Moore's Destination Sylvia example essay topic

In "The Lesson" Toni Cade Bambara writes about a group of young kids living in a poverty stricken area. Miss Moore, an older woman from the neighborhood who is their teacher, takes the kids on a field trip to F.A.O. Schwartz to see toys that cost as much as the rent that their parents pay. She is trying to show the kids that they too can make every effort in life for the finer things. The story is seen from the point of view of one of the children named Sylvia. Sylvia doesn't really like Miss. Moore.

Even with her unblinking of Miss. Moore, Sylvia does start to soak up certain events during the field trip and at the end she still walks away showing her toughness, but with a much newer understanding of life. The story starts off with Sylvia describing Miss Moore as a lady "with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup" (210). Sylvia and the rest of the children show very little fondness of their new teacher. She says that she hates Miss Moore as much as the "winos who pissed on our handball walls and stand up on our hallways and stairs so you couldn't halfway play hide-and-seek" (210). Miss.

Moore seems to be different from what Sylvia is used to. Sylvia lives with her Aunt Gretchen who is described as "the main gofer in the family" (211). While her mom and the moms of the other children live in a hoer house together. So to her that's a normal life and Miss. Moore being an educated woman just doesn't seem to fit in with Sylvia's beliefs.

Later on in the story Miss. Moore decides to take the kids on a field trip. Sylvia is given four dollars and told to give the taxi driver a ten percent tip. When the cab arrives at Miss. Moore's destination Sylvia decides to just keep the money. She feels that she has more need for the money than the cab driver.

And I'm stalling to figure out the tip and Sugar say give him a dime. And I decide he don't need it as bad as I do, so later for him. (212) Sylvia has been upset to this point because she feels that Miss. Moore is just trying to rub in the fact that they are poor and asks questions that would make them seem like they are retarded.

Miss. Moore is attempting to teach the kids that poverty is a way of life. Now Sylvia knows that she is poor and so is everyone else in her block. She feels ok with this because there really isn't anyone to compete with, so they all feel as equals.

Then Miss. Moore takes them into the toy store and shows the kids the prices of several objects and the kids are amazed at how much they are. Sylvia starts to feel a bit uncomfortable when entering the store, she starts to say, "But I feel funny, shame... I mean, damn, I have never been shy about doing nothing or going nowhere" (215). You can tell that she feels left out and can not find a sort of belonging. She actually sees that there is a much greater world outside of their block.

A lot of changes have taken place with her, as much as she hates this field trip that Miss. Moore took them on she become wiser to the ways of the world and more thoughtful about her own future. (AG) At the end the kids take a train back home and Sylvia mentions to Sugar about a toy clown that she saw at the toy store and how it was $35. "A clown that somersaults on a bar then does chin-ups just cause you yank lightly at his leg" (216).

As much as Sylvia would like to have the clown she knows her mom would disagree. She already knows her mom will turn around and say that it's just too much and that we can do much more around the house with the $35. Sylvia herself has learned a great deal with this field trip. You can tell by her reaction when her and Sugar take off. Sugar tries to race her to Has combs to get chocolate and then to Sunset for potato chips and ice cream sodas with the $4 that they kept.

She's unaware that all Sylvia wants to do is go somewhere and think of what she wants for the future and she will obtain it. "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" (216). This is exactly what the kids learned on their field trip. It leads to a result in which a group of children are wiser to the ways of the world and more thoughtful about their own futures. Some of the kids are scared at the start and at the end all of them are determined to climb to the top.

They start off hating the fact that they have to leave their block, and they start to feel uncomfortable in the city seeing how most people can spend so much money on items that seem so unimportant to them. Even with all the discomfort the kids would still like to go back someday and purchase something. The fact that "ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" also shows that Sylvia is going to be the best of anything she pursues. (AG).