Parenthood In Gloria Naylor's The Women Of Brewster Place

As hardworking women living of the prairie, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters can relate to Mrs. Wright’s situation. They know personally that long days of doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning can become very tiresome (Hedges 91). They realize that living on the prairie can force a woman to be confined to her own house for weeks at a time, and because Mrs. Wright never had children, the grueling loneliness that she suffered must have been excruciating. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters both experience the constant patronization and sexual discrimination that most women in the early twentieth century lived with. They empathize with the difficulties of Mrs. Wright’s life and almost immediately a bond is formed with a woman they do not even know.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” by Maria Semple is a novel about an eerie woman who has a daughter and a husband. She seems to be a mysterious individual at the beginning, but as the story goes through, you find out why she is acting that way. She ends up escaping and leaving her family; nonetheless, at the end they come together again. Maria Semple loves to compare family’s issues because in the book she writes about how the characters interact with one another. Although, Semple seems to be a sophisticated author, the role of mother in WDYB is the most significant topic to analyze throughout the story. In this novel, there are several mothers who are valuable examples of the different types of mothers.

In present-day society, families go through several problems and arguments regarding numerous issues which would have been considered unacceptable in past times. Throughout a variety of different cultures, the level of respect and obedience for one’s parents has diminished while the negotiation of conformity and rebellion has risen. This statement is supported and evidential in two different stories, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Although these stories represent different cultures, they both exemplify the values and importance of family relations; as well as demonstrate in every culture families face social problems. In both these stories, two major topics stood out which allowed me to compare each one to one

In this story, it fascinated me when it made reference about the therapist needing to be transferable to the mother or father role in the family regardless of the therapist’s sex. In this case the clients are the traditional mother and father with two male co-therapists. Whitaker was seen taking on the maternal role when addressing Carolyn’s childhood and current issues with her mother while Napier observed the conversation. This was a great part of the book which portrayed isomorphism. This idea of being able to stay neutral as well as to identify with the role of mother or father adds another layer of complexity to help guide the context of the situation.

Children’s child play has become a form of an unrealistic world. Although, it is considered for children to begin creating a creative imagination, the mind fascinates children into toys. Some child’s play toys are not ideal for young children, like the one and only “Barbie”. Barbie has become a worldwide toy product for children all over the world, from the North Pole to the South Pole. These dolls have emerged from one ethnicity to another. In Ann DuCille, “Dyes and Dolls: Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Differences” the author talks about the race and gender differences; found in Barbie. She argues; “Is Barbie bad?” her response, was “Barbie is just a piece of plastic” (459). In contrast, this piece of plastic is not just a piece of plastic to young girls; it is much more than that. A piece of plastic that little girls all over the world wish they could be. Even though, it is only a piece of plastic to adults that Barbie significantly means nothing to them. Growing up, I owned a couple of Barbie dolls. The tall, long blond hair, blue-eyed doll was my best friend and my “role model”. I wanted to become exactly like Barbie. As a child, I thought only beautiful people who looked liked Barbie signified beauty. To my little to no knowledge, I soon came to find out no one really looks like Barbie, except people who want to become like Barbie. In my adolescent years, no one taught me Barbie was “unreal”; no one taught me it was just a figure in my imagination.

In the play, “A Doll House,” written in 1879, the main character is a doll for her husband and for her father. She realizes that when living with her father, she would develop the same opinions as him, and stifle her own opinion if it differed from his. Her father even called her his doll child. She, Nora, also becomes aware that he played with

The brightest moments in a person’s day are usually times when they have made a personal connection. Whether it is a smile from a complete stranger or a kiss from a loved one, these personal connections build relationships that shape the lives of every individual. Relationships vary in type, depth, and complexity, but any which way, they play a prominent role in the lives of The Women of Brewster Place, and the characters in The Road. Friendly, biological, and intimate relationships are extremely critical components of these two stories and help shape the path of each character’s journey.

The creation of the doll child had been a simple pastime at first, as an immortal with nothing better to do, her maker simply toiled away with the lush ochre dust of the Earth beneath her ivory feet, with the clarion water from the ever bubbling stream - slender fingers molding, crafting, grasping upon the threads of little

Morrison describes to doll’s sound as, “the bleat of a dying lamb” (21). By comparing the sound of the doll to a lamb, Morrison connects the destruction of the doll to a type of sacrifice, as lambs are often used in religious texts as sacrificial animals. It is as if Claudia is attempting to make herself worthy of, if not the beauty itself, then of the understanding of why this doll is perceived as beauty. Morrison’s long and detailed description of how Claudia destroys the doll in order to find out what people thought was so beautiful about it encourages the ritualistic aspect of it as well. The comparison furthers the idea that perhaps by making oneself worthy, as Morrison seems to suggest Claudia is doing, one can gain and understand what beauty is and finally be ingrained into society. Therefore, Morrison encourages beauty as a conditional attribute for which individuals who are not already in society’s views must

In the novel Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor explains to readers on how seven black women are living life in Brewster Place by confronting alienation. Naylor identify alienation by exploring racism and sexism. It serves as a testament to the live of African American women who have maintained self- respect and hope in the face of suffering Mattie, Lorraine, and Etta Mae Johnson are the three characters who have went through the sufferings of alienation. Lorraine was introduced in chapter 6 "The Two". Being ostracized by her family and fired from teaching job, excluded from the community.

In society, women have been regarded as, above all else, caregivers; whether this be caregivers to their children, husband, or families. There are women who thought and continue to think they are meant to be more than caregivers and strive to do more with their lives. On the other hand, there are also women who find no problem in tending to their families; it is a task they do with joy and Mrs. Linde is one of these women. In, “A Doll House”, by Henrik Ibsen,

The Protagonist within the play “A Doll’s House” is Nora Helmer. During the development of each character, Nora Helmer’s life is best described as a woman who has been coddled throughout the years. First she is raised by her father, he belittled her throughout the years and painted an image (mentally within Nora’s mind) that she would never be able to accomplish anything on her own. Furthermore, once she leaves the nest (her father’s house), she begins to live and marry Torvald Helmer. Sadly for Nora, he treats her just like her father did and goes on to say, “You are like my child.” Nevertheless, a truly well written story cannot go on without an Antagonist; however, an exquisite piece of work such as “A Doll’s House” envelopes the protagonist

It must be so hard for a child to grow up without a mother, or a father. Growing up with strange people that doesn’t even know that person’s necessities must be terrifying. In the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou a little girl is obligated to take a train and leave her parents’ house and go to another state with her grandmother that she doesn’t even know. There are many situations where children’s lives are so difficult, for example, the absence of a parent. Maya’s parents got divorced when she was really small. She went through several hard times during her childhood and life that made her stronger. She was the most innocent little girl in town.

Throughout the year we have read many stories where reality and fantasy come into question. Once again we have this same problem with “The Youngest Doll”. What makes us question reality or fantasy in the story is the vivid description the author gives of the dolls that the aunt makes for the girls. With the description of the “wax mask of the child’s face” or the “porcelain of the hands and face”, it gives off the allusion that what may seem as a reality may in fact be a fantasy and it is that allusion that gives off the feeling of uncanniness. This is not the only theme that is displayed throughout the story, the others being “eyes”, as well as women being

She never had the opportunity as a woman in her time to see the value of life and never had the ability for making decisions for herself. She grew up being her father’s doll-child and continued to still be a doll for the husband she had found. Her role as a woman, wife, and mother sheltered her from the boundless outside world. Because of her restricted