The Lesson Setting and Central Idea

Paul Bogdanich

Professor M. Phillips

Composition 1302

9/10/2013

Resubmission of Lessons Surrounding Society

When a young girl and friends discover a whole different level of society never seen by their naked eyes, they start to wonder about the fairness in life which was yet understood. In "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, the conflict the protagonist faces with society as she discovers the realization of economic differences in society reinstating the central idea of the inequalities between the distributions of wealth in societies today.

The conflict begins with Sylvia, an African American girl who was raised in what is considered the lower class of Harlem, New York. Ms. Moore, A black woman who had been to college and described using "unusual" (Bambara 385) and as dressing like she "always looked like she was going to church" (Bambara 385) would take Sylvia to Fifth Avenue to learn about their own social conditions compared to others. The taxi ride first shows you the conflict between Sylvia and money, Miss Moore tells Sylvia to calculate ten percent of five dollars to tip the cab driver. Sylvia then says, "And I'm stalling to figure out the tip and Sugar say give him a dime. And I decide he doesn't need it as bad as I do, so later for him." (Bambara 386). This shows Sylvia's sign of selfishness and carelessness with the value of money, which stems from the environment she grew up in. Upon arriving at the toy store Sylvia felt funny and out of place saying she wasn't afraid but felt shame. Then Sugar asks, "Can we steal?"(Bambara 387) in a serious tone like she's became adapted to the process of stealing over the thought of purchasing. School systems for the kids were poor, not having such an education as others there age because of the low income environment they live in.

Using the central idea of Bambara's short story brings out the inequalities in the distributions of wealth from one society to