In the opening of "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara the narrator, Sylvia, gives the impression of being arrogant and stubborn. She has no reservations when it comes to expressing her contempt towards those who make her doubt her intelligence. For Sylvia, some of these people include her cousin Sugar and the neighborhood mentor, Miss Moore. In addition to Miss Moore and Sugar, the wealthy of Fifth Avenue pose a threat to his status. These three figures disturb and completely anger Sylvia. At the beginning of the story, Sylvia is full of sarcasm and is unwilling to receive input of any kind from anyone. Even though Sylvia won't admit it, the knowledge and lessons she refused to accept are eventually absorbed and she changes. Ultimately, it is Miss Moore, Sugar, and the rich people she hates who have a profound influence on her. The seemingly tenacious Sylvia finds herself with a new and profound perspective on life that ends up changing her mindset to be better than she was from the beginning. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When Miss Moore is first introduced, she is described as a highly educated and refined person. Sylvia shared her opinion about something Miss Moore had told her reiterating that "we are all poor and living in slums which I don't represent" was her way of being in denial of her economic status and refusing to believe what Miss Moore had said Miss Moore first to be true (Bambara 2). Because Miss Moore has a formal education, Sylvia is threatened by the knowledge she possesses. Knowing that Sylvia is inflexible, Miss Moore gave her the responsibility of paying the taxi driver and calculating the tip herself. Having to calculate the tip herself put a strain on Sylvia's ability to perform mathematical calculations, which is probably not her strong point. This leaves a perplexed Sylvia with no tools to solve the problem and shows her that she is not as smart as she thinks she is. Once they arrive on Fifth Avenue, Sylvia is forced to take note of the extreme prices of toys in store windows, which verifies what Miss Moore meant about her living in poverty. Sylvia is forced to pay attention and think about the dynamic between the rich and her own family. Sylvia's shocking reality lays bare the truth of her status and the fact that her “confidence dissolves due to the knowledge of money and position” (Marotta 49). The opportunity and experience provided by Miss Moore gave Sylvia the concrete evidence she needed to see to believe that she does, in fact, live in the slums. Miss Moore was able to broaden Sylvia's horizon “…into the world of knowledge and cultured perception” (Hargrove 114). Sylvia was shown that there are people in the world who live far beyond her family's means. Sylvia's departure ultimately forced her to accept all the truths that had been revealed to her. Miss Moore showed her a world that beat her economically, which angered Sylvia and left her pondering how to achieve high economic status. During the opening of the story, Sugar and Sylvia are thick as thieves. They both live in the same house, in the same neighborhood and with the same mentality, after all they are cousins. Sugar reaffirms Sylvia's ego and sense of entitlement. Sylvia has no desire to commit to Miss Moore and wants to jump out of the taxi with Sugar and Miss Moore's money. However, Sugar wants to follow Miss Moore, so Sylvia joins because “she doesn't like being alone, away from her group of friends, especially Sugar” (Marotta 58). A. 159-196.