Blake Tucker

Larry Neuburger

Eng. 102-110

17 February 2011

Making Good Decisions Towards a Better Life

Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” is a story about a young girl’s realization about the

meaning of life after spending the day with an elder and friends in the city. Bambara shows us

how kids can underestimate grownups, but how their words can truly have an effect on their

lives. Silvia was like most kids growing up, out causing mischief with her friends and not really

taking life serious. Miss. Moore is not a blood relative of Silvia, but all the grown-ups love her

because she had been to college. So one day she decides to take the kids to the city to learn some

of life’s lessons about money and making wise decisions. While roaming the city, Miss. Moore

decides to test Silvia by giving her money for a cab and her job was to “calculate 10 percent tip

for the driver” (Bambara 9). Silvia forgets the tip and pockets the money. She then takes the kids

to a toy store and they find a toy that costs $35 and start comparing it to how that kind of money

could “pay for the rent and the piano bill too” (Bambara 13). Growing up in the projects, Silvia

had seen her fair share of ugly things in life; but She was going to use her wise and tenacious

attitude to get the best out of life and no one could ever get in the way of that.

Bambara Cade, Toni. “The Lesson.” Power of Language, Language of Power: A Collection of

Readings. St. Martin’s Press. 7-14. Print