My Experience
My experience with reading the short story The Lesson by Toni Cabe Bambara I felt was an eye opener into the disparities that can be seen amongst communities of color especially when they finally get to see what is outside of their inner-city neighborhoods. It might be only seven pages long, but the experiences and comparisons that the children experience from their own neighborhood to the richer areas of Manhattan can be considered night and day from each other. It also really shows the struggle that people of color have gone through considering most migrated to the city as part of The Great Migration of the early to mid-20th Century. It did give me some thought about the disparities from a sociological perspective again like with when I read Our Migrant Souls by Hector Tobar. This short story deals with a highly educated woman taking a young girl named Sylvia who is the narrator along with her friends as part of an effort to educate them about inequalities and while the children don’t believe it at first and even make fun of what she’s saying, they end up realizing how much of a disadvantage they are.
Classifying My Experience
An experience I have taken in frustration especially after seeing how all the children are at a massive disadvantage as we learn throughout the story. The entire story is meant to highlight the disadvantages of inner-city Black children, and as someone who grew up in a higher middle-class neighborhood in the north of my city, it frustrates me wishing that everyone else I grew up with could’ve had a childhood of more wealth, more happiness, and more friendship amongst each other. Seeing what happened in my town (being the location of a landmark state court case that found the city systemically packed Black children into one school), it just frustrates me that we as a country haven’t found any way to close the gap in wealth and quality of life between White people and people of color.
“So we heading down the street and she’s 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. 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. p. 2
These lines stood out to me because they show Sylvia’s perspective of seemingly not caring about what Miss Moore is trying to explain which can also be tied towards a lack of self-awareness within communities. To me, this also signals the lack of education and care for inner city communities who are systemically at a disadvantage and goes to show that this story which takes place in the 1950s, showed how those in power did everything they could to put people of color at a disadvantage. Knowing what I’ve also seen amongst friends from home, it continues that evergreen cycle that I discussed in my last post as well when it comes to stigmas and systems when you don’t educate those in need.
“At home, then,” she say. “Don’t you have a calendar and a pencil case and a blotter and a let
ter-opener on your desk at home where you do your homework?” And she know damn well what our
homes look like cause she nosys around in them every chance she gets. “I don’t even have a desk,” say Junebug. “Do we?” “No. And I don’t get no homework neither,” says Big Butt. “And I don’t even have a home,” say Flyboy like he do at school to keep the white folks off his back and sorry for him. Send this poor kid to camp posters, is his specialty.”– Bambara. p. 3
This section also frustrated me seeing how little care is put into place for children who are simply trying to live a life the best they can. Their parents are working so hard only to not earn much due to disparities at the time over pay and wages. Those living in poverty are more likely to struggle academically and it goes to show. Earlier in this page some of the children don’t even know what a paperweight is which concerns me. Even when I was as high as 10th grade, I would see fellow students give answers that baffled my mind which frustrated me knowing that situations are not always their fault.
“Then Sugar surprises me by sayin, “You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think all of us here put
together eat in a year what that sailboat costs.” And Miss Moore lights up like somebody goosed her.
“And?” she say, urging Sugar on. Only I’m standin on her foot so she don’t continue. “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. p. 6
This also frustrated me seeing how things at toy stores will appeal towards richer and White children based on pricing and promotions. Seeing one of the children mention that the prices for a sailboat is more than a meal for a family for a day just goes to also show who has access to what among communities in need. Lower income communities also won’t have access to the best quality which goes to show how little care is given to benefit them. When I took sociology in high school in 12th grade, there was an entire week dedicated towards investigating and addressing the differences in how toys are marketed by race and wealth looking at commercials and prices.
Narrative Technology
One narrative technology that I had thought about is the I Voice, which is when the narrator of the story, which is Sylvia here speaks from her perspective. She tends to talk about things from her own or multiple of her friends when talking about their day in the neighborhood or trip into the city. We also get to hear her true thoughts about those around her in her head as well based on experiences and observations she’s made. The intentions are clear through her narration and also her true thoughts, such as when they race down the block, the shyness about going to this new location, and also as if she and her friends are saying the exact same thing at once when reading price tags.
