Black children in The Lesson - Essay Example

Black children in The Lesson Toni Bambara’s The Lesson is a short story told in the first person, by the main character, Sylvia. It pictures a group of Black children from a poor community who were brought to an expensive store by their volunteer teacher, Miss Moore, not to let them buy but with the aim of letting them think, be critical of what they see and learn. The conversations of the children went on as ordinarily as any child would talk about toys and things they want to have. However, what made the conversations among them quite different and exciting are the high prices of the items they saw in the store. With the incessant teaching of Miss Moore about facts of life regarding the poor and the rich, Sugar, one of the students came to realize her point during this trip where she reckoned that not even all of their money for their food in year cannot be summed up to buy the toy boat they saw in the store. Although the storyteller was quite annoyed at the conversation, the irony in the story is expressed at the end where she turned out to be the more serious type of a person who was struck with the exchange of ideas. Sylvia decided to be alone so she could think about what happened through the day while Sugar who seemed to be more reflective, turned out to be more concerned of where they were going to spend the change of Miss Moore that she never asked. Most of the characters in the story are static, showing no change in their personalities. For instance, Mercedes presented herself to be the more affluent among them, telling them about what she has and what she could have if she asks her dad to buy things for her. Rosie Giraffe on the other hand has always been the troublemaker, being reckless in her actions and words, waiting for a chance to get to whoever gets caught in her trap. The same is true with the other minor characters that are not the focus in the story but seemed to have been used as standards to differentiate the other characters. Sugar is a flat character because although there was no change in her, there was a time in the story that she became reflective and showed signs of becoming a round character. However, the end of the story reveals that she did not seriously consider her thought that might have changed her life and character. On the hand, where Sugar left her reflections, the main character picked her senses. Sylvia is a dynamic character showing a change in behavior towards the end of the story, taking time to herself to reflect on the things that happened that day. She, from the beginning of the story showed a lot of negative attitudes like hating education, being more concerned about trivial things like boys and the pool where it is cool as well as hating their teacher for her seemingly unending lessons on money and other concerns in life. She was carefree, irresponsible and a cheat but thinking deeply about a toy he wanted so much and what would her mother tell her if she asked for it for her birthday, coupled by the conversation of Sugar and Miss Moore, she realized she had a lot of thinking and learning to do. Miss Moore is the foil character who, contrary to the parents of the children, has a college education and is more concerned about the children’s education than their own parents. She had “proper speech” as put by the storyteller which was a different picture of a woman in their area, not to mention her nappy hair and her being the only woman in town without a first name. In addition, she is also a figure that contrasts the ignorance and carefree attitudes of the children. She acts as the mother figure to all the children who encourages them to be more observant of the things around them, to love education and to be aware that there a many things they do not know outside their little community. Her means of educating the children in an informal manner, teaching them not only theoretical arithmetic but how it is applied in life, by giving them opportunities to explore the realities of life. In a general sense, she could also be considered a foil not only in the story itself but to traditional education. In her voluntary job as a teacher to the students, it is Miss Moore who does the spending for the benefit of her students, making things for their parents in order to have them allow their children to grow under her care. It is also witnessed in the story that the teacher was the one who paid for the children’s taxi fare, which is not the case in the traditional system. Of course, such a model could be very idealistic as it is fictional however; it is probably the author’s manner of catching the attention of educators nationwide or even worldwide, that teaching as a profession should become one’s passion also and not just as a means of living. The theme of the story is about education, as suggested by the title, The Lesson. A lot of lessons could be delivered everyday in many forms and places but what would probably be considered a true lesson is one that is not just given due to necessity, in a structured manner rather as Robert Hutchins said, one that aims to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. Miss Moore intentionally brought the children in a place where their minds could be inflamed to think why are there so trivial things that cost more than what a family of six can eat in a year, who could be able to spend a thousand dollars for a toy that could be destroyed in a matter of days, what do they do and why are they not enjoying the same affluence. The answer to this could be education. The setting of the story is a slum area in the community of Black Americans where parents are too busy to look after the basic needs of their children, where education is among them. In poverty, parents would rather have their children play or work to help them take away the burden of the responsibilities in school like fees and other requirements. Slum areas usually paint the picture of a lazy community where people seem to come to the point of accepting that poverty is their lot and that they have to be satisfied about it. As the story suggests, the women in the place spend their time talking about other people and seem to get themselves busy with unproductive activities. Such an environment is not conducive to learning and poverty could just be a normal thing for the citizens. However, the realization came to the main character and the effect had been so great it made their poverty clearly seen, knowing now that there are people who spend an amount that “should last forever” on just a single toy. Surely, the lesson had a great impact on her that made her want to stay alone and think about the events of the day. Read More