Student 1

Ima Student

Ms. Nordsiek

Honors American Literature

April 9, 2007

Body Paragraphs Outline

  1. Mattie Michael’s life from when she was a child
  2. Mattie Michael, of Women of Brewsterplace, deals with many problems throughout her life, mainly due to her young-age pregnancy.
  3. “The reader is left wondering what these women’s lives would have been like in a world without racism—what beauty and triumph might have been revealed” (Railey). Agreement with this quote.
  4. In her youth, Mattie Michael is violently abused by her father for becoming pregnant and not telling him who the father of the baby is.

a. “A slow moan came from the pile of torn clothes and bruised flesh on the floor. Sam Michael looked at it, saw it was his daughter…” (24).

  1. Mattie Michael tries extremely hard to be a good mother to her only child, Basil. Basil is completely unappreciative of what his mother does for him, and in the end, is killed.
  2. Mattie Michael does not end up leading a successful life, but does try very hard to help other women who are struggling in similar situations to her own.

Student 2

a. “So then, who was this stranger who had done away with her little boy and left her with no one and so alone?” (42).

  1. Luciela Louise Turner is treated unfairly by her husband, ultimately leading to the death of her only child
  2. Luciela Turner, of Women of Brewsterplace, is continually neglected by her husband, despite the sudden death of their only child, Serena.
  3. Luciela goes through a very traumatic time after her daughter dies. She first goes through a period where she refuses to feel anything. Thanks to Mattie Michael, she is revived from this period and experiences extreme depression. Her husband is not there to comfort her, and does not even go to his own daughter’s funeral.
  4. “She was simply tired of hurting. And she was forced to slowly give up the life that God had refused to take from her” (101).
  5. “ ‘No, you can’t go,’ Ciel said. ‘Why?’ ‘Because I love you.’ ‘Well, that ain’t good enough’” (100).
  6. Eugene did not pay any attention to her, and was most likely cheating on her. Luciela was basically raising Serena with only the financial help of Eugene.
  7. “Ciel ultimately realizes that he is worthless when he complains that her love for him just “ain’t good enough” to compensate for the life he is being forced to live as husband, father, and provider” (Ball). Agreement with this quote

Student 3

  1. Lorraine repeatedly harassed by disapproving men
  2. Lorraine, of Women of Brewsterplace, is often harassed mentally and physically due to her homosexuality.
  3. “The climactic gang rape of Lorraine reflects Naylor’s theme of male violence directed at women” (Labin). Agreement with this quote.
  4. “Ya laughing at me, huh freak? I oughta come over there and stick my fist in your mouth!” (162).
  5. “This novel portrays women as survivors who must deal with the damage done to them by men” (Ball). Ball then mentions that a prime example of this is the rape of Lorraine by C. C. Baker, despite the fact that Lorraine had no real relationship with C. C. Baker.
  6. “Her father disowned her, and she lost her teaching job in Detroit and fears that she could be fired again” (Slomski).
  7. Lorraine’s homosexuality is another reason to be discriminated against in addition to her gender and ethnicity.
  8. Lorraine experiences the most abuse, from women as well as men because of her differences. She is continually mocked and made fun of by C.C. Baker and his gang, and is ultimately raped by the same group of boys. She is not only raped, but beat in many other areas of her body and is murdered.
  9. Cocoa Day’s unsettle relationship/marriage with George

Student 4

  1. As seen in Mama Day, Cocoa Day’s life becomes more and more complicated due to her husband’s arrogance towards her.
  2. “Early in the novel, he is seen as a product of New York, which means he has little faith in anything other than himself” (McWilliams). Agreement with quote
  3. Cocoa becomes very sick in the middle of the novel. George, although it may not seem like it at times, cares greatly for Cocoa. However, he does not trust her opinion all of the time. He does not trust most peoples’ opinions, including Mama Day’s. He feels that only he can cure Cocoa of her illness, but Mama Day thinks differently. Ultimately, he does end up saving Cocoa, but for the price of his own life. If he had listened to Mama Day’s suggestions, he could have been able to save Cocoa as well as his own life.
  4. “Our worst fight ever. And it was all your fault” (230). (From George’s point-of-view)
  5. “He turns his back to her and when she asks if maybe he’d want another piece of pie, he ignores her and keeps on talking (240).
  6. When George and Cocoa get in fights, as all married couples do, George always blames the fight on Cocoa and does not make up easily.
  1. Junior Lee, Ruby’s husband is always having affairs with other women

Student 5

  1. The reader sees Ruby Lee, of Mama Day as insane, partially due to the ill treatment she receives from her husband.
  2. (To Cocoa Day From Junior Lee): “For a sweet thing like you, I’d do anything (241).
  3. Ruby gets very jealous of any other women whom she might see Junior Lee talking to. Even if it is not a true affair, or if they are simply talking about the weather, Ruby is infuriated.
  4. Many portray Ruby as insane and extremely cold-hearted because of the things she does to other women who she believes Junior Lee is having an affair with. However, what the characters do not realize is that it is Junior Lee who is the cold-hearted character who neglects and betrays his wife.
  1. Eve’s abandonment from childhood leading to a corrupted life
  2. As a child, Eve, from Bailey’s Café, is abandoned, causing her life to become corrupted.
  3. Eve grew up with a decent life, living with her grandfather. However, when her grandfather catches her masturbating in a field outside of their house, he immediately sends her out on her own.
  4. “He said I was going to leave him the same way he’d found me, naked and hungry” (88).

Student 6

  1. Eve was thrown out of her home with nothing, and was forced to make a living on her own. Miraculously, she was able to survive without anyone to help her. However, Eve does not make her

living in a very acceptable way. Eve is able to live by housing women who need to live somewhere, and return the favor by becoming prostitutes.

  1. “She runs a whorehouse. Nothing but a whorehouse” (81).
  2. Others do not view Eve as very civilized because of her occupation. Eve is not an extremely friendly, kind person, partially due to her brutal youth. She enters a corrupted lifestyle because it was the only way for her to make money sufficient enough for her own needs.
  3. “Moreover, in the conclusion of the novel, many critics have observed a change in tone from Naylor’s earlier works, which offered little hope to African Americans (who were seen as victims of the white establishment) and even less to black women (who were shown bound by sexism as well as by racism)” (King).
  1. Esther’s marriage at age twelve, to sexually abusive husband (forced by her brother).
  2. Esther’s extremely young, forced marriage to a sexually abusive husband leads to a miserable life, as seen in Bailey’s Café.

Student 7

  1. Esther was forced to marry a man whom she did not even know at the age of twelve. Her brother sold he to this brutally abusive man for his own benefit. Her “husband” sexually abuses her many times.
  2. Her harsh youth gives reason for her unhappy, hateful adult years.
  3. “It was hard to believe that someone’s hate could change the air that way” (94).
  4. Esther is taken in by Eve after she finds out that she was not married to this man, that she was just being used. She also realizes that she was completely manipulated to remain quiet about what was being done to her, and was tricked into believing that she was benefiting from her terrible lifestyle.
  5. “Sweet Esther’s brother sells her to a man he knows will brutalize and corrupt her” (Reisman).
  6. Esther comes to be known as a woman who hates men. This is easily comprehendible because of what men had done to her in the past.
  7. “The pink and lace-trimmed bed where she must sleep alone reveals her confinement to a socially prescribed gender role” (King).
  1. Sadie- combination of alcoholic husband and neglectful youth

Student 8

  1. Coming from a neglectful, corrupted background, Sadie, from Bailey’s Café, leads a damaged, lonely life.
  2. “Sadie heard it so much from her mama that she thought it was her name when she was little: The One The Coat Hanger Missed” (41).
  3. Sadie was not meant to be born and when she was life was very tough for her as an extremely neglected, unwanted child.
  4. When Sadie did get attention from her mother, it was because her mother was drunk, and it usually meant that she was being physically abused.
  5. By the time that Sadie was fifteen years old, she was basically living on her own and providing for herself. Many times, in order to make the amount of money that she felt was sufficient, she would resort to prostitution. Her mother also sold her for prostitution when she was younger.
  6. Sadie also adopted her mother’s alcoholism, and was driven to the bottle whenever times became tough.
  7. “Sadie’s mother contemptuously uses her child first as a servant and then as a profitable prostitute” (Reisman).
  8. Sadie’s husband was also an alcoholic, which also contributed to Sadie’s future alcoholism as well.
  9. “His drinking also let Sadie know what he though of her. And she found out it wasn’t very much” (53).

Student 9

  1. “Dreams had been dying around Sadie all of her life. There were no more dreams (64).
  1. Conclusion

A. Quote: “Naylor shows, however, that for women—and black women in particular—survival comes from the courage and support of those who share pain and anguish and yet also share the triumph of the human spirit, from families created not by genes and blood and law but by the heart and soul” (Labin).