Character analysis (Essay Sample)

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Analysis of Sylvias Character in The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara
Encountering a judgemental, underprivileged and resentful person is conceivably one of hardest experience one can ever encounter. The short story "A Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara revolves around the lives of underprivileged children who are taught an important lesson by Miss Moore which opens their eyes on wealth distribution and education. Sylvia is the protagonist and the narrator in the story. Throughout the story she displays a number of attributes that cuts her out from the league of other characters. Sylvia is judgemental and impatient. This is evident with how the story starts. Sylvia is judgemental that Miss more was able to use proper speech and that unlike others she did not use any makeup. She and her cousin could laugh at everything that came out of Miss Moore’s moth, they also laughed at her for being black and having excelled academically. Sylvia is also underprivileged and outspoken. Although Sylvia does not acknowledge that she is underprivileged, It becomes evident where she is given the five dollar bill and does not tip the driver his ten percent. Interestingly, she is busy trying to figure out how to spend that money. Lastly, Sylvia is very resentful. After the realization, she is very resentful that her friends especially Sugar are beginning to understand the lesson being taught by Miss More. Sylvia is resentful that Sugar is pushing her off her feet like she has never done before. This essay will show how the qualities mentioned above make Sylvia an interesting character.
Sylvia is judgemental. In the short story we see this when Sylvia judges Miss Moore. She cannot fathom the fact that Miss Moore who is black was able to use proper speech. She is also judgemental of how other people were either old or stupid except her and her cousin. Her judgemental nature makes her think she is way better than everybody else. She says that back in the day everyone was either young or stupid, but goes ahead to say that she herself was not. This statement portrays the nature of Sylvia and how she viewed other people. She is also very impatient as she feels she cannot stand to listen to Miss Moore’s questions which she feels are undermining her. Sylvia said that she’d rather go to the pool or to the show where she termed as cool. From the way she talks it brings out her restlessness and impatience especially when it came to listening to Miss Moore.
Sylvia is underprivileged and outspoken. In the short story we see this when Sylvia thinks that together with Sugar they are not poor and hence there was no need for them to listen to Miss Moore’s lessons. This is evident from the part where Sylvia says that they all lived in the slums but she herself did not feature. Although she tries to exclude herself from the list of the underprivileged it is evident from the descriptions of where they lived and when she refused to tip the driver the ten percent Miss Moore had directed her to. On her mind she was figuring out on what to do with the amount. Sylvia says, "And I decide he don’t need it bad as I do, so later for him" (631). This shows that she was indeed underprivileged and getting money was a big problem for her. She is also shocked by the various price tags of various products which according to her appeared very simple. Sylvia is outspoken. Just before they entered the store, Sylvia was afraid to enter the store. Another sign of the fact that she felt she did not belong there. She says that she was not afraid but she felt funny and ashamed which is a clear illustration of her poor self. Sylvia is outspoken. As the short play starts, Sylvia is probably the leader of the leader of her friends always speaking her mind. Her outspoken nature however changes when they visit F.A.O Schwartz. This is mostly because she was in shock since she had not travelled out of the ghetto.
Sylvia is resentful. In the short story we see this when Sylvia realises that Sugar and her friends had learned a lesson from Miss Moore. She felt betrayed and even started directing her anger to Sugar whom she felt had betrayed her a great deal. She got angry that the rich were able to purchase very expensive products that could last their families for more than a year. She was resentful that Sugar went ahead and started asking Miss More question about the lesson, where she reacted by stepping on her leg. This was because she felt that her friends for once were able to change their mentalities on certain things. She is also resentful of Miss more whom she views as an outsider. Her resentm...