Essay on Gloria Naylors Mama Day - 1241 Words

Gloria Naylors Mama Day 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. Sapphira Wade is a character that Naylor uses as a tool†¦show more content†¦The descendents of Sapphira all received deeds to pieces of land in Willow Springs in 1823. How the descendants of a slave woman came to inherit the land of slave owner is unclear because different interpretations of the event that occurred in 1823 seem to have been developed from generation to generation. For instance, some say Sapphira â€Å"smothered Bascombe Wade in his very bed,† while others say she â€Å"persuaded Bascombe Wade in a thousand days to deed all his slaves every inch of land in Willow Springs† and â€Å"poisoned him for his trouble† (Naylor 3). These different interpretations apparently lead to the development to the use of the phrase â€Å"18 23† as a slang term. For some, the phrase seems to represent death and destruction whereas others use it synonymously with deception. But no matter what actually happened in 1823, the fact that so many vie ws are accepted by the community conveys to the reader the importance of open-mindedness in reading the book. Naylor continues to suggest the significance of open-mindedness by providing the reader with the opportunity to choose more than one way to explain Mama Day’s encounter with Bernice. Bernice decides to seek the advice of Mama Day, who is known to have miraculous healing abilities, when she has trouble conceiving. Mama Day gives Bernice pumpkin seeds and puts her under the impression that they are â€Å"magic seeds† (Naylor 96). This gives Bernice time to buildShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Gloria Naylors Mama Day1144 Words   |  5 PagesGloria Naylor’s Mama Day, through prefatory documents at the beginning of the novel, is able to further her rewrite of the African experience post-slavery. Naylor published Mama Day in 1988. During that year the term African American had been coined by Jesse Jackson. By using this term today we are able to honor our cur rent place as American while also giving recognition and preserving our African Heritage Through the use of three prefatory documents Naylor is able to rewrite the historical AfricanRead More Gloria Naylors Mama Day Essay940 Words   |  4 PagesGloria Naylors Mama Day Gloria Naylors Mama Day takes place in two distinct environments, each characterized by the beliefs and ideologies of the people who inhabit the seemingly different worlds. The island of Willow Springs, comprised solely by the descendants of slaves, is set apart from the rest of the United States and is neither part of South Carolina nor Georgia. As such, its inhabitants are exempt from the laws of either state and are free to govern themselves as they see fit. Only aRead More Gloria Naylors Mama Day Essay1250 Words   |  5 PagesGloria Naylors Mama Day George and Ophelia grow up in significantly different environments with exposure to vastly dissimilar experiences; their diverse backgrounds have a profound impact on the way they interpret and react to situations as adults. George and Ophelia both grow up without their parents, but for different reasons. George grows up at the Wallace P. Andrews Shelter for Boys in New York. The Shelter’s strict surroundings did not provide the warm and inviting atmosphereRead MoreEssay on George’s Life Sacrifice in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day739 Words   |  3 PagesGeorge’s Life Sacrifice in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day 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 OpheliaRead MoreMama Day Essay833 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferences--and the danger--rise significantly. This discrepancy between the old and the new is one of the principal themes of Gloria Naylors Mama Day. The interplay between George, Ophelia and Mama Day shows the discrepancies between a modern style of thinking and one born of spirituality and religious beliefs. Dr. Buzzard serves as a weak bridge between these two modes of thought. In Mama Day, the Westernized characters fail to grasp the power of the Willow Springs world until it is too l ate.   When I wasRead More New York vs. Willow Springs in Mama Day Essay example1715 Words   |  7 PagesNew York vs. Willow Springs in Mama Day The soft island breeze blows across the sound and the smell of the sea fills the air in Willow Springs. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Lower Manhattan the smell of garbage and street vendors’ hotdogs hangs in the air. These two settings are key to Gloria Naylor’s 1988 novel Mama Day where the freedom and consistency of the Sea Islands is poised against the confinement of the ever-changing city, two settings that not only changes characters’Read MoreLetter From Gloria Naylor s Mama Day2479 Words   |  10 PagesGynocentric Granules in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day Anslin Jegu J., Asst. Prof. of English, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai. E-mail: anslinjegu@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract This paper strews a panoramic view of Gynocentrism as a literary critical theory and its ramification in the form of the human relationshipRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare And Mama Day By Gloria Naylor1919 Words   |  8 PagesThe Tempest by William Shakespeare and Mama Day by Gloria Naylor are two fantastic stories that both belong to the genre magical realism, which is where magical elements are incorporated into realistic fiction. Prospero the main character is robbed of Dukedom and marooned on an island with his infant daughter where he meets natives and fire demons who do his bidding. Mama Day the main character in Gloria Naylor’s novel is a no nonsense woman who uses her magic to help the other residents of theirRead MoreGoophered Grapes Pre Ready 1 Essay example2710 Words   |  11 PagesMonthly† is a Bostonian publication that centered on politics, literature, science and the arts. While these topics are not reserved for our society’s elite s o much these days, it was much more so back then and the creators of the magazine definitely thought of themselves as part of our nation’s cultural elite. Even to this day, at least some of the staff at â€Å"The Atlantic† feel this way. Managing editor, Cullen Murphy gave a presentation and presented its founders like this; At a moment in our history