When wealth inequality reached its peak in the early 20th century, Marxist concepts such as social injustice and economic inequality became a major topic of discussion in Western literature. With the death of Karl Marx in 1883 and the spread of communism in Russia in 1914, literature became an important front for socialist writers seeking to spread their ideas. This is especially true in the United States, where centuries of black oppression had created extreme wealth inequality between black and white Americans. In Toni Cade Bambara's “The Lesson,” Mrs. Moore's character reveals to a group of black children the level of disparity between their lives and those of the white upper classes. As the story develops, a group of children undergo a process of socialist awakening as they gain class consciousness from the vulgar antics of the upper classes. “The Lesson” serves as a metaphor for the awakening of the ignorant working class in the socialist revolutionary movement, as they confront the harsh reality of their suffering created by the oppressive bourgeois class. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before we are able to understand the revolutionary and classist undertones of "The Lesson," we must have a solid understanding of the Marxist ideas promoted in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto. According to Marx, the main motivation behind any historical development is the exploitation of one class by another as a result of competition for resources (K. Marx and F. Engels). Class distinctions are defined by who creates society's means of production and who provides labor. The upper classes are made up of the bourgeois, who are the rich capitalists who own the means of production. The lower classes are made up of the proletariat, the working class that provides work to the bourgeois class. To accumulate wealth the bourgeois must extract more than their fair share of labor from the proletariat (K. Marx and F. Engels). Once the lower classes become aware of the extravagant lifestyles of the upper classes, a revolution begins to foment. This process is called the awakening of class consciousness (K. Marx and F. Engels). Bambara uses this concept of awakening class consciousness in his story to describe the oppression of black Americans at the hands of the white bourgeoisie. Bambara understands Moore's trip to FAO Schwarz as a metaphor for the class consciousness experienced by those of the working class when confronted with the opulence of the bourgeoisie. The children in the story all grew up poor and have little idea of ​​the excesses that exist in the world. Faced with the fact that they are poor and live in slums, Sylvia replies: "I am not present" (Bambara). They simply don't know or understand anything else. Mrs. Moore then takes the children on a field trip to have them witness firsthand the injustice of their living situation. Along the way, the children take part in underclass behavior such as stealing tips from a taxi driver. This action is intended to show how an ununited underclass weakens itself when it does not work together to advance common interests; after all, Sylvia explains, "he doesn't need it as much as I do." The children are indifferent to their life situation, but this indifference changes as soon as they arrive in the wealthy upper-class division of New York City. At this point in the story, Bambara begins to introduce the concept of class consciousness. The children realize that these white people do not lead lives similar to theirs. Sylvia comments: “All dressed in stockings. A lady in a fur coat,., 1939.