Summary Of The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara

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The Lesson written by Toni Cade Bambara, shows the difficulties for black Americans in a socio-economic system. Miss Moore is a woman who frequently takes the neighborhood children on educational outings, and this time she takes them to F.A.O Schwartz: a toy store in another part of the city. Miss Moore does not teach like others; instead of using a chalkboard, she takes the children out to learn in a different approach. Miss Moore’s point in taking the children to FAO Schwartz was to get a better understanding of the real world and the unjust socio-economic system. In a socio-economic society, it’s defined as a: “concerning with the interaction of social and economic factors.” So, a socio-economic society creates unfair access to money and …show more content…

Before the children even begin to go to the store, Miss Moore asked them an upright question: “And Miss Moore asking us do we know what money is, like we a bunch of retards. I mean real money, she say, like it’s only poker chips of monopoly papers we lay on the grocer” (1). Miss Moore was setting up the idea for the rest of the story. The children knew what money was, but didn’t understand how it works. Miss Moore is surprised when Sugar speaks about what she has learned by saying: “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” (6). Sugar realizes how unjust society is when some people can spend lots of money buying little toys, and other people work hard to just be able to put food on the table. Miss Moore teaches them with a hands-on, in person technique, instead of a book or chalkboard. Seeing the small toys and the price tag in person teaches the children that the rich are not concerned about how they spend their money. Sugar is confused on how people can be able to pay for silly things like these instead of bills; “What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t on it?” (5). Back in the day the black Americans in this society were stuck

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