Toni Cade Bambara the Lesson

Toni Cade Bambara, The Lesson

Toni Cade Bambara's The Lesson was a story told through the thoughts and wisdom of Sylvia, a young girl who lives in a lower class city. Throughout the story, Bambara used a combination of symbolism and reality techniques. While a young girl tells the story, he demonstrates how smart Sylvia is in the world she lives in - having to tell strong languages she has come to learn from her environment, and yet being able to show depth of wisdom about the societal conditions people faces (specifically, when Sylvia was brought to a shop of expensive toys).

The Lesson is a literary piece perhaps intended to build good comprehension and perception to the readers. Through the character of Sylvia, Bambara was able to achieve this. Sylvia was characterized as a girl who may be young and living in a quite unpleasant setting, but has the awareness about the truth of how a life is lived in a society of challenges and trials.

Bambara used symbolism and reality when Mrs. Moore brought the children in an expensive toyshop: symbolism, in a sense that the expensive toys symbolize things in our life - may be our dreams and goals in life to succeed; and reality, in a sense that Sylvia and the other children see the reality of their living conditions as compared to the rich people. Bambara used a technique to grasp the story's audience by characterizing Sylvia as a girl who embraces anger to society. This character of Sylvia made the readers wonder about her feelings until the story slowly insinuated the presence of inequalities Sylvia sees in society.