Compare And Contrast Sadie And Maude And A Street In Bronzeville

“Sadie and Maud” from “A Street in Bronzeville” by Gwendolyn Brooks was written in 1945, which was a time where strict standards were enforced by parents on their youth, so the child’s life is essentially planned out before the child has any input of his or her own. While Maud goes to college and follows the rules set by society, Sadie stays home and has two children before being married, which is frowned upon by society. In this poem, Brooks plainly wants the readers to select what they want to do and says that it’s perfectly fine to go against society’s standards as long as it brings happiness. Sadie and Maud choose opposite paths in their lives, each defining success differently, in a time where society viewed the education of women in

The poem reads, “Maud and Ma and Papa / Nearly died of shame.” It can be inferred Maud and Sadie are related or at least close friends because Maud is close enough to Sadie to be mentioned with her parents. Both of the girls satisfy their own opinion of success. For Maud, success is to follow all of the rules set by society, making those around her happy. Sadie on the other hand, desires to be happy, and does what it takes to fulfill her desires even if it means she disappoints those around her. So in the end, both of them got what they wanted, whether it be praise from others or true

In the poem, Gwendolyn Brooks makes it very clear that education is a very important part of a child’s life, and that it is frowned upon when a child chooses to not attend school. Opportunities for women in the 1940s were limited, therefore parents inevitably wanted their children to attend college and accomplish something they, the parent never had the opportunity to do as a child. Even though an education is very important for many things, such as finding a job, it certainly isn’t a major key in one’s true happiness, as demonstrated by Sadie. Brooks also comments on society’s unattainable standards. Maud does everything right during her life, according to the standards, but ends up lonely and unhappy. Sadie on the other hand lives her life by disregarding those standards, and ends up with two loving children. Women seem to be pressured into following pointless social guidelines which if obeyed, lead to acceptance by others and nothing else. For African-American women in particular, following these guidelines might be the result of the urge to fit into society. Therefore, the women can either pick to be accepted by society and be unhappy or what Brooks advocates, which is to not follow those standards and be happy