Aaron Rosales

Professor Lago
Experiences in Literature
14 April 2014
Dissecting Racism
Racism is a theme widely explored in numerous literary works. Many writers have used
historical setting during their lives and let the actions of others influence their writing to express
their opinions and experiences with racial discrimination. One of these notable writers is Toni
Cade Bambara, a political and social activist, who participated and led events and organizations
that aimed to promote equality in terms of gender, race, and class. In her short story, The
Lesson, she mainly explores class, but at the same time exposes racism that was prominent
during her time when she was writing her short story. Furthermore, Bambara fuses her past into
the characters in her story that enable the readers to explore her depth perspective on racism.
Bambara was born in New York City and grew up in Harlem and Queens where she lived
with her mother and brother. As she was raised in Harlem and went to college in Queens,
Bambara chose to embrace the language of her culture and community, and that language
became a powerful tool for her. As a Harlem born author, her experiences influenced most of her
writings as most of her stories depicted the harsh daily lives of people who lived in the African
American neighborhoods of New York City. Specifically, many of her stories are told from the
point of view of a young African American. For instance, in her story The Lesson which is
told from the first-person point of view of Sylvia, a young African American girl who also
happens to live in the poor area of New York City. Sylvia is a girl who does not know that
racism can exist between the same race. Sylvia was exposed to racism in a way that Bambara
probably had experience when she was younger and possibly until her older years. I believe that
Bambara was able to reflect on how her life was through Sylvia's exposure to racism when they
went to the toy store.What is more interesting is that during the time period when Bambara's
work was written, Harlem Renaissance just ended. In this intellectual movement, Bambara was
inspired to develop her writing even more. However, racism still existed and was still spreading.
As mentioned, through a close examination of her story The Lesson, it can be seen that
Bambara provides an insight through the eyes of a young girl of what it was like during her time
when racism still existed. This experience allowed me to understand that Bambara's was more
than a short story, but a deeper recollection of her past memories.
Moreover, The Lesson indirectly depicted racism at the very beginning of the story.
This is evident when Sylvia says, This lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper
speech and no makeup. And quite naturally, we laughed at her, laughed the way we did at the
junk man... (Bambara 87). Sylvia makes fun of the woman that she does not know personally.
Since she's very young, she probably does not know the implications of her thoughts and
language. Sylvia's chosen word nappy shows how she quickly judges the woman, Miss Moore,
simply by her physical appearance. This is an important aspect in racism because it started with
how people have used not only the color of one's skin, but also one's style of hair or size of eyes
to discriminate, belittle, and/or isolate people. Bambara who as well grew up in Harlem as a
young girl in a community like the one in the story shows how similar the settings were when
she wrote the story. What is more intriguing in this short story is that Sylvia is also black African
American. With this, the same-race racism exists. In addition, Bambara emphasizes that it is
important to understand that racism can exists among the same group of people no matter what,
who, and where they are from originally. Sylvia may not be fully aware that her derogatory
action is considered as a form of racism even though she shares similar characteristics or race as
Miss Moores.
By analyzing the story, there are two possible ways that a reader can assume. First,
Bambara can take on Sylvia's experience in a way that she used to be the same little girl who first
encountered racism without fully understanding what it really was. Second, Bambara who was
very articulate, smart, and open-minded can take on Miss Moore's perspective in the story in a
way that they share the same characteristics and values in life. Taking these into a consideration,
one can see how little did Sylvia know that she, even as a child, has the power to offend others
indirectly through the use of improper or disrespectful words. Racism is shown when Sylvia
uttered, And she was black as hell, except for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky
(Bambara 87). Here, Sylvia's description of Miss Moore's dark skin color implies how shallow
and ignorant she is. In fact, the cold attitude in the way she says this line is unacceptable. This
shows how people have become ignorant and careless they are in regards to their choosing of
words. Thus, racism still exists because people still use such way of behaving towards other
people.
As what I have observed, Bambara intends to put a glimpse of her past, her views, and
feelings in her stories. Bambara focused on portraying the oppressed black community because
she was fully aware of the racist, hardheaded, heedless society that minorities like herself
faced during her time (Bambara 14). In her writings, she emphasizes the black communities,
such as the one in The Lesson, to expose the struggles they faced and the help they need to
understand how social inequality in the society truly exists. For instance, racism is portrayed
when Sylvia says, And we kinda hated her too, hated the way we did the winos... (Bambara
87). The use of the word hate is associated with racism because this is one way a person can
feel another dark colored skin individual very upset and out of place. To understand Bambara's
deep concern in regards to racism, she uses such derogatory word to depict the gravity of this
societal issue. The chosen word hate is deeply connected to how racial discrimination still
exists in the society. When a person hates another individual of color, he or she uses an excuse to
make the other person feel that he or she does not belong in the community. Based on Sylvias
words, Bambara exposes the truth and reality of young children and how they treat other people.
Another instance when Sylvia's behavior implied racism is when she mentions that ...we all
poor and live in the slums which I don't feature (Bambara 89). Although Sylvia knows that Miss
Moore is well educated and very articulate, Sylvia still displays negative attitude toward Miss
Moore because she probably has never met a black woman who went to college before. As what
I have mentioned, Bambara can be seen as Miss Moore who is trying to move forward past such
judgment. Also, it is interesting that Sylvia acts ignorant because she may not be well-educated
yet about racism. With this, Miss Moore's role is to show Sylvia and the other kids the other side
of the oppressed community. Thus, Miss Moore, similar to Bambara, uses her knowledge to
allow other people to understand how racism works and how people should learn that it can
impact anyone's lives.
Also, during the time of Bambara's generation, ignorance towards racism was apparent.
In her story, it can be assumed that Sylvia's parents definitely have influenced the way Sylvia
talks and looks down upon Miss Moore. When Sylvia mentions, Which is just one of the things
the grownups talked about when they talked behind her back like a dog (Bambara 87), it shows
that it is easy for children to follow what their parents do. Thus, racism spreads out more in the
society when the parents of the society are showing indifference and ignorance as well towards
social and racial equality. If Sylvia was raised and taught by her parents to respects others more
and to not judge people by their color, appearance, and race, then maybe she would not be acting
the way she is towards Miss Moore. Furthermore, a child raised and surrounded with negative
perspective about the how the society works and other people, will definitely create a negative
environment for the new generation. In addition, Bambara states, Ones got to see what the
welfare children see in order to tell the truth and not get trapped. Got to see more and dare more
(Bambara 14). In other words, Bambara writes from the point of view of the oppressed such as
Sylvia, in order to expose the truth about racism to others. Much like Miss Moore trying to
expose the unfairness of social class to the children, Bambara on the other hand exposed the
racial discrimination that was happening in the story.
Also, when Miss Moore took the children to the toy store, the items in the store caught
the children's attention. One evidence is when the children saw a handcrafted sailboat of
fiberglass being sold for $1,195, Miss Moore says, Poor people have to wake up and demand
their share of the pie (Bambara 94). With this statement, Miss Moore is focusing on teaching
the children that in order for one to achieve what he or she wants, he or she has to put work and
effort for it. This makes me realized that she is implying that people are not handed money or
wealth easily because everyone must work hard for what he or she desires in life and what he or
she deserves to acquire in life. In addition, when Sugar asserts, "'this is not much of a democracy
if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don't it?'
(Bambara 95), it illustrates how people really view social equality. However, this view is flawed
because children should be taught that equality does not only mean economic equality because
equality has so much more into it, including racial equality.
Ultimately, this short story has helped me understand how Bambara tied her past
experiences into the story regarding the issue of racism, as well as class. Bambara has made me
realize that simple things children see and hear can definitely impact how the new generation
will view life and people in the society. Her story was written in order to teach people about how
people's differences can change how the society works. Her powerful words enable the readers to
somehow feel what she felt when she became a victim of racism. Although the story has helped
me understand that racism is hard to eliminate in the society, Bambara has aided me to
understand that a persons skin color or race has nothing to do with what kind of person he or she
will become or what choice he or she will make. Thus, reading between the lines of the short
story, we can see that the main characters Sylvia and Miss Moore are to a certain extent the
illustration of Bambara herself.










Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. Toni Cade Bambara. Black Women Writers at Work.
Claudia Tate. New York: The Continuum Publishing Corporation, 1983. (12-38). Print
Bambara, Toni Cade. Gorilla, My Love. 1st Vintage Books ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1981.
Graves, Roy Neil. "Bambara's the lesson." The Explicator 66.4 (2008): 214+. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Heller, Janet Ruth. "Toni Cade Bambara's Use Of African American Vernacular English In "The
Lesson." Style 37.3 (2003): 279-293. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.