Roberto Armenteros
January 26, 2000

Sylvia in "The Lesson"

"The Lesson" is a short story written by Toni Cade Barbara in 1972. In this work the

author appeals to the two extremes in society to present one of the most controversial issues,

the difference in classes due to skin color. Throughout the plot the voice of Sylvia narrates the

big change that occurred in her life when education, or the need for education, knocked on her

door. Sylvia lived in a poor black community and the limits of her world prevented her from

having a better life. Listening to her speech was sufficient to identify she was poorly educated.

Words like "hell, outta, cept for except" and incomplete expressions like "and school suppose

to let up in summer"1 were usual in her language. This was a typical situation among people in

her community.

Sylvia was the main character in the story, and was being instructed by Miss Moore, who was

"black as hell" (p. 115) according to Sylvia. Miss Moore graduated from college and went back to

her poor neighborhood to help her people discover the other world that was out there. A world

which had a lot to offer like decent jobs and better life conditions. She knew the only way to achieve

this was through education and that is what she intended to do with Sylvia and her other neighbor

friends. Sylvia, however, did not like the idea of being taught at all. To give an idea of Sylvia's attitude

toward Miss Moore and her plans, let's analyze this example of Sylvia's words when she says:

And the starch in my pinafore scratching the shit outta me

and I'm really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn

college degree. I'd much rather go to the pool or the show where

it's cool (p. 115).

It is obvious there is a conflict: Sylvia versus Miss Moore and Sylvia versus education. Maybe

Sylvia did not like to feel inferior to Miss Moore, who seemed to know too much to her. This conflict

starts from the neighborhood where Miss Moore did all the necessary changes in the neighborhood so

they would not spend time playing hide and seek and other games. The whole idea behind this was to

take them away from what they knew and what they felt comfortable with so they could learn the lesson

she wanted to teach them. This was more than enough for Sylvia to declare war on Miss Moore. As she

once said:

And we kinda hated her too, hated the way she 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 goddamn

gas mask (p. 115).

Nevertheless, Miss Moore being aware of this situation never reacted aggressively. Instead she stayed

quiet and paid a great deal of attention to every action of Sylvia and her friends, but especially Sylvia.

She always suspected that unlike the rest of her friends, Sylvia had the gift, the gift that could take her

out of the gutter if and only if she could teach her the one lesson about the importance of education.
Among the education activities of Miss Moore, the visit to New York City was the most effective

one since it changed radically the way in which these kids saw the world. When Sylvia was taken to

this city a new world was presented to her. From the ride in the cab to the lady in a fur coat, to what

Sylvia exclaimed "White folks crazy" (p.116), everything was happening for the first time in her life.

The intention of Miss Moore was to make her see there was a better world outside her poor black

community. Intentionally, she was highlighting the necessity of a radical change in their lives so they

could be part of this new world. This can be noticed in Sylvia's words when she said:

So we heading down the street and she boring us silly about what

things cost and what our parents make and how much goes for rent

and how money ain't divided up right in this country (p. 116).

Once in New York City, Miss Moore took them to F.A.O. Schwarz, the famous toy store where rich

people bought toys for their kids. First, they took a look through the window. One of the things they saw

was a paperweight that cost $480. But it was a paperweight just to Miss Moore since nobody else had

a clue about what it was. To Sylvia's eyes it was " a chunk of glass cracked with something heavy, and

different color inks dripped into the splits, then the whole thing put into an oven or something" (p. 117).

However, the paperweight did not impact Sylvia as much as the $1195 handcrafted sailboat of fiber glass

did. She could not "buy" the fact that a person could spend so much money on a toy. In this respect she

said "Unbelievable, I hear myself and am really stunned" (p. 118). At this point Sylvia was learning Miss

Moore's lesson unconsciously. She was beginning to understand that her future had not much to offer.

Once she entered the store things changed dramatically for Sylvia. Her expressive attitude turned into

shame of herself and her life. She said "Not that I am scared, what's there to be afraid of, just a toy store.

But I feel funny, shame" (p. 118). This feeling remained in Sylvia all the time she spent in the store. In one

instance when Sugar ran a finger over the whole boat Sylvia said "I am jealous and want to hit her. Maybe

not her, but I want to punch somebody in the mouth" (p.119). She felt ambition for the first time in her life.

She was willing to fight if by doing so she would get her right place in society. This radical change in Sylvia

made her ask Miss Moore why she brought them there. Miss Moore, who was expecting nothing but that

question from Sylvia answered back ambiguously: "You sound angry, Sylvia. Are you mad at something?" (p. 119).

She knew she had achieved what she wanted. Sylvia was beginning to feel she deserved more.

After this visit to New York City Sylvia had learned an important lesson, which could change the course of her life.

While in the train going home, she kept thinking about her experience as she analyzed the limitations of her society.

She was wondering: "Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats?

What kind of work they do and how they live and how come we ain't in on it?" Now Miss Moore's expressions like

"Where we are is who we are" and "but it don't necessarily have to be that way" kept her mind busy. Now Sylvia

was prepared to face what was to come. As she said: "But ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin"(p. 120).



End Note

1 Toni Cade Bambara, "The Lesson," in Literature: Reading and
Writing the Human Experience, eds. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Peter
Richardson, 7th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), p.115.
All further citations refer to this edition and will be given in the text.