The Lesson, was there really a lesson?

 This story takes place in New York City during the 60s presumably. Ms. Moore, an educated black woman, takes the neighborhood kids on a trip to FAO Schwartz, a high-class ritzy toy store located in an upper-class neighborhood. Sylvia, the main character is observant about the prices of these toys and makes a mental note on how expensive they are and how they cannot afford them. Perhaps Sylvia did not know a world like the rich didn't exist before the trip, since she was only exposed to her surroundings as we see. She gets angered and frustrated and maybe feels a slight shame or embarrassment of being of a low social class. Ms. Moore wanted to teach the kids a lesson about social class and social inequality, which they can clearly see its true existence during this trip. However, what Ms. Moore does not teach them, is that these kids CAN get out of the lower social class, with proper education and training. It's sad to see how the end of the story doesn't make it clear if Sylvia ever made it out of the lower class. 

Comments

  1. Hosna AhmedFebruary 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM

    Hi Vanessa, I agree with your post and I think you capture the story very well. The story talks about the inequalities of life and how these children that are under Miss Moore can achieve more in life and break out of these social inequalities. The trip that Mrs. Moore takes the students on serves to be the eye opener that provokes the deeper thoughts in Sylvia who eventually takes time at the end of the story to separate from her friend Sugar and reflect deeply on this deeper lesson that Miss. Moore tried to teach. Sylvia is highly resistant to opening up to Miss Moore and letting her break in and that's evident throughout the story as she resisted talking to Miss Moore and even steps on her friend's foot to prevent her from engaging with Miss Moore.

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