The Lesson

The short story "The Lesson", written by Tomi Cade Bambara, is about a young girl  named Sylvia, who lives in Harlem, in poor conditions. In the beginning an educated, smartly dressed woman, Miss Moore moves to the block, where Sylvia and her friends live. She takes up the responsibility of their education. One day Miss Moore organizes a trip to Fifth Avenue, an expensive shopping street in New York, where the children only see items they will never be able to buy. She tries to teach Sylvia and her friends something about money, how much things costs and what their parents have to spend their salary for. But the children are not interested in learning something, their just want to hang around and have fun.

The story is written from a first person perspective. It is told by Sylivia, who is the protagonist.She is presented as a flat character, like each other character in the story. The story takes place in Harlem, in America, but we do not know when. It is easily written and in colloquial language, so everybody should be able to understand the plot.

The story shows the difference between rich and poor people  and between black and white people. It tells about neglected children and a socially committed woman. I like the story and I think other teenager might also like it, because it is written in a way that might appeal to young people and serious problems are described in a humorous way.