The life of Dana The novel Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is the story of two families with the same father, a bigamist. Chaurisse and her mother Laverne, James Witherspoon 's first wife, have no idea the other family exists. Dana and her mother are part of his secret life, playing second fiddle to the family they share their father/husband with. The novel presents a wide variety of instances where intersections between gender, race, or class influence a character’s life. This novel shows how the identity of people change through the course of life and how it affects their interaction with other people in life. Dana is the daughter of James Witherspoon and Gwendolyn. However, Dana is just an object Gwendolyn uses to keep James closer to her. Although she loves and cares for Dana, she always supports James’s view of how Dana should live her life. She is responsible for how Dana’s life turns out and how Dana reacts to difficult situations in life. Dana has an unstable relationship with her boyfriend Marcus. Instead of complaining, she will rather comply to the gender role of the society which deals with a lady being submissive to a man. Likewise, this behavior is evident in the life of her mother when she is hit by James. Furthermore, a lot of pressure is put on Dana by her mother Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn acts like Dana is an adult but she is only a child. When Raleigh asks Gwendolyn to marry him, Gwendolyn seeks advice from little Dana when she notes, “Dana, what would you say about Uncle Raleigh becoming your new daddy?” (139). This is a hard question for a child who is struggling through emotional trauma with her real father that she loves dearly to comprehend. Also, Gwendolyn always tells Dana stories about her grandfather who is through with her after she leaves her first husband Clarence Yarboro (52). Not to mention, Dana is traumatized by the notion that in a relationship men tend to abandon women and leave them in despair which she acquired from stories told by her mother about her grandfather abandoning her after she leaves her first husband. Furthermore, the way Gwendolyn handles James’s decision to run back to the arms of Laverne really had an effect on how Dana handles the situation. Dana does not handle it in a logical manner and this leads her to visit James and question his reason for leaving her mother (339). Dana grows up as a replica of her mother and ends up having a child named Flora. Dana loves her daughter so much that she holds her closely the same way Gwendolyn shows affection for Dana at a young age.
The novel, The Color of Water follows the author and narrator James McBride, and his mother Ruth’s life. It explores their childhood—when they were both embarrassed by their mothers—through the part of their lives where they began to accept themselves for who they are. Moreover, this memoir is quite distinctive as McBride cleverly parallels his story to his mother, Ruth’s story using dual narration. This technique further helps contribute to the theme of self-identity. Throughout the novel, McBride searches for identity and a sense of belonging that derives from his multiracial family. By using two different narrations, McBride gradually establishes his identity and by integrating both narratives at the end, McBride also shows that although both narrators at the beginning had different upbringings, in the end they came together, and understood each other’s perspective.
Although this story is told in the third person, the reader’s eyes are strictly controlled by the meddling, ever-involved grandmother. She is never given a name; she is just a generic grandmother; she could belong to anyone. O’Connor portrays her as simply annoying, a thorn in her son’s side. As the little girl June Star rudely puts it, “She has to go everywhere we go. She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (117-118). As June Star demonstrates, the family treats the grandmother with great reproach. Even as she is driving them all crazy with her constant comments and old-fashioned attitude, the reader is made to feel sorry for her. It is this constant stream of confliction that keeps the story boiling, and eventually overflows into the shocking conclusion. Of course the grandmother meant no harm, but who can help but to blame her? O’Connor puts her readers into a fit of rage as “the horrible thought” comes to the grandmother, “that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee” (125).
The novel, The Color of Water follows the author and narrator James McBride and his mother Ruth’s life, through their childhood—when they were both embarrassed about their mother—through the part of their lives where they began to accept themself for who they are and became proud of it. Moreover, this memoir is quite distinctive as McBride cleverly parallels his story to his mother, Ruth’s story by using dual narration which further helps to contribute to the theme of self-identity. Throughout the novel, McBride searches for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family and through the use of two different narrations, McBride slowly establishes his identity. Plus by integrating both narratives at the end, McBride also shows that although both narrators at the beginning had different upbringing, in the end they come together and understand each other’s perspective.
In the story, “The Wife of His Youth,” Chestnutt describes the racial discrimination in America. The author utilizes the primary characters as a gateway to reveal hypocrisy in declaring social equity and identity. Mr. Ryder runs away from his black heritage to become a part in a white society, while his wife from slavery uses her past to assert her faithfulness to her husband. The writer uses Mr. Ryder to reveal hypocrisy in social equity. Sam Taylor was a light skinned slave before the civil war. While his wife was at home cooking, he was always at the field working. During the civil war, he managed to escaped and moved up to north. After being free in north he decided to change his name to Mr. Ryder and joined the group called Blue Veins. Blue
While celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday, Dana gets taken from her home in California and relocated to a place in the south. Rufus, son of a white plantation owner, has brought Dana across time to save him from drowning. After this first summons, she is drawn back, multiple times to protect Rufus and make sure he will grow to manhood and be the father of the daughter of Dana’s ancestor. Each time she arrived in the past, Dana’s stay became more dangerous every visit because of Rufus’ need for her. Although Rufus enslaves her and abuses her, Dana cares for him. When she time travels, Dana must struggle to maintain her identity as a strong, intelligent, free black woman in a world in which women and all black people are utterly subservient to ignorant, ...
The mother-daughter relationship is a common topic throughout many of Jamaica Kincaid's novels. It is particularly prominent in Annie John, Lucy, and Autobiography of my Mother. This essay however will explore the mother-daughter relationship in Lucy. Lucy tells the story of a young woman who escapes a West Indian island to North America to work as an au pair for Mariah and Lewis, a young couple, and their four girls. As in her other books—especially Annie John—Kincaid uses the mother-daughter relationship as a means to expose some of her underlying themes.
The lack of support and affection protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, causes them to construct their lives on their own without a motherly figure. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, displays the development of Sula and Nel through childhood into adulthood. Before Sula and Nel enter the story, Morrison describes the history of the Peace and Wright family. The Peace family live abnormally to their town of Medallion, Ohio. Whereas the Wrights have a conventional life style, living up to society’s expectations.The importance of a healthy mother-daughter relationship is shown through the interactions of Eva and Hannah Peace, Hannah and Sula, and between Helene Wright and Nel. When Sula and Nel become friends they realize the improper parenting they
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
The book by Faith Ringgold entitled Faith Ringgold, explains the story of a mother and daughter during the Harlem Renaissance era in New York. According to the book, the series deals with many generational issues of a middle class black family and focuses on the drama, and tension between a mother and daughter who are profoundly different. The series represents a relationship much like the relationship between Faith Ringgold and her two daughters. The story follows a daughter named, Celia Cleopatra Price, a graduate of Howard University, who graduated first in her class. She is unable to identify with her mother, CeeCee. CeeCee had only finished the 8th grade and dropped out due to her pregnancy with Celia. CeeCee is a very creative individual and makes bags; she is married to”the dentist”, who a young CeeCee meets in the first quilt Love in the School Yard. CeeCee thinks Celia has develope...
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
...rson and he knows that she will take care of the little guy even if the Guy is not around. A distort desire to be free of the situation drive the whole family into tragedy and leave them grieves
Alice and Kevin have an interesting start to their relationship. Initially, it appears that Dana is not interested in Kevin, as she tries to reject communication and his advances through buying her lunch. This distance on Dana’s part allows readers to contemplate whether Dana is put off by Kevin’s obtrusive attitude because he is a man, because he is white, or a combination of the two. As the novel advances, Butler continues to focus Kevin’s faults in his marriage because of his identity as a white man.
The relationship between a mother and her family is one of strength and commitment. A mother will go through long anything to make sure her family is safe. In 1982, in Lawrenceville Georgia, Mrs. Angela Cavallo saved her son, Tony Cavallo,who was pinned down by his Chevrolet Impala. The Chevrolet slipped off his car jack and fell on Tony. Angela was able to lift the car and then provide CPR for her son and saved his life. Family is the most important thing, and Ma demonstrates her maternal characteristics throughout the book to show that sticking together saves families.
Although, African Americans are considered minorities in the United States, not all of them live in poverty. Many African Americans live in a middle class society along with the dominant culture. However, many African Americans do not live in a middle class society, but rather live in poverty and have to suffer along with this poverty. For instance, Donald Goines’s Black Girl Lost and Tina McElroy Ansa’s Baby of the Family, two narrative novels, that illustrate the difference in two young African American girls lives and the society in which they inhabit. Not only do these young African American girls represent the two sides of poverty, they also represent how children can also qualify in the minority category. For example, Sandra lives in a run down apartment with a drunk mother who could care less about her daughter. In addition, Sandra remains all on her own and has to find ways in which to survive each day. But on the other hand, Lena lives in a nice size home with her two parents, her two brothers, and her grandmother, all who love her very much. Moreover, Lena has many family members who look after her and take extra special care for her because she is the baby of the family. Although, both Sandra and Lena lead very different lives, both are faced with challenges as a minority and as a child which questions their view on life.
The Color Purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, Celie. Celie, a clear victim of abuse, narrates the story through a collection of writings that starts with her confession of “Dear God.” Celie’s story encompasses around her life and the characters that breaks the common gender depiction. The story heavily addresses the subject of social and behavioral standards for either men and women. It raises an issues on traditional marital subjects, family patriarchy, and social topics. In a traditional take of the family structure, the man often exhibits the dominant male figure head with the final say. The father provides the money and security for the wife and children as well as claim authority over the family. He becomes very work oriented and cares for the children only in times of need. On the other hand, the woman acts to be passive and pleases her husband. She plays a major role in raising and educating the children in every way possible. Often times, the woman takes a small part in maintaining a profession; although, she holds responsibility for all house work. The societal perspective of the patriarchal family system relies so heavily on gender roles that it becomes an expectation and the regulated norm. The Color Purple disrupts this gender norm by introducing characters that faces marital issues due to being the opposite of the typical gender role. Because they embody the opposite gender’s likely attributes, it becomes a questioning issue that leads to striving to live up to social norms or dealing with society disapproval. Within the progression of the novel, the women possess a sense of empowerment while as the men accept how things are in the world. The introducti...