As I read Maya Angelou's novel, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I couldn't help but think about all the factors that affect a person's life growing up. Through this novel the reader follows Marguerite and her brother Bailey as they grow from innocent children and move into adulthood.
Racial discrimination played a major role in this story. But what surprised me was I found myself thinking that how people respond to discrimination can have as great an impact as the discrimination itself. The reason I say that is I saw what a strong person "Momma" (actually Marguerite and Bailey's grandmother) was and how her attitude allowed her to create a more nurturing environment for the children than they received when they lived with their parents
Momma provided her grandchildren with a strict religious upbringing. She took the children to Sunday service, often quoted the bible and prayed daily. An example of her daily prayer can be found on page 7 in which Momma thanks the Lord for another day and asks his help as she lives out the new day. She would not allow the Lord's name be taken in vain in her home. As a result she gave Marguerite (Maya) a whipping one evening because she had used a White folk phrase "by the way", which Momma took to be "an abomination before Christ" (p 102).
Momma showed her love daily by making sure the children had food to eat. She showed a desire to raise them to productive members of society. She did this by making them attend school and helping out in the store.
During the discussions that took place in the store, Maya heard of the discrimination of others but she also experienced it first-hand. One example, early on in the book on pages 18 and 19, she had to assist Uncle Willie in forcing his crippled body into the vegetable bins in an attempt to hide from a possible visit by the KKK. In chapter 16, Maya dealt with Mrs. Cullinan wanting to change her name to Mary because it was shorter and thus more convenient to say than Marguerite. She had to put up with the pain of infected teeth longer than necessary because the white dentist refused to put his hand in a "negro's" mouth. Even her graduation ceremony from eighth grade was tarnished because the speaker who was a white man reminded them of their place in the world.
All of those experiences had to be difficult to deal with. But through it all, Momma stood as a shining example of remaining proud of whom you were and standing up for yourself. When the dentist refused to treat her granddaughter, Momma did not leave with her head down. Instead, she barged into the dentist's office and let him have it. As a result, she left the office a respected woman; respected by the dentist, her granddaughter and herself. Likewise, when the “powhitetrash” kids came to the store to ridicule Momma, she stood her ground. She refused to let their antics upset her and stood with folded arms singing. When the girls went to leave, Momma called them each by name, refusing to stoop to their behavior (p 30-33). Maya did not understand it all but she understood enough to know that Momma had gotten the upper hand. "Whatever the contest had been out front, I knew Momma had won" (p 33).
When Marguerite lived in Stamp, Arkansas with Momma she saw discrimination daily. But she also saw how Momma and others around her did not let it defeat them. During her graduation ceremony, she saw how a simple song, the Negro National Anthem, could pick spirits back up. She watched people enter the store exhausted from the day’s work and then become revitalized during a revival. She saw the spirit of her people rise above the pain of discrimination.
So although facing discrimination was not easy, she had role models to help her through. However, when she lived with her mother or father, she experienced different kinds of pain that were not limited to discrimination. I couldn't help but wonder if Maya had remained with her grandmother, Momma, if life might have turned out differently for her and if so how.
The first time Maya moved back to live with her mother it was in St. Louis. During this time, Maya had to endure the physical and emotional pain of being raped at the young age of 7 by her mother's boyfriend Mr. Freeman. What made this rape even more heart wrenching was Maya's desire to be held and loved. "He held me so softly that I wished he wouldn't ever let me go." I believe this statement shows that discrimination was a factor in Maya's life as she grew up but an even stronger factor was her desire to be held and loved. She had never received this from her father or any other male figure before in her life. I also believe this lack of a true loving male in her childhood is what left her questioning her sexuality near the end of the novel. What little attention she had received from males in her life was not positive so it should not be a surprise that she questioned her feelings toward the male gender.
The short time Maya spent living at her father's during summer vacation turned into more of a nightmare. What she thought would be a fun trip to Mexico was anything but that. Her father offered to give her in marriage to the border patrol. Then he became so drunk she had to drive them down the mountain. Upon returning to her father's trailer she was cut by his jealous girlfriend. Too ashamed to let her mother know how her relationship with her father ended, she spent the next month living in a junkyard.
If I were to choose a life between living with Momma in Stamp or living with Mother or Daddy, I would have picked Momma. Although Momma did not often hug Maya, her actions showed her love for her. Maya's real parents, on the other hand, seemed to be more concerned about themselves than about their daughter. I think this lack of love can be just more painful, if not more, to live with than racial discrimination.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
I found this book to be a great read for anyone who inspires to better their lot in life. I would highly recommend this book as part of a literature selection for adolescent readers. This book addressed some serious issues but included moments of humor to relieve the serious mood.
Like the other book for this week, "April Raintree", the book dealt with the prevalent occurance of alcoholism among native Indians and the negative consequences that result in alcohol use. Both novels relate death to the use of alcohol. In "April Raintree" it was the suicide of the mother and Cheryl. In Alexie's book it was the death of Junior's uncle and grandmother. Junior's uncle died as the result of a fight over the last swig in a whiskey bottle while Junior's grandmother died as the result of a drunk driver. Both books had main characters who spoke about the impact alcohol had on their life.
Another common element in both books was the fact that both April and Junior were half Indian. April chose to keep this fact a secret from most of her friends. Junior was not able to hide his heritage as his skin was not fair like April's. However, like her, Junior altered the way he acted when among white people from the way he acted around his own people.
Since Junior loved to draw cartoons, it seemed fitting that the book would also include cartoons. Often these pictures helped to lighten the mood of the book and further helped to clarify some of the emotions Junior was going through.
One of the things that made me connect with the book was my childhood. I grew up with a father that preferred to spend his time at the bars rather than with his family so I could relate to how alcohol can negatively impact a family. In addition, I have also experience what it is like to be "different" and be taunted for that. When I was in third grade I suffered from polio. As a result, for an entire school year I could not participate in phy ed classes and was not to do anything physical during lunch or recess time. So my lunch and recess time was spent sitting on the back steps of the school yard where kids would sometimes throw rocks at me and constantly call me names. So when the kids were picking on Junior because of his physical ailments, I could definitely relate to that. Unfortunately I still see kids being picked on today because of their differences and as a result I think many kids could relate at least on some level with the lead character in this novel and like me cheer him on as he goes on to make a better future for himself.
Like the other book for this week, "April Raintree", the book dealt with the prevalent occurance of alcoholism among native Indians and the negative consequences that result in alcohol use. Both novels relate death to the use of alcohol. In "April Raintree" it was the suicide of the mother and Cheryl. In Alexie's book it was the death of Junior's uncle and grandmother. Junior's uncle died as the result of a fight over the last swig in a whiskey bottle while Junior's grandmother died as the result of a drunk driver. Both books had main characters who spoke about the impact alcohol had on their life.
Another common element in both books was the fact that both April and Junior were half Indian. April chose to keep this fact a secret from most of her friends. Junior was not able to hide his heritage as his skin was not fair like April's. However, like her, Junior altered the way he acted when among white people from the way he acted around his own people.
Since Junior loved to draw cartoons, it seemed fitting that the book would also include cartoons. Often these pictures helped to lighten the mood of the book and further helped to clarify some of the emotions Junior was going through.
One of the things that made me connect with the book was my childhood. I grew up with a father that preferred to spend his time at the bars rather than with his family so I could relate to how alcohol can negatively impact a family. In addition, I have also experience what it is like to be "different" and be taunted for that. When I was in third grade I suffered from polio. As a result, for an entire school year I could not participate in phy ed classes and was not to do anything physical during lunch or recess time. So my lunch and recess time was spent sitting on the back steps of the school yard where kids would sometimes throw rocks at me and constantly call me names. So when the kids were picking on Junior because of his physical ailments, I could definitely relate to that. Unfortunately I still see kids being picked on today because of their differences and as a result I think many kids could relate at least on some level with the lead character in this novel and like me cheer him on as he goes on to make a better future for himself.
"April Raintree" by Beatrice Culleton
The book April Raintree definitely touched the heart. The lives of April and Cheryl Raintree are the focus of this novel by Beatrice Culleton. The story follows the lives of these sisters from preschoolers to adulthood and details the many trials they face in their lifetime. The story is written from April's perspective so the reader has a great insight into April and how she feels about being a "half-breed". April prefers to pass herself off as a white person. Since she is fair skinned this is possible. However, her sister Cheryl has the same brown skins as their father. It makes me wonder if that is why she was more passionate about the Metis Culture. Had she been fair skinned like her mother and sister, would her passion for the Indian side of her still been as strong? Most of Cheryl's feelings come through the narrator so it is unclear how accurate April's perceptions were. Only at the end of the book when a portion of Cheryl's journal is included, does the reader have a true sense of Cheryl's thoughts and feelings.
This book covers many heavy topics for adolescents to discuss including: physical and emotional abuse, alcoholism, rape, and suicide. When she is living at the DeRosier farm, April has to endure both physical and emotional abuse. The emotional abuse extends beyond the farm to school but results from the wardrobe that Ms. DeRosier has purchased for April to wear. In the later half of the book, April has to deal with rape and the emotional suffering that results. The constant feeling of being "dirty" causes her to takes daily baths where she scrubs at her skin. She has to deal with the fear that the jury will not believe her but in the end she has the satisfaction of knowing the perpetrator was found guilty. Throughout the book April is confronted with the evils of alcoholism and how it lead to the fracture of her family life. At the end of the book she loses her sister to suicide which happen to be the way her mother died as well. Both of these women in her life, jumped to their death from the Louise Bridge.
Due to the heavy nature of the book's topic, if I were to use this book in a literature class, I would want to allow for plenty of time for discussion with the students. The action does keep the reader on the edge of their seat but the last few chapters are full of so much depression that I would want to talk with students about this. Although there begins to be an indication that Cheryl has succumb to alcohol, in a very brief period of time the reader also learns that Cheryl has prostituted herself, had a baby out of wedlock, chose alcohol over her child just as her parents had done, and committed suicide. I am thinking of a student who may have alcoholism in their family and how this book and the results of Cheryl's life could cause a sense of despair. For in the end, Cheryl fell prey to all the evils the social worker has said would happen. As a result, students may find a lack of hope for a person facing similar circumstances. The one light in the ending is that April seems to be doing okay and she is planning to raise her nephew.
This book covers many heavy topics for adolescents to discuss including: physical and emotional abuse, alcoholism, rape, and suicide. When she is living at the DeRosier farm, April has to endure both physical and emotional abuse. The emotional abuse extends beyond the farm to school but results from the wardrobe that Ms. DeRosier has purchased for April to wear. In the later half of the book, April has to deal with rape and the emotional suffering that results. The constant feeling of being "dirty" causes her to takes daily baths where she scrubs at her skin. She has to deal with the fear that the jury will not believe her but in the end she has the satisfaction of knowing the perpetrator was found guilty. Throughout the book April is confronted with the evils of alcoholism and how it lead to the fracture of her family life. At the end of the book she loses her sister to suicide which happen to be the way her mother died as well. Both of these women in her life, jumped to their death from the Louise Bridge.
Due to the heavy nature of the book's topic, if I were to use this book in a literature class, I would want to allow for plenty of time for discussion with the students. The action does keep the reader on the edge of their seat but the last few chapters are full of so much depression that I would want to talk with students about this. Although there begins to be an indication that Cheryl has succumb to alcohol, in a very brief period of time the reader also learns that Cheryl has prostituted herself, had a baby out of wedlock, chose alcohol over her child just as her parents had done, and committed suicide. I am thinking of a student who may have alcoholism in their family and how this book and the results of Cheryl's life could cause a sense of despair. For in the end, Cheryl fell prey to all the evils the social worker has said would happen. As a result, students may find a lack of hope for a person facing similar circumstances. The one light in the ending is that April seems to be doing okay and she is planning to raise her nephew.
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