Jaclyn Karpiak
English 101
12 April 2012

Short Story Analysis: “The Lesson” Toni Cade Bambara, a Harlem-born author, embraces culture, community, and background through her short story “The Lesson”. She has the main character Miss Moore discuss the struggles African Americans have with Caucasians involving social class, poverty, and equality. For many years after the abolition of slavery, African Americans were still looked down upon and considered a lower social class in certain societies. Bambara uses language as a powerful tool for describing America during the 1960s through the eyes of a young girl named Sylvia, a proud, sensitive, tough girl who is far too smart to ignore the realities around her. Bambara uses language to establish a cultural setting and Miss Moore to teach her students how to be successful, no matter their race. This story reflects Bambara’s ethnic background and pride by using the same dialect that she used growing up in Harlem, New York. According to Bambara, she spoke African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a trait that imparts to Sylvia. African American Vernacular English adds realism and humor to Sylvia's narrative because it describes her ethnicity without directly expressing what it is. It is common for African-American writers to use AAVE to emphasize their political and social commentary, so it is appropriate for Sylvia to be speaking the dialect because the story takes place in the ghetto of New York where Sylvia spends her childhood as a working class African American child. In this particular story, AAVE effectively conveys the characters' strong emotion. The language of these characters marks their lack of classiness and signals some taboo act. These challenging phrases indicate conflict between authority figures and less powerful characters. Sylvia is made out to be a rebellious youngster who dislikes having to take summer lessons from Miss Moore, an educated woman who volunteers to teach children in her community. Bambara utilizes sassy language to make a commentary on this relationship when Sylvia rudely highlights the shade of Miss Moore's skin, “And she was black as hell” (394). Sylvia also refers to her own family members' having "all moved north the same time” (393). These comments also give clues about the characters' race and their recent move to New York from the South. In the opening sentence of "The Lesson," Bambara clearly indicates that Sylvia is narrating in AAVE. Here, Sylvia describes Miss Moore as an adult with "nappy hair". The word “nappy” originated in AAVE and is one of the many examples shown in this text. Sylvia also notices that Miss Moore has "proper speech". In contrast to the children in the story, Miss Moore is college-educated and speaks Standard American English. According to Sylvia, the other blacks in the neighborhood tended to laugh at Miss Moore, make fun of her behind her back. However, the black adults respect Miss Moore's education and allow her to teach their children in an informal summer school session. At first, Sylvia and the other kids view Miss Moore's lessons as boring, but by the end of the story, they have a greater respect for her after the revolutionary field trip. Miss Moore takes them to the F. A. O. Schwarz and says, “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…” (399). This makes the children question the fairness of social and economic class in America. In the 1974 essay "On the Issue of Black English," Bambara writes that the goal of teaching black children should not be to force-feed Standard American English, white conversational rituals, or mindless answers to questions. Instead she says that teachers should strive to develop question-oriented students. Miss Moore may represent one aspect of Bambara herself, which is why Miss Moore challenges her students, in hopes that they become successful and overcome their stereotypical lifestyle. Bambara portrays a lack of experience in a positive light by describing her narrator Sylvia as a creative, confident young woman. Furthermore, Sylvia's language, tends to include cursing, expressing her self-confidence, anger, frustration, and originality. This language also relates to one of the story’s themes, which is that African American children need to learn Standard English in order to learn about the world around them and function in society. However, in "The Lesson," most of the children who are in need of a real education speak only AAVE. This dialect emphasizes the children's distance from the white upper class culture and economic power. The story also pays close attention to the differences between rich and poor along with their social attitudes, and cultural norms about education. The overall lesson that Miss Moore teaches her students is that positive change can only occur through learning and experience. For example Miss Moore always says, “where we are is who we are” (399). She gives her students this advice so they can take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. In “The Lesson” Bambara shows the relationship between Miss Moore and her students through language and her lessons. Although Sylvia thought Miss Moore’s lessons were a waste she still benefited from them in the end by grasping certain concepts. As Sylvia discovered new capabilities it reflected the journey Miss Moore had taken as well. Her lessons challenged the characters and readers by making them rethink the accepted social values and norms.

Work Cited

Bambara, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” 40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Beverly Lawn. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 393-400. Print.