Colin Wilson

English 102

Mr. Neuburger

9 February 2011

Single Paragraph Essay

Deeper than the Surface

Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” is about a woman, named Miss Moore taking children of the

neighborhood to a toy store to look at the items there, and the costs of those toys, and talking to

them about what they see that day in the store. Through the character of Miss Moore, Bambara is

sending a deeper message being conveyed through what happens on that day than just looking at

toys and their prices, but rather, about society and that money is divided unfairly. For example,

Miss Moore prefaces the whole trip by speaking about “how much goes for rent and how money

ain’t divided up right in this country (Bambara, 9) Also, when they are at the store, Miss Moore

says to the students, “Where we are is who we are,” and adding, “But it don’t necessarily have

to be that way” (Bambara, 13). Also, when they leave the store, Miss Moore asks them what

they think of the toy store and what they think of “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” (Bambara, 14).

Through all of these instances, Miss Moore is trying to get the students to understand what

money is and just how unevenly money is split in the United States. That is the message that lies

underneath the simple act of looking at toys and their price tags.

Works Cited

Bambara, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” 1972. Power of Language; Language of Power: A Collection of

Readings. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 7-14.