Sylvia in The Lesson - Essay Example

Sylvia in The Lesson It is short but very insightful. It unfolds to the readers’ eyes something which has been a very obvious and clear fact but one which is often a taken for granted reality. In the short story entitled “The Lesson,” Toni Cade Bambara has made Sylvia’s character. She, being the narrator of the story, gives the readers a much more momentous interpretation of how people like her sees the other side of the world which is something far from their world, “slums” as for Miss Moore’s vocabulary. As the lead character of the story, Sylvia has felt anger even if she does not fully recognize where exactly that anger is coming from. For the sudden rush of annoyance Sylvia felt, it is because she is observant and intelligent enough to understand and realize that there is something wrong. This feeling of unfairness could never be concealed that in some little ways, she is affected by the things she has witnessed in F.A.O. Schwarz, a very high-priced legendary store located in New York. Sylvia’s character is made into someone who is young, poor, disobedient, rebellious, uneducated but street smart, resistant, strong-willed, African-American girl but deep within her is a feature of being in denial of that sort for the lesson she’s got in their trip has caused her the feeling of discomfort which is essential for change. Bambara has made the protagonist having the most developed character in the story through Sylvia, a young, poverty-stricken, black female whose kind is situated at a thought-provoking point. Indeed, she is a strong-willed girl, however, with further analysis on her character, I can say that Sylvia is a representation of the oppressed, subjugated and marginalized individuals. For Collins (128), women who are black happen to be located at a very interesting stance for the reason that they have the exceptional case of experiencing what she calls “intersectionality,” as they are situated in between the overpowering structures such as gender and race. Women are situated in a system of patriarchy which sees men to rule and be privileged in everything (Ticker 1197-1198). Women are the disadvantaged between the sexes who are always seen as the more helpless and more vulnerable beings compared to men. Women are judged as the weaker sex while men are the stronger ones. The experience of being an African-American girl is understood by Sylvia for she is one of them. Besides, Sylvia who belongs to the poor embodies the said class. Sylvia’s trip to midtown of New York City tells so much about her status as an impoverished young girl. She does not give the tip to the taxi driver just like what Miss Moore has said to her for she thinks she needs it much more than how much the driver needs it. She could not even afford any single stuff in the toy store which is certainly expensive and costs more than what the rest of the American-African community has allocated for their food consumption. Being in an economically deprived situation enables her to realize the things she does not possess. To be someone stricken by poverty is to be someone who suffers inequality. As well, her age of being young, I think that it signifies her subordination among those who are older than her. All these aspects of Sylvia’s character such as her gender, race, class and age, are affecting her identity in various degrees, which all contributes to her being dominated. These factors are intersecting together to contribute to her forms of oppression (Knudsen 61-76). The author, Bambara, has formulated the personality of Sylvia very profoundly for the readers to be able to see, think, and understand the position of someone who suffers from obvious oppression and inequality. On the one hand, another important aspect of Sylvia’s character as observed is her being uneducated where this lack of education is evidenced by her very own way of speaking. Sylvia and the other characters express themselves in a non-standard manner of English, considering the grammar, construction of the statements, and tone. It only reflects that Sylvia like the other African-Americans in her community lacks formal education because of the fact of their non-standard practice of English. However, Miss Moore is an exemption to the case for she has been described by Sylvia as the lady with “proper speech.” Moreover, Miss Moore is seen as a hindrance to Sylvia’s plans for the summer because of her willingness to educate the young. For someone like Sylvia, she dislikes how the woman with college degree who happens to interfere with their ordinary leisure interests during summertime. Sylvia does not like how Miss Moore attempts to educate her and her friends. Through this, I suppose that Bambara has made Sylvia to be lacking of education because this is another factor of inequality. Education is one significant element for each individual’s chances for economic and social growth (Duman 369-385). She is street smart but it is not enough. She is made uneducated to also have the readers reach a focal way of seeing things through having this factor. Also, I consider that the author of “The Lesson” has crafted Sylvia’s character to be lacking in education for the reason that learning is something significant for change to happen, which I will discuss on the latter part of the paper. Moreover, with enough examination to the characterization of Sylvia and regardless of the fact that she is disobedient, stubborn, resistant and strong-willed, she feels resentment when the things in the most expensive toy store has come right before her eyes. Her trip to F.A.O. Schwarz is a learning process, a realization, a lesson, of what is the real underlying condition of being someone like her. Sylvia does not appreciate how she has been aware of the prevailing inequality. The lesson she has got comes from a very unpleasant manner that she feel anger even though she does not recognize the real origin of this feeling of discomfort and of irritation. She is hurt for some reasons that have involved what she has seen. I can say that that kind of reaction has ignited a change in her character. It is a very ideal way of the transformation of Sylvia from that first-hand experience of seeing the other side of the world which is far better from their world, the riches, to realization that something is not right, that there are things she and her community could not afford, that it is unfair for they are situated being the class of the poor. Her stubborn personality has developed in some ways. Even if she does not like the idea of how Miss Moore is educating them, Sylvia has learned something. That point of the story entails Sylvia’s learned lesson. Through the very deep characterization of the protagonist, the possibility for change can make happen. Sylvia, a young, impoverished, black girl, has played a very vital part of embodying what it is to be oppressed, marginalized and dominated. Her characterization is deeply rooted in the margins of the society. Who she is has been a necessary instrument for a revolutionary transformation. Bambara has made her character like that in order to show and empower the possibility of re-creating lives against the social and economic systems inequality. According to numerous women writer who belong to the racial group of African-American, the self is one important means of saving the self to different conditions contributing to the aspect of being oppressed, marginalized and dominated regardless of how intense the repression is felt by the a woman (Collins 119) . She has to witness the fortunate side of the world where all the riches which she does not possess exist for her to be able to realize how economically deprived she is. That world is far different from the world Sylvia knows. People talk in such a manner of speaking which is far from her very own way. People use to dress up themselves in a really distinct and noticeable style. That place has made her feel like a stranger. There are times when she has sensed fear of getting inside the place because she is not comfortable with what she is seeing. For some unknown reasons, she feels alienated like that of an outsider to that place in New York City which she, together with her friends and Miss Moore, has visited. Even though Miss Moore and her educational approaches cause a negative impact to her like that of being resistant, Sylvia is able to learn about the truth regarding her social and economic condition. More than anything else, her character provides an insightful eye for showing to the readers what it is to be someone like her. Her standpoint as a girl who belongs to a discriminated racial group has made a central key for an eye-opening realization. She has been affected by the unfairness of the world. She has felt anger. She is intelligent enough to recognize this. Being educated indicates perceiving the things which they really are, that is essentially needed for improvement of the oppressed social condition. It is the spark of change which Miss Moore wants Sylvia and her friends to realize. The power to change lies within her character. She is young for she has all the time to start that change. Works Cited: Bambara, Toni Cade. "The Lesson." Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Discovering Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997. Print. Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Duman, Anil. “Education and Income Inequality in Turkey: Does Schooling Matter?” Theory and Practice 32.3(2008): 369-385. Print. Knudsen, Susanne. “Intersectionality—A Theoretical Inspiration in the Analysis of Minority Cultures and Identities in Textbooks.” Caught in the Web or Lost in the Textbook ,2006: 61–76. Web. 26 Nov 2011. Tickner, Ann J. “Patriarchy.” Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy: Entries P-Z. London: Taylor and Francis, 2001. Print. Read More