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Similes
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
Bambara’s writing style in “The Lesson” is informal and conversational. This is due to the fact that the story is told from the first-person perspective of Sylvia, a young Black girl in Harlem who uses African American Vernacular English in both her narration and dialogue. The opening lines of the story capture Bambara’s colloquial style:
Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup. And quite naturally we laughed at her, laughed the way we did at the junk man who went about his business like he was some big-time president and his sorry-ass horse his secretary.
The conversational nature of Bambara’s writing style comes across in some of her grammatical choices. Rather than using commas in the first sentence, she has Sylvia say that “everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish” and also has her say “me and Sugar” rather than “Sugar and I.” These choices help readers understand that Sylvia has had less access to formal education (a direct result of the racial wealth divide that Bambara comments on over the course of the story).
Sylvia also uses informal language, like referring to Miss Moore’s hair as “nappy” and calling a local scrap collector “the junk man” (whose horse she refers to as “sorry-ass”). It is worth noting that, while Bambara’s writing style is colloquial, it is also quite literary. Throughout the story, Sylvia—and other characters—use a variety of metaphors, similes, and other figurative language to describe the world around them.
Related Themes:
