The lesson

An analysis of racial and economic issues in the short story by Toni Cade Bambara

The author, Miltona Mirkin Cade, was born on March 25, 1939 and died on December 9, 1995. She was a social activist for the rights of women and, mainly, for the rights of black women. We can see some similarities in the short story “The Lesson” with the context of her life. First published in 1972, this short story presents and recalls African American culture, which shows the community's struggle against prejudice and economic inequality; and enhances the individual experience of race and class in relation to slavery, themes trend of 20th century movements.

The plot tells the fight for racial and socioeconomic equality, while introducing Miss Moore, a black and well-known teacher from the neighborhood, who gives students a lesson on the brutal inequalities that exist in the US capitalist system. The story is told in first person by Sylvia, a black girl of about 10 years old and takes place in Harlem in a period that is not specified in the story. For the prices of the products in the story, some critics believe that it takes place in the late 60’s/early 70’s.

“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” is the sentence that opens the story. Sylvia tells about a woman named Miss Moore who arrives in her neighborhood, a well-educated woman who proposes to teach things to children and whom Sylvia doesn’t like from the start.

One day, Miss Moore takes the children to visit a toy store in Manhattan, aimed at the rich white public, F.A.O Schwarz, which sells expensive toys. The children watch, curious and surprised, the prices of the toys and Sylvia feels angry. “Unbelievable, I hear myself say and am really stunned. I read it again for myself just in case the group recitation put me in a trance. Same thing. For some reason this pisses me off. We look at Miss Moore and she lookin at us, waiting for I dunno what.”

Apparently, Miss Moore’s idea is to make children aware of social injustices, some children, like Sugar (Sylvia’s cousin), understand the lesson and are honestly awakened by it, at least for a moment. Sylvia, on the other hand, feels underestimated by Miss Moore’s lessons and her patronizing ways, and acts with disdain, being angry with Sugar. In the end, the girls follow different paths, Sylvia feels angry, finding a way to shout her revolt in the final sentence of the story – “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin” – which represents her way of resisting the oppression she faces.

In the text, the financial and cultural difference, the issue between rich and poor, become clear. They are in the same city, New York, just a few miles away, but there is a huge social and economic abyss and that is what Miss Moore wants to show them. The lesson taught is the disparity between the center and a poor neighborhood, between the struggle for survival and consumerism.

Democracy is questioned and what happens to different social groups: while some have so much and others do not have enough to live on. Furthermore, it shows the children's anger at this financial situation and the desire to have things that are so different from their reality. It is normal for people to want things, in a capitalist society, even those who are not necessarily linked to the necessity of life, but to the pleasure of having an idea well used in capitalism.

All characters lived in the same neighborhood, with similar characteristics of urban structure (small and old flats), social (all poor African-Americans) and even early childhood education. Urban and social segregation is a reality, a division of space that has no borders, however everyone knows where they belong, according to the urban, commercial, and social structure.

Miss Moore is the most striking figure for them, who initially scoff at the difference she represents, with natural hair and no makeup; mainly, because she is as black as they are (Black as hell - the negative force of that word, linking skin color with hell). On the contrary, whites are wealthy, with access to many things that they do not even dream of in their reality. “Then we check out that we on Fifth Avenue and everybody dressed up in stockings. One lady in a fur coat, hot as it is. White folks crazy”. Wearing some type of clothing is also status, it is not tied to the basic need to dress, even if it does not match the season.

The point is that they are divided into a few blocks and belong to a completely different world. Freedom? Although there is an idea of ​​freedom for all citizens, there is a dividing line between them. Visible or invisible, the separation is defined, the culture is different and this is the point of resistance.

Bibliography

MANCELOS, João de. Todas as cores da América: A literatura multicultural. Lisboa: Colibri, 2015.

MORRISON, Toni. Unspeakable Things Unspoken: The Afro-American Presence in American Literature. Delivered at The University of Michigan October 7, 1988. Disponível em: https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_documents/a-to-z/m/morrison90.pdf

NADERI, Leila. An African American Study of “The Lesson”, Toni Cade Bambara’s Short Story. 2012. Artigo disponível em: http://www.ipedr.com/vol51/023-ICHSC2012-B10006.pdf Acesso em: 30 de novembro de 2020.