"Futility" is defined as lack of usefulness or effectiveness, or a lesson that has no effect. The short story, The Lesson can be argued to be a valuable lesson to students, or futile to them. My opinion is that it is in no way a useless lesson for these poverty stricken kids. In this story, Miss Moore (the teacher) takes the children to town, where they go to a toy store where very expensive toys are sold. Those toys that are mostly likely not really toys you would play with, but that would sit on a mantel and look pretty. The children start wishing they could buy the toys, and even fight over what toy they will buy, or who gets what. Knowing in their minds, that they (at that time) would never have a toy that expensive. But the lesson that Miss Moore tries to teach them is that they can someday have those toys, if they make something of themselves and work hard. They may be poor now, but if they get an education, and work hard they can do whatever they want in life. .
I am a firm believer is that you decide your own future. Nobody or nothing can stand in your way if you stick to your goals. I know many people today who we envy, and look up to came from the slums. There is nobody stopping a child from becoming someone. Everyone has a personality, and a goal. There are some big time celebrities today that came from very poor families. Some of the world's top athletes came from the slums. Sometimes they were children who had nothing but sports, and use that to make them a world famous athlete. Maybe Sugar (a student in the story) will grow up to be an actor or a model. You can tell a little of her personality buy reading the story. She is a young girl, but wearing her moms lipstick. Every child in the story has its own personality or trait that is evident in the story. The kids are not afraid to say what they think. .
The children's education also makes a difference. In the story, you get an idea that these kids don't listen to Miss Moore.
