The Women Of Brewster Place

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

In the book, The Women of Brewster Place, there have been many women and many stories that all seem to have some similar themes.  We’ve read the chapters of Mattie Michael, Etta Mae Johnson, Kiswana Browne, and Lucielia Louise Turner.  All the women have been affected by men in some way or another, mostly in a negative fashion.  Mattie Michael got pregnant by the town’s man whore, Etta Mae Johnson sleeps around with men trying to find love, Kiswana Browne is upset with her father for being in the NAACP and becoming a republican.  Lucielia aborted her child because the father could not afford another child and eventually left her and their current daughter.  Lucielia’s daughter, Serena, was horribly killed because she stuck a fork in a wall socket while Lucielia was trying to stop Eugene (Serena’s father and Lucielia’s lover) from leaving them.  She wasn’t able to watch the child so her lack of supervision and being distracted by Eugene caused Serena’s death.  The only characters that are in most of the chapters are Mattie Michael and a drunk man named Ben.  Mattie is an old woman and a former resident of Brewster Place so she knows “everyone and their momma”.  Ben could have known everyone in the past but fell off.  Everyone hears rumors about him but never knew the full story just like Jay Gatsby of “The Great Gatsby”.  Brewster Place symbolizes a home and a safe place for most of the locals.  Brewster Place is secluded from the busy streets by a large, decaying wall.  The women of the quaint city are all strong minded but some haven’t found the spark to help them find their will power.

Word Count: 282 Words

Jr at Whitney Young

If Junior went to Whitney Young, he would fit in the group of socially awkward but very intelligent children.  The kids that come to school just for school and do all their work in a timely manner, while maintaining a secret cover of coming from an uneducated background.  He wouldn't make friends like he did at Rearden because they didn't fight, but at Whitney Young, if a specific person gets punched they will fight back.  He would be shunned for getting beat up, but like in the movies, someone might stick up for him and have sympathy.  With the amount of varying backgrounds at our school, Junior would just fall in where he sees fit.

Hiding the Reservation

At Whitney Young, a lot of people hide their background when they come to school.  They're worried about what good clothes to wear, who's going to comment on their outfits, who's going to notice the small hole in the stitching of their clothing.  They mostly hide the bad "reservation" because of the multitude of wealthy students in the school that like to flaunt their materialistic possessions.  Their peers worry about being judged and want to fit in in such a large high school.  They just want to impress others so they can have friends instead of being judged based on whether or not they got the latest pickups on shoes, the cutest dresses, or the nicest cars.  Some teens hide the fact that they're not as wealthy just to get by and have an okay time other than feeling left out.

A Raisin In The Sun vs. The Great Gatsby

In the stories, “A Raisin in the Sun” and “The Great Gatsby,” the American Dream is displayed in different ways.  The American Dream has many different views and it is all based on how a person lives or sees the world.  One person could be very hopeful about the United States and want to be here for the great success of a family.  Another person could feel that the United States is too violent or not good enough for their standards and not want to come here at all.  The Great Gatsby took a very economic stand on the American Dream.

In “The Great Gatsby,” the characters were very money hungry.  All they cared about were the very materialistic things and being the richest person.  Like the West Egg and East Egg were the differences between the very rich side and the moderately wealthy side, divided by a river.  Gatsby felt that he had to succeed in life because he wanted to do better than his parents.  When he was a young man, his inheritance of money was taken from him by a money hungry female.  With that being said, he wanted to feel what being wealthy felt like and chased money his whole life.

Even when he was trying to be with Daisy, he was chasing her money and wealth more than he was chasing her as a woman.  He liked the fact that she could support herself and he liked her social standard and class based on her money.  Tom and Daisy were less concerned about the money but more concerned about keeping their relationship look picture perfect.  They just wanted to please others so they could have some type of happiness.

In “A Raisin In The Sun,” the family was still focused on money moreover focused on getting by.  Ms. Lena Younger, the mother of the family, was more focused on her children being happy.  She felt that they were too focused on wealth and being and/or getting rich and not enough on actually enjoying life.  She didn’t want Walter Lee Younger, her son, to invest in the liquor store because she was not sure about the deal being full-proof.  Mama wanted Beneatha Younger aka Bennie, her daughter and Walter Lee’s sister, to continue in college and become a doctor like she wanted to be.

Ruth Younger, Walter Lee’s wife, had become pregnant and she just wanted to be able to support her new child.  Her arguments with Walter and the poverty of the household concerned her and stressed her out.  Travis, Walter and Ruth’s son, was less focused on the money like the rest of his family.  He was working a job to help his parents but was not money hungry.  The family struggled but when the $10,00 check came, their greedy ways separated them and caused even more chaos.

The two stories are the complete opposite in which the views on the American Dream are portrayed but they both include money.  “A Raisin In The Sun” was more poverty based and “The Great Gatsby” was more wealth based.  Yet both, incorporated a want for money in two or more characters.  The American Dream is changed based on a person’s social class, lifestyle, and dreams.

Word Count: 542 words

Protest Song Post

Fight The Power - Public Enemy

[Verse 1]
1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hitting your heart cause I know you got soul
(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you're missing y'all
Swinging while I'm singing (hey)
Giving whatcha getting
Knowing what I know
While the Black bands sweating
And the rhythm rhymes rolling
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

[Hook]
Fight the power
We've got to fight the powers that be

[Verse 2]
As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you've realized the pride's arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
From the heart
It's a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothing's strange
People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant **** to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother **** him and John Wayne
Cause I'm Black and I'm proud
I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped
Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
Don't worry be happy
Was a number one jam
**** if I say it you can slap me right here
(Get it) lets get this party started right
Right on, c'mon
What we got to say
Power to the people no delay
To make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be

[Hook]

Word Count: 318 words

This song is “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy.  It was released in June of 1989 on Motown Records.  This song was originally used for the movie “Do The Right Thing” which was produced by Spike Lee.  Later on, the track was used on Public Enemy’s studio album “Fear of the Black Planet” in 1990.  The song protests racism towards African Americans in the 1900s.  It uses many references and allusions to black history and even James Brown’s music.

In the first verse, they say, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death.  We got to fight the powers that be.”  They are referring to the First Amendment which gives every citizen the freedom to speak and let their opinion be known.  “Freedom or death” refers to the 18th century in which France had a slogan, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death.”  Fighting the powers that be is supposed to “bring the community together”, identify problems in the community, and figure out ways to solve each problem.

Public Enemy uses iconic figure such as Elvis and John Wayne to display a misconception of a person’s moral.  Chuck D raps, "Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant sh*t to me / Straight up racist, the sucker was / Simple and plain," with Flavor Flav following, "Muthaf**k him and John Wayne!".  Their strong feelings towards the two men’s racism is displayed throughout the third verse.  In the line following, Chuck D says, “Cause I’m black and I’m proud ....... Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps.”  He’s justifying his comment in the previous line.

This song is one of the best songs in the 1900s hip hop era.  It’s showing the struggles with African Americans and how communities respond.  The hidden racism within popular culture and Hollywood is exploited in the song.  Public Enemy brought a few problems to light with their career and this great song.

Community Proposal

The Garfield Park Area

• The racial demographic is predominately black and slightly middle-class.
• I'm going to interview my grandmother, the principal of the local private school (Providence St. Mel), and a worker at the Garfield Park District.
• I think the representation is the violence and the bad part of the American Dream, theft, gangs, and more.  More fear and safety issues than working hard and succeeding, there's a war out here in Chiraq, Drillinois and most of the community is on the front line.

The American Dream

The American Dream
244 words

This article was based on the principle that the American Dream has attracted more immigrants because of the great freedom and many choices.  Although the first generation immigrants struggled when they first came to America, their children (second generation) are doing much better than their parents.  They are more educated, more socially diverse, have better jobs and pay, and own homes, unlike some of their parents.  The parents most likely came in the 1960s and their children grew up learning how America works.  The second generation is well kept and more on their feet than their guardians were when they first immigrated.

Although the American Dream is different for everyone, a lot of people come here to succeed in areas they couldn’t in their home lands.  America has freedom and more opportunities to expand your knowledge and to “start your family”.  Some immigrate to the USA because of the conditions in their countries, and they want to get away from them.  This article demonstrates the good side of the American Dream.  To each his own preference but people want to advance and do better in life.

The immigrants wanted better for their children so they moved to the U.S. and started a new life.  Their kids are grateful for what their parents did for them and are happy at the opportunities they’ve had because of it.  The percentage of successful second generation immigrants has risen because of the exposure to a better life style.