Many banks couldn't continue to operate. Farmers fell into bankruptcy. Quarters of the working force, or 13 million people, were unemployed in 1932, and this was only the beginning. The depression lasted over a decade, with hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs, businesses failing, and financial institutions collapsing. Bambara, born in 1939, experienced the backlashes of the great depression as a small child. Growing up poor, Bambara was encouraged by her mother to explore her imagination, to daydream and to follow her inner motives. The Lesson, a short story written by Bambara, is about a young girl named Silvia that over the course of one afternoon, she is forced to an unpleasant awareness of the unfairness of the social and economic system that prevailed in the 1960s. Sylvia lives in a "slum" neighborhood. Only one person in the neighborhood distinguishes herself - Miss Moore. She is college educated and takes it upon herself the "responsibility for the young ones" education" and exposes them to the world outside of their neighborhood and the truth it holds. On the afternoon the story takes place, she takes a group of children, including Sylvia, to F.A.O. Schwarz, an expensive toy store. When the group arrives at the store, Sylvia struggles with her sudden awareness of social class distinction. While the rest of the kids are having fun and asking questions, Sylvia is disturbed by what she sees in the toy store. She can't figure out why they cost so much. She starts to compare these expensive toys to what she has and the comparison furthers her anger. After leaving the store, Sylvia confronts the truth of Miss Moore's lesson. She experienced poverty at its worst. The depression finally ended in 1941. With the depression over, the people of the United States finally had a chance to focus on another problem Separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks. "Colored balconies" in movie theaters.
