The Lesson

The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara was my favorite story of the reading for today.  The lesson was interesting in all levels.  The story drew me in, engaged me and had enough details to paint the picture it wanted me to see.  The main theme of the story revolves around a teacher who tries to show the young children how reality affects them. Miss Moore takes her neighborhood students to a toy store, F.A.O Schwarz and tempts them by showing all the wonderful toys that every child would desire to possess.  But Miss Moore also takes a minute to discuss about the price of the toys with the children.  The children then say it is too expensive and that they can get similar, but lesser quality, toys for cheaper at Pop’s.  She then asks if this was fair and the children rationalized that the price paid for one such expensive toy can actually be used to feed a family of six or seven.  In this way, Miss Moore teaches them a lesson.

My favorite character in this story, for humor’s sake, was Flyboy.  Flyboy was one of the central vehicles for humor in this story.  Flyboy was quite funny, if not rib tickling, in more than one way.  There were instances in the story when Flyboy was being sarcastic.  One instance was when everyone was in the toy store. Q.T says, “Must be rich people shop here,” and Flyboy responds sarcastically by saying “You’re a very bright boy.” This comment made me laugh because I use it pretty often to congratulate someone who is slow in getting indirect schemas. Flyboy is also the core for physical humor as he hits and bullies Q.T pretty often.  There are other times too when Miss Moore starts talking something academic and Flyboy interrupts by pointing out to something else to divert the talk and focus. This type of humor made me smile even though it actually sprouts up from an undesirable behavior. 

The story was in all humbling because it shows someone changing for the better.  The narrator and Sugar, both really close friends, are unruly all through and also talk nothing good about the group.  It was interesting when Sugar replied to Miss Moore seriously about what she had learned that day.  The narrator was mad because Sugar was encouraging Miss Moore and her teaching.  But what this ultimately did was that it made the narrator think about her day and learn something out of it too.  She started probing as to what she had learn about reality and this was the biggest lesson.  A lesson that says even the worst can change for the better.  All they need is a light to guide them in the right way and in this story, Sugar provided her best friend some light. The most powerful and significant line in the story was towards the end when the narrator, in almost a competitive tone, says, “We start down the block and she gets ahead which is O.K by me cause I’m goin to the West End and then over to the Drive to think the day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.”