in New York." (Kozol 4). The symptoms of the kind of poverty described are apparent in elevated crime rates, the absence of health care and the lack of funding for education.
Bambara writes, “So right away I'm tired of this and say so. And would much rather snatch Sugar and go to the Sunset and terrorize the West Indian kids and take their hair ribbons and their money too. And Miss Moore files that remark away for next week's lesson on brotherhood, I can tell” (2). From this, we can see that Sylvia knew what she said was wrong and even why it was so. This also happens to be the passage that Cartwright uses to illustrate that the children require more than one lesson on a hot Harlem day; they deserve a thorough education. Cartwright explains “Rather than simply teaching a single lesson, the story is about the value of lessons themselves, the value of learning and thinking”
As in the story: "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez, students of Julia de Burgos school were abused psychologically by a bad teacher named Blessington, which belittled and humiliated his telling students that would end in jail or as prostitutes; in the same way, the lack of pedagogy of these so-called teachers, contribute to the impoverishment of our educational system. For decades, it has been supposed that education is related to socioeconomic status determined by the level of income. It is common to hear, if you are rich, so it has can be an excellent education. This thought is deep within us and it could be very difficult to think in another way. With this we can deduce that any financial
At the beginning of the story, the author gives us the feeling that a child is narrating this story. She also shows that the child, Sylvia, is at that age where she feels that adults are silly and she knows everything. “Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup.” (Bambara 470) Sylvia also tells us about her environment while referencing Miss Moore. “And we kidna hated her too, hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our handball walls and stank up our hallways and stairs so you couldn’t halfway play hide-and-seek without a damn gas mask. Miss Moore was her name. The only woman on the block without a first name.” (Bambara 470) This is our introduction to Miss Moore. She is an educated, well groomed person and the children resent her because she is different and their parents force them to spend time with her in the interest of education.
Sylvia’s being poor influences the way in which she sees other people and feels about them. Sylvia lives in the slums of New York; it is the only life she knows and can realistically relate to. She does not see herself as poor or underprivileged. Rather, she is content with her life, and therefore resistant to change. Sylvia always considered herself and her cousin as "the only ones just right" in the neighborhood, and when an educated woman, Miss Moore, moves into the neighborhood, Sylvia feels threatened. Ms. Moore is threatening to her because she wants Sylvia to look at her low social status as being a bad thing, and Sylvia "doesn’t feature that." This resistance to change leads Sylvia to be very defensive and in turn judgmental. Sylvia is quick to find fl...
The story identifies three characters: Sylvia, Sugar and a black woman, Ms. Moore. Initially, Sylvia does not like Miss Moore as she believed she prevented children from having fun but in reality Miss Moore wanted to show them the real side of the life. So she organized a trip to F.A.O. Schwartz. As the story develops, the reader gets a glimpse of Sylvia “street smarts” and her leadership role as they travel to a toy store in a cab.
...siting F.A.O. Schwarz awakens in Sylvia an internal struggle she has never felt, and through criticizing Miss Moore, Sylvia distances herself from realizing her poverty. In her responses to the toys, their prices, and the unseen people who buy them, it is evident that Sylvia is confronting the truth of Miss Moore's lesson. As Sylvia begins to understand social inequality, the realization of her own disadvantage makes her angry. For Sylvia, achieving class consciousness is a painful enlightenment. For her to accept that she is underprivileged is shameful for her, and Sylvia would rather deny it than admit a wound to her pride: "ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (312).
...merica. When Sylvia arrives at F.A.O Schwartz she is surprised by the high prices of the toys. After she sees the prices of the $35 clown and $1195 sailboat she ask Miss Moore, “Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?”(319). Sylvia comes face to face with poverty and realizes that she is not privileged to buy those toys based on her low economic status. After Sylvia leaves the toy store she realizes Miss Moore’s lesson and has a better understanding of social inequality. The last sentence of the story states “But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin”(320). Sylvia realizes that she has a disadvantage in society and doesn’t want to accept the fact that she is in the lower-class. She’s in control of her life and can choose her place in society.
What does it mean for someone to be on the lines of poverty or living in poverty? What is this word that is falsely used and missed analyzed? Poverty is the state of being extremely poor or being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. In 2010, 16.4 million children, or 22.0 percent, were poor in the United States alone. (Tanner, 2014) The poverty rate for children also varies substantially by race and origin. If the rate of poverty continues to rise, will there be any hope left in humanity? The real question is not what is poverty but why is there so many people living in it. The ideal job of the government (federal and state) is to create a better/safer environment for the people. The model the “government” campaign is that everything they do is for the “benefit” of the people. When does the word “benefit” come into play when twenty-two percent of the population cannot supply a place for their children to sleep, put food on the table, and get a job that pays well enough to support their family. Are there any real benefits knowing families living in poverty have only one percent of a chance of getting out? Who is to blame? Where and how did this problem all start? What is this so called “government” doing to help stop the increasing rate of poverty? As you read this essay, it will explain what it means to be truly poor and why the government does so little to help. Include real stories from people living in poverty, what the government is doing to help (and if it’s enough), and is the problem of poverty becoming worst or slowly rising to become better.
Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody" (Bambara 604)—offers an indication as to why she is so hard-pressed to concede her substandard socioeconomic standing in the larger scheme of things. Sylvia is forced to finally address the true state of her place in society, however, when she observes firsthand the stark contrast between the rich and the poor at a fancy toy store in Manhattan. Initially furious about the blinding disparity, her emotionally charged reaction ultimately culminates in her acceptance of the real state of things, and this acceptance in turn cultivates her resolve to take action against the socioeconomic inequality that verily afflicts her, ensuring that "ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (606). "The Lesson" posits that far from being insurmountable, economic and social injustice can be risen above, but it is necessary that we first acknowledge the role that it plays in our lives, and then determine to take action against it; indifference, and the inaction that it breeds, can only serve to perpetuate such injustices.
Poverty has been a growing problem in America, and it most likely will never stop being one. Someone who is identified as being in poverty lives beneath the poverty line determined by the Federal government. The poverty line in 2015 for a family of four was $24,250. These are the people who are really considered poor. Poverty isn’t just a problem in the United States; in fact, other countries struggle just as much, if not more, than the United States does. Many people struggle to keep themselves above the government’s poverty line, shown by the fact that the percent of poor people in America hasn’t drastically changed over the years. However, it is possible to get out of, and ultimately stay out of, poverty.
Many people do not realize that there are tens of millions of people in America who are living in poverty because they are stuck on the fact that America is one of the richest nations. People who are living in poverty barely have enough money to survive on basic necessities like food, shelter and electricity. They often have a hectic schedule filled with work, school, or other activities that they have to do in order for them to live a somewhat stable life. Unfortunately, there are others who are living in poverty that may be ill or disabled and barely able to survive even if they are receiving money to help with their situation. There are a few programs that help those in poverty with their financial problems, but they only help them to a certain extent. Changes need to be done to help alleviate the poverty rate because these people should not have to deal with all of these hardships or have such a negative perspective of life. Therefore, America can reduce its poverty by raising the minimum wage, making health care more accessible, and by making child care more affordable. These solutions will be a great start to reducing poverty and they will lead America into a brighter future.
In today 's society, there is 1 in 7 people living in poverty which is costing Canadian citizens’ money as they are paying for taxes. There are many standpoints in which people examine the ways poverty affect society such as Marx’s conflict theory. Marx’s conflict theory goes over how social stratification being inevitable and how there is a class consciousness within people in the working class. Another way that poverty is scrutinized is by feminization. Feminization is the theory that will be explored throughout this essay. Poverty will be analyzed in this essay to determine the significance of poverty on the society and the implications that are produced.
“Malnourished children are 20% less literate than those with a healthier diet, says UK charity Save the Children” (The Information Daily). When parents become victims of poverty it can have some very unpleasing long and short term effects to their children. Parents in poverty have a lot on their plate and buying the best quality food or affording enough food can be a tumultuous task. Quality nutrition is essential for the development of the brain. At a young age, poor nutrition or not enough nutrition can seriously hinder “the brain 's development, a child’s ability to learn and has a devastating impact on a child’s future”(The Information Daily). “Malnutrition in the early developmental stages of the brain, by restricting the children’s cognitive growth, can lower a child 's IQ has much has 20 points”(The Information Daily). Long term effects of malnutrition leave permanent damage to the brain, however, malnutrition has short term effects as well. Malnourishment can greatly compromise a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. “Low counts of zinc, iron and vitamin A are commonly associated with weakened immune function” (Orphan Nutrition). A deadly infection can have a huge impact on a poverty stricken family leading to less affordability. Malnutrition negatively affects a student throughout their educational