“The Lesson” and “No Name in the Street”

A Fiction/Non-fiction Dialogue

By:  Susie Gibson and Terri St. John

Recorder:  Naomi Cox

Fiction Text:  “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, read by Susie Gibson

About the Author: Toni Cade Bambara was a native of New York City. Her mother refused to distinguish between the way girls should think and behave and the way boys should think and behave, and reared her accordingly. Bambara devoted most of her life to her writing and social activism.  In most of her stories her characters were women like herself who were also community activists.  Her short story collections include Gorilla, My Love (1971) and The Seas Birds Are Still Alive (1977) and her novel The Salt Eaters (1981). She died of cancer in 1995.

Non-Fiction Text:  “No Name in the Street” by James Baldwin, read by Terri St. John

About the Author: James Baldwin, an African American, was born in New York City in 1924. He was brought up in poverty, in Harlem, and became renown for his essays depicting much of his own life. Baldwin also wrote six novels but his first one, Go Tell it on the Mountain is considered his best and it too is based largely on his own life experiences. He died in France in 1987.

Dialogue Outline & Discussion Summary

Literary Objective 3

Fictional markers in “The Lesson” (Susie Gibson)

·        The plot of the story is teaching the children a lesson, almost like a fable.

·        This piece of literature is more a realistic fiction, since the story is similar to real life. 

·        There is no mention of what time this story is happening.

·        The teller of the story is one of the characters.  Through this type of 1^st person narrative, the main character is going through a rite of passage that she is not quite aware of.  She also displays an internal conflict by not allowing herself or her friend to truly understand what Miss Moore is trying to teach them.

·        As a fictional story the sentences are short and simple.  The language is coarse, which allows the characters to use their own African-American rhythms and style of speech.

·        Children tend not to be naturally aware of inequality.  In this story Miss Moore is trying to show the children that although what is now unattainable to them could become possible with some hard work.  There are many opportunities in the world that are available to them.

·        As presented by Yolanda Luttrell, as student from last year, Miss Moore speaks properly and therefore is singled out in her neighborhood, but she stills holds on to her roots by her “nappy hair.”

Genre-Bending:  Non-fiction markers in “The Lesson”  (Terri)

·        The story is written in first person which is often the case in non-fiction

·        The story is very believable. If it had begun “Once upon a time” it would have been obvious that it was fiction. However, the “Back in the days . . . “ opening could easily be the beginning of a personal experience.

·        FAO Schwartz refers to a real place.

Discussion Questions Posed by Susie:  How do you know it is fiction?  Why does Ms. Moore take the kids when they don’t want to go?  Does this Ms. Moore (this trip) make any impact on the kids?

Claire         Yes, in the end you could tell she made an impact on Sylvia.  You could tell that she would eventually change her position.

Lyn             I could tell that it was fiction because it was written in children’s vernacular; an adult, non-fiction author, does not.  Also, I was reading it and I could see it as a cartoon.

Dr. White   Can we talk about that as a fiction marker?

Lyn             Yeah, that’s one way you will know that it is fiction.

Dr. White   These are two separate but sharp points.  The story is told by a child, but not written by a child.  You can see it as a cartoon because cartoons often use stock-characters, which also points to fiction.

Jennifer      I think she takes them because Ms. Moore is an activist. She takes the kids because she knows that the parents are too far gone; the kids are still young enough that they could change.

Will            I think she wants to bring to their awareness these social wrong doings. 

Lyn             In the end Sylvia saves the $4 and goes in a different direction. Eventually she will be able to buy what she wants.

Will            I think she is struggling to raise this awareness of wants.

Cristel        One of the fictional markers is that you get the child’s thoughts.

Valerie       I think another fictional marker is that they are not all from the same economic status like people in the non-fiction works we have read.  You can tell that Mercedes comes from a family that has some money, and Ms. Moore is throwing money around.  She pays for both cab rides and doesn’t ask for the $4 back.  In a non-fiction story, the characters are from the same economic status.

Non-fictional markers in “No Name in the Street” (Terri St. John)

·        Agreeing with last year’s presenter, Kellie Keener, the most obvious markers are the references to historical facts regarding Martin Luther King, the “tremendous day in Atlanta,” and Malcolm X.

·        The time period is specifically indicated as being in the 1960’s.

·        The setting is in various precise locations (Atlanta, Hollywood, New York, Harlem).

·        The most significant marker is the story is told through personal commentary instead of dialogue. On every page, the reader gets a sense of being privy to the author’s innermost thoughts.  Examples cited on pages 284, 286, 289, and 290.

·        References to the author’s sexuality (“life-style” and “sexually dubious”) are irrelevant and would not be included in a fictional story.       

Genre-Bending: Fictional markers in “No Name in the Street” (Susie)

·        To the author’s friends he has already achieved the American dream.

·        Baldwin enjoys knowing important people and makes sure that the reader understands how important he is by telling us names of people he knows.  But, throughout the entire story, his childhood friend remains nameless.  Non-fiction is a true story so where is this man’s name?

·        The author uses a story about his life and his childhood friend that shows how everyone’s dreams are different.

·        In both stories there is a child that shows no respect for an elder in the story.

·        Whereas in “The Lesson” coarse language is acceptable, in “No Name in the Street” coarse language is unacceptable, even in anger.

·        The author states that “I’m only taking a suit to a friend!” but in reality he is showing that he has made it in world.  Taking a limousine to visit instead of a calling for a cab is unrealistic.

·        In “The Lesson,” the narrator is trying desperately to hold onto her roots, whereas James Baldwin wants to forget his roots and is embarrassed by his childhood friend.

·        James Baldwin talks to the reader almost as if he is telling a story.  On pages 286, 287, and 290 he explains in parenthesis to the reader what he thinks.

Discussion Questions Posed by Terri:  If you knew absolutely nothing about the author of this essay, and the references to historical facts were omitted, would the work still hold credibility as a piece of non-fiction?  How much impact, if any, does the subject matter have in defining this essay as non-fiction?

Claire  Yes, I think it would still be read as non-fiction, because it feels extremely real.  And, in the end, he says that he realizes he loves them more than they love him.

Dr. White   Now, it sounds like fiction, to me, when told that way.

Kristy         I think you can tell it isn’t fiction because in fiction the characters are more detailed; the author has to describe the characters.  He doesn’t go into detail about the characters.

Terri In fiction, they have to give them an identity.

Dr. White   Historical details also age.  Most of you in here probably don’t know who James Baldwin is.  When I was in high school you heard about James Baldwin all the time.  

Terri He was considered very radical.

Dr. White   For someone my age, it would be impossible to read this as fiction.  If you are younger it would look more like fiction.

Cristel I don’t think the subject matter would make a difference.

Claire I could easily have read this as fiction.

We ran out of time; therefore, the class discussion ended here.