The universal themes in "The Lesson" and "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses", are appealing because their authors generate similar insights, despite structural and material differences in treatment. "The Lesson" draws attention to a what blacks have learned as children throughout their history in America; that each generation will suffer some degree of unequal opportunity and that each individual is empowered to effect the severity of that measure. The protagonist in "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses", …showed first 75 words of 591 total…

…showed last 75 words of 591 total…to better their communities. Ironically, they do this by pushing their pupils' capacity to comprehend to the limit. They also stress the importance of working for opportunities where they exist, and the personal understanding necessary to create these chances. Sylvia's and Hannetjie's reactions to their "teachers" both seem to imply, it is necessary to know your place in life in marking your goals and it is necessary to know your goals in applying your motives.