The major cities of the east coast posses qualities that often cause children to mature emotionally at a faster rate than children of other geographical locations. Dense population is one of these qualities: such a small land mass containing an immense population. A study by the psychologist D.O. Hebb (1958) reinforces the hypothesis that “...overcrowding may contribute to destructive actions” (Cassils 187). In this study, rats were gradually added to a cage, causing the cage to become overcrowded and this led to a collapse of the rats social structure and an increase of deviance.
In the short story, “The Lesson,” Sylvia, expresses feelings of anger, shame, and confusion after experiencing social injustice and economic inequality in the toy store. Throughout the story, Sylvia faces an internal struggle of wanting to know what “type of work a person could do to waste $35 on a birthday clown when the money could be spent on new bunk beds, family visits, rent, and the piano bill”. Therefore, Sylvia symbolizes the vitality of her own emotional and psychological mindset by exhibiting maturity as a child in New York. Poverty ridden children are concentrated in the inner cities and often times, this correlates with the mental well being and the emotional development of children as shown in Figure 4 and 5.