Toni Cade Bambara explains how knowledge is the means by which one can escape poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story, she identifies with race, economic inequality, and the literary epiphany of the early 1970s. In this story, children of African American descent find themselves confronting their own poverty and reality . This realism of society's social norms was revealed to them during a sunny afternoon excursion to a Fifth Avenue toy store. Through the use of an African American protagonist, Miss Moore, and the antagonist Sylvia, who later becomes the sub-protagonist and the white society, antagonist "the lesson" was ironically taught. Bambara identifies with race across class and demographics in his story The Lesson. African-American children reconcile with their class society by visiting an expensive toy store in Manhattan. Sylvia says, “Then we checked we were on Fifth Avenue and everyone was dressed down. A lady in a fur coat, no matter how warm it is. White people are crazy” (643). Sylvia discovers that white people don't dress like African Americans, even though they share the same type of weather conditions. She recognizes that they have money and tend to give you an idea of ​​their wealth. “It must be rich people who shop here, say QT” (645). One of the children on the trip was able to identify with the demographics of the area. He recognized that people with status and wealth were most likely to purchase such expensive toys and items. Bambara gives readers a glimpse into the 1970s and the lives of people with high status in white society. How white people could afford expensive toys while those in African American society could not. Sylvia also recognized patterns of behavior in a white atmosphere...... middle of paper...... he refused to let white society get in his way. Sylvia has made her decision and will strive to get what she wants. Throughout the lesson, Toni Cade Bambara illustrated how education is the means by which one can escape poverty. This did not take place in a structured classroom environment, but on a sunny afternoon field trip during which the participating children were confronted with their own deficiencies. There was resistance, but as every individual wanted a toy in the store, the apparent realism manifested itself. The extremely high price of toys allowed their families to survive for a while. Each child was placed in a place where they had to question themselves, their social conditions and their future. Bambara used race through social status, economic inequality, and literary epiphany to identify the hidden realities of each child's life..