The tone of a story is told through the language used and can shift throughout the story. In "The Lesson," a narrator, Sylvia, is reacting to a trip into New York City with her teacher, Miss Moore, and some classmates. In the beginning, the tone is a bit sarcastic and flippant. Sylvia begins by saying, "Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right." She is being a bit sarcastic. Sylvia and her classmates don't care for Miss Moore, saying, "So this one day Miss Moore rounds us all up at the mailbox and it’s puredee hot and she’s knocking herself out about arithmetic. And school suppose to let up in summer I heard, but she don’t never let us. And the starch in my pinafore scratching the shit outta me and I’m really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree."

Miss Moore decides to teach them about money and takes them to FAO Schwarz in New York City, knowing that they can't afford anything. The tone shifts to one of bitterness as Sylvia describes how the kids are flabbergasted at the prices of the toys and how white people are crazy for spending so much on them. It's a lesson in inequity and harsh realities, one that the kids have not really had before. The narrator also experiences a touch of shame, even though she knows there is no reason for it. And, through the narrator, we also sense a bit of Miss Moore's sympathy towards the children. By the end, the tone turns to one of hope and determination.

Upon returning home, Sugar, a classmate, challenges the narrator to a race to the ice cream store. The narrator says, "We start down the block and she gets ahead which is O.K. by me cause I’m going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin." This quote helps to speak to the narrator's new attitude of wanting more out of her life and society than she had previously thought. The narrator has indeed learned a lesson that day and has a deeper sense of determination, hope, and fortitude.

The tone of "The Lesson" is one of sarcasm, bitterness, and hope.  When the story opens, the narrator Sylvia uses sarcasm to reflect on her experience with Miss Moore.  Sylvia questions Miss Moore's motivation for taking the kids to F. A. O. Schwarz because they obviously could not afford to buy anything in the toy store.  The kids comment only white people are crazy enough to spend exorbitant amounts of money on simple toys, and the sarcasm masks their pain at the realization that such gross economic inequity exists in their life.  As Sylvia starts to realize this inequity, she says that she feels ashamed, even though she understands that she has no reason to feel ashamed--her economic situation is out of her control.  In this moment, the bitterness of reality sets in as the reader, through the narrative voice of Sylvia, feels sympathy for her situation and possible anger that these children have to endure an unfair reality.  The story, however, ends on a ray of hope that Sylvia (and the other children) will be able to fight for equity when they are adults.  Sylvia says that no one will stop her, suggesting that she is committed to being a part of change in society.