Gloria Naylor's Mama Day Essay

Carol Berkin’s "Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence" is an excellent book that I immensely enjoyed. When many people think of the Revolutionary War, they might imagine George Washington gallantly leading his men through the winters at Valley Forge or the like. Berkin begins her masterpiece by giving a general overview of the roll that women played in our countries war for independence. Now I, like many others come to think of the iconic role model women like Betsy Ross and the fabled Molly Pitcher, but this star of a book opened my eyes to the everyday

It is impossible to interpret Gloria Naylor’s 1988 novel, Mama Day, in one way. There are multiple standpoints that a reader can take in explaining various events that occur throughout the book, as well as different ways that the characters in the book interpret these events. The author never fully clarifies many questions that the story generates so as to leave the readers with the opportunity to answer them based on their own personal experiences and beliefs. The multiplicity of perspectives in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day is embodied in the legend of Sapphira Wade and the dynamics between logic and the supernatural and between George and Cocoa.

However, this does not work, as Abigail turns and pretends Mary is putting a spell on her by claiming she saw a bird that was not there. At first, Mary is scared and does not know how to react, as Abigail and the other girls keep pretending to see it and begin repeating Mary’s words, making those in charge of the trial think Mary is putting a spell on them. Even though Mary earlier said that she “cannot lie no more” (94) because she is “with God” (94), she still quickly begins to join in to Abigail’s fanatic accusations and accuses Proctor of

Baby suggs and Sethe are both the Mother figues in beloved and despite their suffering from slavery they both cared for their children greatly. Baby Suggs and Sethe connected through Motherhood to develop a close bond. They shared the love for their children a bond that all mothers can relate with. Sethe has four children that she loves very much but she could not deal with her past of sweet home. Sethe could not bare for that to happen to her children so she had to save them from the schoolteacher and slavery by trying to kill them. She kills one child whom is referred to as beloved for what is written on her tomb stone, but fails to kill howard buglar, and Denver. Sethe motherly natural instincts caused her

     It’s always important to be touched. Writers know and understand this idea. Whether the audience feels good or bad about whom or what you present is not as important as the fact that they feel something. Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children is a perfect example of a work that doesn’t leave us in very high spirits but touches us in such a way that it becomes even more powerful than if it had.

"The Mother," by Gwendolyn Brooks, is a sorrowful, distressing poem about a mother who has experienced numerous abortions. While reading the poem, you can feel the pain, heartache, distress and grief she is feeling. She is both remorseful and regretful; nevertheless, she explains that she had no other alternative. It is a sentimental and heart wrenching poem where she talks about not being able to experience or do things with the children that she aborted -- things that people who have children often take for granted. Perhaps this poem is a reflection of what many women in society are feeling.

In the 1950’s through the 1960’s women were not respected in there everyday lives, in the job field or in general. They did not have the rights they deserved, so during this time the “women’s movement” began. Women fought for their rights and fought for the self-respect that they thought they deserved. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the character Mama, expresses her feelings of pushing or extracting a new side for a woman. Her role explains that woman can be independent and can live for themselves. Through her behavior in this play she demonstrates that women can support and guide a family. Mama is in charge of the family, which is unusual, since men are traditionally the “head of a family”. Through Mama’s wisdom

The story takes place at Mrs. Johnson’s house, where Mrs. Johnson and Maggie are waiting for Dee to come over for a visit. Mrs. Johnson raised two daughters on her own. She does not see herself as a bright and beautiful woman but takes pride in being able to work like a man. She is proud of her yard and the hard work she and Maggie have done to make it look when Dee comes to visit. Mama is portrayed as a “large, big-boned woman with rough, man working hands” (Walker). She also makes reference in being able to “kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man” (Walker). These assertions do not portray her as being the typical elegant and aesthetic mother but women who can do anything to make her daughters delighted and joyous. She does, nevertheless, enjoy doing countless things. She also dreams of having a prosperous life. Mama and Maggie are both more fascinated in the practicality of objects around them more than anything else. Alice Walker draws images through her words of three women in a family. Mrs. Johnson is affable and tough. Mrs. Johnson’s inner monologue suggests us a glimpse of the limits of a mother’s unconditional love and her devotion towards her children. Mama is a practical character. When she says, “But of course all this does not show on television”, it can inferred that though she dreams of things she wanted to do, she is a person with her both feet on the ground. She knows that those things sound good only in imagination but they are not conceivable. Critic David White advocates, "Mama takes pride in the practical aspects of her nature and that she has not spent a great deal of time contemplating abstract concepts such as heritage... [but her lack of education] does not prevent her from having an inherent understanding of heritage" (White). She is a spiritual woman. She characterizes one of her actions in

George and Ophelia, two characters in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day, have a complex yet intimate relationship. They meet in New York where they both live. Throughout their hardships, Ophelia and George stay together and eventually get married. Ophelia often picks fights with George to test his love for her, and time after time, he proves to her that he does love her. Gloria Naylor uses George as a Christ figure in his relationship with Ophelia to eventually save her life.

Mama, a member of the oldest generation of the family, reveals that the suffering encountered throughout the story is nothing new, and rather has been part of Harlem for as far back as we can trace. Mama realized the inevitability of suffering in Harlem, knowing all too well of "the darkness outside", yet aimed to have a full and meaningful life despite this suffering (131). In order to do this, she turned to the suffering of her family, particularly her husband’s suffering over the death of his brother. Mama reveals just how much she did to prevent suffering within her home in her last conversation with the narrator. One thing that she did in particular was that she gave her husband a shoulder to cry on: “I know you never saw your Daddy

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor portrays magic as a central force in the lives of the characters living on Willow Springs, including George who is an outsider brought on the inside. The art of enchantment or magic is the reason the island manages to sustain itself, regardless of pressures on the outside (white capitalism) or on the inside. The entire novel is set on the premise of the existence of an island so surreal and arguably idealistic, that black people are successfully governed by themselves. Willow Springs could be portrayed as a utopia for African Americans living in a racialized America. This paper seeks to explore the extents to which supernatural influences characterize the lives of Sapphira, Miranda and Ruby, as well as establish the roles they serve individually.

all faith in him, she feels that he does not want to prove Abigail is

In a world in which abortion is considered either a woman's right or a sin against God, the poem "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks gives a voice to a mother lamenting her aborted children through three stanzas in which a warning is given to mothers, an admission of guilt is made, and an apology to the dead is given. The poet-speaker, the mother, as part of her memory addresses the children that she "got that [she] did not get" (2). The shift in voice from stanza to stanza allows Brooks to capture the grief associated with an abortion by not condemning her actions, nor excusing them; she merely grieves for what might have been. The narrator's longing and regret over the children she will never have is highlighted by the change in tone

In contrast, Chanda’s care for her mother is intimate. Before the funeral for her baby sister Chanda and her mother share a powerful embrace, and her arms are wrapped around her sobbing mother’s neck (00:18:35). Because Chanda’s silence and the frame’s focus on her mother’s tears, it is read as Chanda is holding her mother and not the reverse. As the camera pans out further we see Jonah, her stepfather, crying alone. It is made clear that Chanda is providing care for her grieving mother in this scene and that her mother has chosen her, over her husband. There is no shame in this scene. Their grief is unapologetic and loud, a rupture, a much needed catharsis. Chanda fills her mother’s emotional needs better, or more, than her stepfather does. At the end of the film Chanda traverses the country, traveling from her urban home to the village her mother was born in. She finds her mother much more frail than before and her illness has progressed dangerously. Chanda lifts a damp rag to her mother’s face, cleaning her skin and dampening her lips (01:28:26). Here, Lillian is infant-like, completely reliant on her daughter. Chanda tells her “Don’t worry mama, I’m with you” to which Lillian replies “Chanda I’m lost”. Chanda assures “I’ve come to get you”. Where we had seen evasiveness in Dlangamandla, Chanda is steadfast. She has come here, to this rural place herself, in search. In contrast, Jola had to seek out Dlangamandla. Lillian is honest about her internal sadness and Chanda’s

Mother’s Day comes only one time a year, this one day is a day that we choose to tell, likely the most important person in our life just how much we love her. Helendale resident, Kayla Lukey will also be spending this special day honoring her mother, Carrie Dugan-Perkins who is fighting terminal brain cancer. Victor Valley News was made aware of Kayla and Carrie through the entry submission comment on a Valley Hi Toyota Mother’s Day contest.