Social Conciousness to Activism within "The Lesson"

Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” provides an insight into a social consciousness awakening that occurs within the protagonist, Sylvia. Although the notion of social consciousness is a focal point for the story, Bambara wants her readers to engage with the question of how ‘social consciousness’ translates itself into social activism. This transition from thought into action is how the reader becomes impacted by ‘the lesson’ that Bambara wants to teach. In the case of “The Lesson,” Bambara utilizes Miss Moore as her means of translating social truth into social action. The reader learns through Sylvia that Miss Moore is college educated. The reader can infer that Miss Moore’s college education is a motivator in her choice of becoming a teacher. Her knowledge of social injustices informs her decision to take Sylvia and her friends to FAO Schwarz to see the disparities between the two neighborhoods. Miss Moore’s social justice translates into her being an educator that teaches the children about the world. The reader must consider the symbolism behind Miss Moore’s name. Miss Moore’s name resembles that of the word ‘more’ as Bambara is implying that Miss Moore herself is engaging the children with more characters insight about themselves and their space in their respective worlds.

However, Bambara does not leave education as the only method into social justice. Bambara importantly notes that one’s experience can be a motivating factor into the realm of social activism. Her protagonist, Sylvia, is a prime example. In the beginning of the story, Sylvia revealed that she didn’t agree with Miss Moore’s perspective of them living in poverty. Yet, once noticing the disparities that are present between her neighborhood and Fifth Avenue, Sylvia’s mindset is changed. It could be inferred that had Sylvia not been taken on this trip that she would not have seen her life or in the bigger context of the social world. Bambara is pointing out that social consciousness can transform into social activism through one’s own experience. People’s experiences have been always a major component in sparking contemporary social justice movements. In Bambara’s story, the reader knows that Sylvia is ready to engage in activism as she proclaims in the end that no one is going to beat her at anything. What Bambara wants the reader to grasp from the story and her two pivotal characters is that one’s social consciousness will motivate how one interprets and enacts their learning through social action.