Literary Analysis of Toni Cade Bambara
‘The Lesson,’ apparently authored by Toni Cade Bambara, efficiently demonstrates a narrative about education and economic inequality through entirely drawn concept analysis on the poor children’s growth pattern, particularly Sylvia, the narrator. Bambara’s play cultivates a distinct setting that plainly offers distinctions in social class–both the rich and the poor. Sylvia is troubled by her inner state of how she comprehends the radically moving fast things that are far beyond her control. Therefore, to fully characterize her actions, speech, and thoughts, Sylvia’s participation is vital. Though coming from a neighborhood slum in Harlem, Sylvia is indifferent, feisty, surely, and explicitly narrates the short story using the language of her environment. ‘The lesson’ serves as a distinct narrative while at the same time increasingly inspires enacting liberation narratives. Because Sylvia is black and pretty, she finds it hard to find out why she is black, and she is often angered (Bambara, 14). This makes Bambara recuperate childhood alterity in an intriguing way that discloses the revolutionary transformation in fictional stories. With a particular focus on the book, the only apparent way of elevating the indigent society is primarily through education for them to raise their living standards in the society actively. However, in light of this anticipation, Sylvia shows a distinctive negation towards education, aside from being smart, robust, and young. Bambara creates a long list of characters such as Sugar, Q.T, Mercedes, Junebug, Fly Boy, Fat Butt, Big Butt, and Miss Moore to provide an overview of the significant challenges that minorities and poor people face in the society.
‘The Lesson’ unquestionably demonstrates the theme of education, shame, equality, class, and appearance. With that said, in the course of narration, Sylvia explicitly realizes that the story explores the theme of appearance, thereby making Miss Moore stand out of all the evolving characters. This is based on the fact that Miss Moore takes the responsibility to fully educate her neighborhood children who seem to step behind academically. In the short story, Miss Moore bestows the lacking sense of inequality that apparently exists in America, particularly in relation to the black people and white people. Inequality status makes the black people harshly rated as second class citizens vis-à-vis the white people. A noticeable primary lifestyle in ‘The Lesson’ is that the characters apparently reside in government-provided social housing. On the other hand, the white people channel their enormous funds in F.A.O Schwarz (Kromidas, 28). To overcome the economic and racial differences, black people are entitled to helping each other, positioning Miss Moore with the primary responsibility to give something in return to these underrated citizens. Bambara’s literary piece is unique in a particular way that draws on practicalities, rather than spiritualties, thereby implying that transformation comes from practically helping each other. The idea that Bambara employs religion as an instrument for development is inconsequential, and instead, it is the education that Miss Moore offers, which significantly aids the children to grow. Towards the end of the story, it is undeniable that Miss Moore attempts at least affected one child.
Similarly, Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘Gorilla, My Love’ reveals the western norms of dehumanization through Hazel’s characterization. According to Bambara’s book, Thunderbuns is the predominant symbol of black power manifestation, emphasizing the chip bags explosion. The author explains how to resent and, at times, defiant Hazel is and how she feels toward people who “betray” her. The appearance of Thunderbuns enlightens the betrayal scenario by the parenting adults. ‘Gorilla, My Love’ unquestionably fathoms a distinct structural narrative (Muther, 1). This literary writing offers a hybrid between a frame story and a traditional narrative. The car scene, which is a point of interest in the story, similarly offers a greatly extended flashback in which the majority of Hazel’s character revolves. The different characters used in ‘Gorilla, My Love’ are very significant, thereby allowing the reader to formulate different understandings pertaining to the nicknames being used. ‘Gorilla, My Love’ demonstrates the themes of authenticity and integrity. Bambara ideally reverses the convectional children’s alterity, thereby escalating law resistance against patriarchy, white supremacy, capital, and law. The revolutionary vision that Bambara creates while infusing Hazel is a clear definition of the Kromidas perceptive musing because Bambara undeniably provides different practicing freedom in writing. Toni Bambara’s characters’ reincarnation via a rechristening approach provides a distinct approach to understanding life intrigues. The narrator, Hazel, shows the shifting name of Hunca Bubba because it appears that he no longer goes by the old name, Hunca Bubba, but Jefferson Winston Vale. Changing a name to an embodied cultural name from a slave name triggered standard particulars after emancipation in cultural historicity. With Bambara’s characterization depicted in ‘Gorilla my Love,’ it is crystal clear that color nullified and weakened African American women (Mary, 1).
Works cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. Lesson. 1972
Kromidas, M. (2019). “Agent of Revolutionary Thought”: Bambara and Black Girlhood for a Poetics of Being and Becoming Human. Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, 11(1), 19-37.
Love.’” African American Review, vol. 36, no. 3, 2002, pp. 447–459
Mary, A. R. WHAT’S IN A NAME? REINCARNATION OF TONI CADE BAMBARA’S CHARACTERS THROUGH RECHRISTENING. American College Journal of English Language and Literature (ACJELL), 110.
Muther, Elizabeth. “Bambara’s Feisty Girls: Resistance Narratives in ‘Gorilla, My Love’