"Revelation at the Toystore" (What was the lesson learned?)

In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, a group of African American children are exposed to a different socio economic class than their own. Their teacher, a neighborhood college graduate named Miss Moore, takes them to visit F.A.O. Schwarz, a famous toy store in New York. The children are astonished by the prices of the toys, especially the main character, Sylvia. She becomes enraged that there are people who would pay $35 for a toy clown when her family pays the same amount for rent. Despite her anger, the trip to the toy store has a positive effect on Sylvia in the long run.

“Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do…?” These questions are pondered by Sylvia when she notices a toy boat at the store. Her questions show that she notices her own economic standing and is comparing it to another. It’s a good thing that Sylvia is angered by this because she may try harder later on to change her socio-economic class. Sylvia realizes that the people who can afford $1000 sailboats must have jobs that pay well. This knowledge will also give her the encouragement to move up in life. At the end of the story, Sylvia’s cousin, Sugar, tries to race her to the ice cream store. But Sylvia has a revelation. She vows that no one will beat her at anything. She is not just speaking about races, Sylvia plans on excelling financially too. In order to do this she would have to further her education. It is obvious that the positive that comes from her visit to F.A.O. Schwarz surpasses her anger.

To sum it all up, Sylvia’s experience at the toy store is beneficial to her. She will probably strive harder to obtain what she wants. Also, Sylvia has learned another valuable lesson. Although she is poor now, it doesn’t mean that she has to remain that way for the rest of her life.