Essay theme identification and selection

¶ … Toni Cade Bambara [...] conflict in the story. If the narrator (Sylvia) did not find Miss Moore so offensive, there would be no conflict in the story - in fact, there would not be a story at all. It is the conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore that makes the story interesting and exciting for the reader.

None of the children in this story want to learn the lessons Miss Moore is teaching. She wants to help them, but during much of the story, they do not want to be helped. In fact, they really do not think they need help, they think the educated Miss Moore is the one with a problem. They want to spend their summer playing, teasing each other, and having a good time, not learning something new. Early in the story Sylvia says, "And school suppose to let up in summer I heard, but she don't never let up" (Bambara). Sylvia does not want to grow and change, but she cannot help it. Miss Moore is there to help her along, whether she wants the help or not. Sylvia cannot recognize it during the story, but later she will certainly recognize Miss Moore was a mentor and a real friend. If the difficulties between them were resolved in the story, it would not be as poignant or as powerful. Sylvia is a strong personality, and she must learn things on her own terms. Miss Moore is a strong personality, too. Sylvia does not understand how much they have in common, but if she did, the story would not have the same impact. The two characters have to be at odds for the story to make a true impression on the reader.

The scene at F.A.O. Schwartz is pivotal to the story. Miss Moore wants to show the children there are vast differences between their world and the world outside the ghetto. Not everyone is poor, and some people have enough money to indulge their children in $1,000 sailboats. Sylvia realizes they are different, and may not fit in inside the toy store. Bambara writes, "Not that I'm scared, what's there to be afraid of, just a toy store. But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody. But somehow I can't seem to get hold of the door, so I step away from Sugar to lead. But she hangs back too" (Bambara). Miss Moore has taught them a valuable lesson, but they do not know it yet. She has taught them to want more out of life, and to strive to make better lives for themselves, just as she has. They may not have $1,000 sailboats, but it is up to Miss Moore to see that they have more than they have now, and more than their parents have. She wants them to know there is much more to the world than they know. She tells them, "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?'" (Bambara). Sylvia will not say what she thinks, because of the conflict between the characters. However, it is clear the entire incident has had an effect on her, and that she will think about it again and again.

Bambara could have handled this story in many different ways. She could have had Miss Moore gain the affection of the children. She could have made her a stronger, less sympathetic character so the reader understood the children's animosity toward her. She could have made her too intellectual and arrogant, to make the children dislike her even more. All of these characteristics would have made the story difficult to read and believe. Miss Moore is the perfect character to interact with these children. She is patient, understanding, and most of all committed to sharing what she knows with these children to help make them better people. She is enough above them to be believable, and knowledgeable enough about their lifestyles that they trust her to an extent. Making her into any other character would have changed the message of the story.

The same goes with the children. They are arrogant in their ignorance, and it makes them charming some how. For example, Sylvia takes offense when Miss Moore says they live in the slums. Bambara writes, "And then she gets to the part about we all poor and live in the slums which I don't feature. And I'm ready to speak on that, but she steps out in the street and hails two cabs just like that" (Bambara). Sylvia and her friends are not afraid to talk back to grown-ups, express their opinions, and be sarcastic to each other. To make them meek, mild, and educated would ruin the meaning of the story. Just as Miss Moore has to be a certain way, the children have to be a certain way for the story to be effective. There has to be conflict between the children and Miss Moore for the ultimate "lesson" of the story to sink in. Sylvia learns it, she just will not acknowledge it, and that is another effective part of her personality.

Sylvia and Miss Moore have to be different for another part of the story to be effective. It seems that Sylvia is so critical of Miss Moore because deep down, she admires her. She would certainly never admit that to her friends, because that would make her the butt of their jokes and scorn. However, there are places in the story where she grudgingly admits Miss Moore has things they do not. Bambara writes, "She'd been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young ones' education, and she not even related by marriage or blood" (Bambara). Sylvia cannot even admit it to herself, but it is clear she admires Miss Moore because she got out of the ghetto and made something of herself. She also is so responsible that she moves back in order to help other children get out of the ghetto and make better lives for themselves.

There is another reason Sylvia and Miss Moore must be in conflict in the story. It is very conceivable that Miss Moore sees herself in Sylvia when she was young, which is why she especially wants her to succeed. She looks to her for answers, gives her special assignments, and expects her to learn the valuable lesson she teaches. Sylvia is still too proud and immature to acknowledge this, but it is easy for the reader to see. Miss Moore was probably a lot like Sylvia when she was a girl - spunky, arrogant, a leader, and sarcastic. It is what gets Sylvia through life in the ghetto, and these are probably some of the elements that helped Miss Moore get and education and move on. Miss Moore has grown up and become a more dignified adult, but she was once raw like Sylvia, and so she knows Sylvia has the potential to succeed.