The Piano Lesson: Monologues and Character Analysis

Monica Johnson and Nethanya Cortez

Professor Lennon

ENG 1B

6 October 2010

The Piano Lesson: Monologues and Character Analysis

The play The Piano Lesson by August Wilson is on an African American family who leaves the rural South to escape racism, discrimination, terrorism, and exploitation in search for new opportunities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the African American Great Migration. As the family tries to look forward and move towards the future, they find themselves not able to look back and accept the painful past of their family history and the brutality of slavery. This is the history that leaves them with the search for identity and unity. Our focus is to reveal Doaker, Boy Willie, and Avery’s values, traits strengths, flaws, ambitions, and attitudes on their obstacles in the monologues in act one, scene one.  

A monologue is a form of dramatic entertainment in which a single performer speaks alone and uninterrupted. In act one, scene one of The Piano Lesson, there are three monologues that reveal the archetype characters of Doaker, Boy Willie, and Avery. An archetype is the original model or type after which other similar things are patterned after.

The first monologue starts on page ten with Boy Willie as the speaker. Boy Willie could be considered the archetype for the bad nigger for the inability to be controlled. In this monologue, he is speaking to his uncle Doaker and a family friend named Lymon and tells them about Sutter’s land and what he plans to do with it.  The monologue reveals more than Boy Willie’s ambitions and values of land ownership and financial independence; it also shows that he is intelligent, selfish, and confident. For example, he tells Doaker and Lymon, that he got a hundred acres of good land. “That’s why I come up here. Sell them watermelons. Get Berniece to sell that piano… Lay my money down on the table. Get my deed and walk on out.” (10-11) Here we quickly learn Boy Willie has a plan on how to get rich quick by getting money, buying land, and making more money off his new land. We also learn that he values Sutter’s land, financial independence, and freedom when he states in his monologue “This time I get to keep the cotton. Hire me some men to work it for me. Get my seed. And I’ll see you again next year.” (11) At this point Boy Willie expresses his desire to leave poverty behind him to progress in his life. In the examination of Boy Willie’s character traits, we see how confident he is when he explains to Doaker and Lymon how Sutter’s land is being sold, and how he has the opportunity to buy it. He demonstrates his intelligence when he tells them that Sutter is discriminating him by asking for more money for the land than he asked Jim Stovall who is the other potential buyer. Boy Willie masks his reaction realizing that if he does bring up the price difference, he may cause conflict and go to jail, thus putting a stop to his goal of land ownership and financial independence.

Boy Willie exudes strength in fact that he is enterprising, industrious, and bold in wanting to own land and be his own boss. The major character flaw of Boy Willie is that he is selfish. He does not ask anyone if he can sell the piano; he simply states that he will without the consideration of others. The lessons of slavery are priceless. Rather than taking in the sentimental and historical value of the family piano, Boy Willie emphasizes his focus on the monetary value. He makes the assumption and impression that he will have his way. His own dreams of owning land and making money by being his own boss cloud his sight of seeing other’s argument on selling the piano. Boy Willie has a headstrong attitude about his potential hurdles blocking him from the achievement of his goals. He displays a powerful character of getting what he wants no matter what the circumstances are. Whether the obstacles include family, racism, or terrorism, they are not going to stop him from selling the piano and getting Sutter’s land. This is his way to put a stop to his exploitation and reach his key to freedom from oppression through land ownership.

In the second monologue that appears on page eighteen with Doaker, as the archetype for Railroad Bill as the speaker. The Railroad Bill archetype is essentially a Black man who works for a rail line company. Doaker speaks to Boy Willie and Lymon about what he has seen and learned from watching people while working at the railroad for twenty-seven years. Throughout act one scene one, Doaker, a cautious and steady character, establishes his neutrality on the conflict of the piano. He sees both sides of the argument from Berniece and Boy Willie, but does not get involved. This demonstrates his values of balance, simplicity, and family. He also expresses his values by living with his niece Berniece and her eleven-year-old daughter Maretha.

In examination of Doaker’s values and traits we examine the fact that Doaker likes balance and is steady as he mentions in his monologue “If the train stays on the track it’s going to get where it’s going.” (19) Even through this simple statement, Doaker displays his strength of steadiness and reliability. He enjoys knowing that he is on right track, therefore keeping his life simple and balanced. However, Doaker’s flaw is his own strength of balance. He is content with his current way of living and does not want to change anything in his life. Doaker has accepted a certain form of survival involving masking, identity and belonging, perhaps succumbing to his own circumstance in life. Doaker’s attitude about his obstacles is another example of his simple and balanced philosophy on life. Though he is retired from the world from moving places, and experiencing new things, he has been working the same job working for the train system for twenty-seven years and again, does not want to change anything. It is a system of what he knows and what works for him making him a very cautious yet steady character.

  Finally, the third monologue to appear begins on page number twenty-four with Avery, the archetype Black preacher, as the speaker. “The Black Preacher is a powerful and influential figure in the Black community.” (Lennon. Legendary Cultural Heroes) In Avery’s monologue he tells Doaker, Boy Willie, and Lymon about his dream that motivated him to become a preacher. The monologues tell us that Avery accepts, believes, and is dedicated to the message received in his dream from the Lord Jesus Christ. Avery values acceptance and achievement; he wants to be accepted as Bernice’s husband since he has been asking for her hand in marriage for over two years, and he wants achievement in getting the loan from the bank to start his congregation.

Avery holds the traits of someone who is ambitious and of a leader. Avery’s ambition is evident in wanting to start his own church. For example, he describes his calling to be a servant of God to Doaker, Boy Willie, and Lymon when he mentions in his monologue “Well, it come to me in a dream… It took me a while before I could accept that.” (24-25) Avery’s strength is his own determination to start his own church. He knew moving to Pittsburgh would offer him more opportunities than the rural south ever could. This was his key to freedom from oppression. The character flaw of Avery is being overambitious in his persistence to marry Berniece that might push her away instead of bringing her in. His attitude on his potential obstacles blocking him from marrying Berniece and having his own congregation are very subtle. He has faith in the Lord and hopes that everything turns out as planned.

  Boy Willie and Avery share a few similarities when compared. They both have an aspiration to lead; they are ambitious and are motivated in getting what they want. Most importantly, both men are trying to find a way out of the oppression that they live in. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to own land and gain financial independence, while Avery wants a bank loan to start his own church and bring in more money from the people. If both are successful, their achievements will bring in even more money for them. As for obstacles, Berniece stands in the way of both Boy Willie and Avery.

Initially Avery tried to persuade Berniece into selling the piano to help him start his church but realized he could not win and stopped. In contrast however, Boy Willie acknowledged Berniece’s argument, ignored it, and demanded his portion of the profit to help him buy land. Boy Willie’s passion for land ownership comes from self gratification and promotion as opposed to Avery’s goals that come from self promotion and gratification from fulfilling the Lord’s work. Boy Willie is motivated to fulfill his goal by his own oppression of poverty and from the rise in opportunity, while Avery was motivated from his dream. In order to be successful, Boy Willie only needs to convince his sister Berniece to sell the family piano, but Avery’s needs to persuade Berniece to marry him, the bank to give him the loan, and people to join his church. Another major difference is what they will be doing once they have reached their goal. Boy Willie would hire men to work his land in sharecropping which is similar to a growing cycle of debt. Avery on the other hand will be helping people find Salvation through Christ.

Avery’s ambition is on another scale as he tells people of his dreams filled with Christian Biblical allusions. His dreams are very revealing as to who he is. In his dream he encounters three hobos with three candles who are in direct representation of the Three Wise Men in the Christian Bible. The three candles the hobos held symbolize the light of God, and since there were three, they represented the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is later led into a room filled with people with sheep heads signifying Christ, the people, and the church. The three hobos clothed him in a blue robe with gold thread. The robe represents righteousness and salvation, and the blue represents heaven, faithfulness, and truth while the gold represents riches of the earth. The voice Avery hears speaking to him and the other men is the voice of God representing His word of truth, love, and wisdom. When God tells them to look beyond the valley filled with wolves and asks to take the sheep across to the other end of the valley, Avery responds “Here I am. Send me.” (25) Here the valley symbolizes the humble people God loves and is considered a place of blessing, while in contrast the wolves embody disguised disbelievers and enemies of God who cause trouble and hunt in darkness. Avery’s mission overall was to guide people to accept and find Salvation in Christ.

When it comes down to who is more honest of the two, Boy Willie appears to be more truthful. His character from the very beginning is straightforward. Though he may be described as crude in speech and manner, he speaks his mind. He lets everyone know he wants to sell the piano and that he wants to buy Sutter’s land with it. If anyone, like Berniece, wants to defend or protect something, it is no secret when it is spoken from Boy Willie. With Avery however, there is an element of secrecy. He may say he wants to be a preacher and his motivation came from his dream, but what sets suspicion is his motive in marry Berniece. It is only known that he has been after her hand in marriage for two years, but he does not give any hints of affection towards Berniece. This is the reason why Boy Willie appears to be more honest than Avery for his straightforwardness and focus on self rather than the “salvation” of others. Boy Willie is powerful because he is not afraid, and he does not play himself down in any manner for Bernice or the whites in the South. Instead he makes an attempt to be just as strong as the White man who controlled his people.

The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman´s Life By Frankie Lennon

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

15 November 2010

The short story Fever is taken from The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman´s Life, which is a collection of short stories, by the author Frankie Lennon. It is a narrative with its focus on first love. It is the story between the protagonist, who is our narrator and her first love Stacey, who is the antagonist. The story is set at Indiana University and it is the last Saturday night before the college Christmas break. The author cleverly uses a broken linear chronological timeline, framed by memories with inner layered wants, feelings and desires. The story is entwined with the summertime heat of Indiana, a heat, which serves as an agent, for the passion in our love story. The author shares her experience of first time love, along with the search for guilt-free sexuality. (Professor Lennon, Lecture November 10, 2010)

The importance of this relationship is revealed through the narrator’s  sharing of  memories about experiences in connection to this relationship as she states“  I didn’t feel boys the way I did girls…I had a  serious ache, but I choked if off, never let it come up for air, hid it from myself  in a secret vault (107) showing that by the time the narrator meets her first love she  is willing to take a chance, open herself up to a relationship and finally embrace her natural inclinations.  The main theme in the story is love.  The kind of love that is pure, emotional, passionate, intense and blinding. The kind of love that will say anything, do anything and tries to be everything for the other person.  It is the kind of love that will break your heart.  It is a story that is relatable to anyone who has been in love.  Because, love is not only physically passionate, it is emotionally fulfilling.  Love is understanding, accepting, and enduring.  The narrator’s love for Stacey makes her want to face her own feelings of who she is stating “I’d buried the secrets in the vault under layers of double-dealings and deceit” (108) meaning that before Stacey, she had been repressing her feeling and living a life that was hidden.   In fact, as the narrator states “I blended in like a chameleon and the crowd bought my act.” (107)  But we can only suppress who we are naturally for so long. As the narrator’s true inner feelings resurface, her relationship with Stacey instinctively takes its course.

            The storytelling device that the author uses to present the theme most clearly is through the conflict, which is the protagonist’s fear.  The conflict of Fever is multi- layered, as love is multi-layered.  The first layer to the story is the internal battle between the narrator and the social force of racism and homophobia.” Homophobia is the unreasoning fear toward homosexuals and homosexuality (Dictionary.com) as our narrator states, “she had a fear of the words, accusations, she’s funny, she’s a bulldagger, she’s a dyke-fear of being severed, cut off from the pack, the crowd, the group taught me how to make myself fall in step, act in the conventional way, say the appropriate words.”(107)  Meaning to live with this horrible stigma that labels you with a false sense of disgrace is unbearable.  The narrator learns to pretend. With that in mind, the second layer comes through the relationship and the person she has fallen in love with who also represents that same social force and wants the narrator to stay hidden, to hide their relationship in shame and to continue to live in fear.  

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            The social system that surrounds homophobia which represents the external battle of the story has caused unhappiness and torment.  Because of their enforcements of what they think should be considered societal normalcy is discriminating, it advances their prejudices. The indictments of other people’s customs, traditions and choices are atrocious.   In the same way, the revelation of Stacey’s true feelings is bewildering as she states “we’re not like them…. so let’s don’t act like them…those freaks, bulldaggers. (114)  It is in this moment,  that the narrator’s inner voice, which serves as an echo of her wants and needs, but also serves as  her insight and thought process, raises doubt. The doubt comes in the forms of anxiety that produces feelings of denial, mistrust and betrayal. As a result of feelings of mistrust, which are terrifying for the narrator because this is someone to whom she has given her heart. The narrator states, “I was confused, what did she mean, let’s don’t act like them,” (113) meaning, fear of being labeled, but this time by someone that she loves. And, because this is someone that she loves the narrator becomes a person that is more willing to compromise as the narrator states, “I did not want to make her madder, so I nodded, abandoning my feelings, ignoring my unease…because I was afraid to put my feelings into words” (114) Begging the question for the narrator, how can Stacey feel this way about herself and me? Therefore leaving the narrator with painful thoughts and with some dark truths to deal with.    

 

The other topics that are important to this selection are that of self and identity, which surrounds self love, self awareness, and self respect promoting the idea of knowing exactly who you are as a person. And by knowing who you are as a person also lets us embrace another topic that goes along with the selection and that is “experiencing life changing turning points” (Lennon. Growing up Thematic issues) life’s experiences challenge us to learn and grow. And, when we are able to advance along with life changing turning points the same issues don’t keep resurfacing over and over. We are able to deal with them head on. 

The story Fever was engaging to me because of its real lessons of life and love.  In love and in life there will be some real disillusioning moments. But we have to accept them, learn from them and go on.  I did not like the character of Stacey for several of reasons. First, I was unsure of her intentions from her first entrance into the story. Second, it is Stacey that makes all the initial advancements in the relationship so it is really upsetting when she reveals her true feelings.  As time went on I got the feeling that Stacey had no real intentions of being together with the narrator and that she was being very misleading to the narrator by making promises that she knew she was not able to commit to. Lastly, I felt like she does the same thing in her relationship and engagement with Ned.  This proves that she is very misleading, and manipulating.  I felt no sympathy for Stacey or people like her that knowingly, in their heart, become involved in a relationship that they know that they will not be able to commit to and this happens all the time.  I think it is very cruel.  I did however feel sympathy for the narrator who can be described as genuine and dynamic. She is the most relatable character through her mistakes.  Through the narrator I could see myself, in past relationships, not following my inner voice and that process of shutting down my gut instincts. I was engaged through the narrator’s heartbreaking description of her feelings and fears of the possible loss of Stacey. Our hearts are precious and we must protect them; I could feel the narrator’s heart breaking as she states, “It came to me then that nothing would every be the same, that we wouldn’t, as I had dreamed, grow old together, realizing that made me tremble, suddenly, for I had no idea how I would navigate this new place,” (130) showing the devastation of her loss.  I would recommend this selection to everyone to read, re-read and grasp with understanding the complexity of knowing ourselves, accepting ourselves in the search for love and guilt-free sexuality. (Professor Lennon, Lecture November 10, 2010)

The Mee Street Chronicles:Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman's Life by the author Frankie Lennon: "Plaits"

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

5 November 2010

The short story Plaits is taken from The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman´s Life, which is a memoir, of the author Frankie Lennon. It is an honest look at a six year old Black girl and her struggle for self identification. There are many forms in which we identify ourselves. For example, culture, language and religion. Apart of culture is the identification of types of hair. Our six year old narrator is trying to find her self identify in a world that says that Black hair texture and style is bad and that White hair texture and style is better. 

 The narrator identifies with Shirley Temple.  Shirley Temple is the child star that every child is looking up to and everyone is calling their little angel. The depiction of Buckwheat is of a Black child with unkempt hair. The narrator describes Shirley Temple´s hair as bounced and swayed" (44) and she describes how the media describes the child star as” a creamy-skinned, golden hair, nursery school wonder that sings and dances her way into the hearts of one and all." (44)  In the mind of a child, don´t we want to be that way, dancing into the hearts of people? Or in the case of the narrator she states that Shirley Temple’s hair was "like the golden fleece-a prize trophy hard sought after." (44) Meaning all little girls wanted to have that kind of hair.  Which begs the question, how do African Americans define who they are in a society that tells them that their hair texture is of poor quality?    

The story `s physical setting is the bed room of our narrator and the temporal setting is Saturday morning.  The narrator is getting her hair done and she is experiencing   a lot of pain due to perhaps; tender headiness, the braids being put in hair her to tight, or that she simply did not want her hair to be done in plaits or as she calls them, worm salad. Next, there is the teasing incident in the square, where her friends tease her because of her plaits.  At this point, the narrator knows she has to make a decision regarding herself. And, that is why the narrator in our story can be described as bold, determined and impulsive. The narrator is bold in the fact that she made a decision to take matters into her own hands. She is determined to never be laughed at again and she is impulsive because she does not think about what will happen if she just cuts off her hair. 

The conflict of the story is between   a person and a force. The person is the narrator and the force is the social force of racism.  The narrator is being told that the  texture of her hair is substandard and that it  is better to have Shirley Temple Curls or as stated by the narrator, "This many plaits made me look like Buckwheat or Topsy-the kind of Colored kids that White people put in the movies to make fools of." (43)  The narrator does not want be made a fool of.  Which again begs the question of how does the African American community see themselves as good when there is nothing that represents them as good? For example, media representations are often derogatory. But still, we have to learn to love and except ourselves as individuals and as a group of people.  

Finally, there are several messages and growing up themes from the author. There is the message of “identity and belonging” which coincide with the acceptance of self. Next, there is the growing up theme of “encountering increasing adult responsibility.” And finally, there is the theme of "experiencing conflicts with social and cultural realties"(Lennon, Growing up Thematic Issues) such as racism.  This means we must face prejudice head on. We have to define ourselves as individuals and as a community. We should never let a social force, such as racism, define who we are.

The Mee Street Chronicles:Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman's Life by the Author Frankie Lennon: "Tales of Jim Crow"

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

5 November 2010

The short story Tales of Jim Crow is taken from The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman´s Life, which is a collection of short stories, from the memoir of author Frankie Lennon. It is a narrative that reflects on the painful history of African Americans and the Jim Crow Separation laws in Knoxville Tennessee in 1950.  It is a story that teaches the young narrator about the Jim Crow laws, about her history and how valuable the past is.

 The story Tales of Jim Crow was interesting to me because I learned that African Americans taught one another how to survive and live through the Jim Crow era.  These teachings would help them  in their battle for every day existence. African Americans taught one another how to mask their emotions. And with this masking they educated one another on how to speak, act and walk when confront with White people who wanted and needed to know that they were afraid and intimidated.  With these actions African Americans learned how to stay alive and survive.  

 In the story Tales of Jim Crow there are many African American motifs. An African American literary motif is themes or ideas that are recurring pertaining to African American history. First, I will focus on four; there is the motif of Intimidation and through the Jim Crow laws that kept facilities such as restaurants, schools and public events separate   these Jim Crow laws were able to keep fear alive in the forms of threats and “intimidation, insulting, abusive forms of address.” (Lennon, Black Literature-Recurring Motifs)  Then, there is the motif of survival skills, which would include masking of emotions and being passive as a means of survival.  Next there is, the “interlocking systems of Oppression” (Lennon, Black Literature –Recurring Motifs) which are the systems of racism, sexism, classism, and Jim Crowism all systems that work through fear and all systems are designed to keep African Americans off balance and in control. Also, “oppression through economic exploitation” (Lennon, Black Literature-Recurring Motifs) which would bring about “denial of jobs above manual or menial level and insufficient level of pay.” (Lennon Black Literature-Recurring Motifs) Again, these tactics were designed to keep African American in a “cycle of debt” (Lennon, Black Literature-Recurring Motifs) afraid and without hope.

African American stories are important in the narrator’s personal history because she has personal stories to value, reflect upon, learn from, share and grow.  By the narrator revealing and sharing her personal history she helps and inspires the next person to share his stories. Stories are how we reveal ourselves, and how we learn from one another and how we teach one another. It is a brilliant form of communication; stories give us insight to the past and teach us of our valuable history.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

3 November 2010

A Lesson Before Dying, a novel by the author Ernest J. Gaines, is brilliantly brought to the screen by HBO Productions starring Don Cheadle, Mekhi Phifer, Cicely Tyson and Irma P.Hall.  These gifted actors powerfully bring to the screen the story of a wrongly accused Black man, sitting on death row, for the murder of a White store owner.  The physical setting is the South; the temporal setting is 1940 during the time of the African American Great Migration.  The African American Great Migration, which was a time when Black families either boldly chose to move north to escape discrimination and exploitation, or bravely decided to stay in the racist South which represented their terrifying history.

The Black experience in America is uniquely defined by one of its multi- dimensional battles and that is the battle for self identity. This identity which was stripped from them through the brutality that is slavery.  Through Slavery, African Americans were cut off from the builders of identity which are family, language, communities, religion, and belief systems. “The root of oppression is the loss of memory” (Paula Gunn Allen, Native American Writer, as quoted by Frankie Lennon, The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life, 3) meaning that we need to remember, things, events, place and people.  A Lesson Before Dying surrounds a family’s fight to help their godson die with dignity.  Dignity is a value that is universal; the family of Jefferson wants him to remember who he is.

A dynamic character that changes in the course of the story is a character that grows." (Lennon Glossary) The novel A Lesson Before Dying, is filled with these kinds of characters and I will focus on the character of Jefferson.  He is a character who realizes that he has to be brave in the face of adversity and discrimination.   Because we all have to die, it is how a person lives that helps him die with dignity. Thereby, leaving an unforgettable legacy for your family, people and your community to remember.

 

The character of Jefferson can be described   as caged. He is caged in condition of mind and thought.  He has no memory of who he is. He believes in a system that has taught him to hate himself.  He does not know with his conscious mind that he is beautiful, he is smart, and that he is loved and that he will be missed.   Unfortunately, he is the character on death row for a crime he did not commit. Jefferson needs to realize that the real crime being committed is against him, which is the crime of racism, oppression and hate.  Jefferson´s character is dynamic as he proves through the course of the movie that he has changed. His change takes place as he realizes that he is not a "hog" as he is so coldly referred to as by a lawyer, in a court of law, who states that Jefferson could not have realized what he was doing, because he was a “hog with no senses. And by the end of the movie, with the help of a family friend and deep emotional work, Jefferson is ready to except his fate by walking tall and looking his oppressor in the eye.   With this one single look, the oppressor realizes that that you can kill the man but you can not kill the memory.  In the end, Jefferson's character has no choice but to except his fate, yet he realizes that he can die with integrity, knowing that he is innocent and knowing that he is a man of dignity.  

            Finally, the movie A Lesson Before Dying has inspired me to read novels by Ernest J. Gaines who is also the author of Bloodline, Of Love and Lust, A Gathering of Old Men, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.  The character of Jefferson influences me to keep growing and learning and educating myself.  He influences me to grow in self identification, self love, and self respect and to remember who I am.

The Big Mama Stories by the author Shay Youngblood: "An Independent Woman"

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

29 September 2010

The Big Mama Stories are a collection of short stories, by the author Shay Youngblood.  The book offers a variety of stories that are universal to all women. The stories represent the challenges that face women and these stories are told through the African American experience, through the eyes of a young narrator. The stories are used as teaching tools, by the Big Mamas, who are the young narrator’s mentors. The stories they are sharing with her are stories that will educate her, help her to mature and guide her in her journey of life. The short story, An Independent Woman is set in Princeton, Georgia and is a story that offers a lessons of why a women needs to be strong, confident, and independent. The challenges that present themselves to women are many as they involve challenges of sexism, racism, and exploitation. A woman that knows who she is, through self love and self value can fight these obstacle of oppression.

  The story An Independent Woman focuses on the story of Aunt Mae.  It is a story that teaches our narrator the importance of being independent. Aunt Mae is a woman who is intelligent, brave, enterprising, uncompromising and a realist.  Aunt Mae is enterprising as she is determined to own her own liquor business and set’s her sights on developing that business. As a business woman, she is straightforward and pleasing to her customers. Aunt Mae’s high standards for her business are the same high standards she has for herself being a woman. Aunt Mae is a realist, as pertaining to men and relationships she states “a woman has got to look out for herself…I’d done heard too many empty promises.” (28)  Aunt Mae teaches this to the narrator by telling her the guidelines that have given her independence.  Such as, “Don’t you ever, long as grass is green, go nowhere with a man, unless you got money in your pocket.” (28) Even when you get married….have your own…the wine taste sweeter and the berries have more juice when you have your own… when you’ve earned it.”(29)  Thereby teaching the narrator that independence is about mobility and freedom. 

  I like An Independent Woman because the story offers the lessons of self value. Within self value there are a couple of different components, such as, love of self and knowing thyself.  I feel you have to have a strong perception on these two components. They help you to decide on life situations when you are facing challenges such as, relationships and martial, social and religious issues.
Also, when “experiencing life-changing turning points.” (Lennon. English 1B growing up thematic issues) in the story, Aunt Mae, because she possesses self love, can be uncompromising. For example Aunt Mae states about her only husband “I would not tolerate a liar… I throw him out of his own house two days after I married him for lying to me.” (29) Thereby, again showing the narrator the importance of being brave and knowing your self worth.

In the end, the story, An Independent woman, teaches women to embrace themselves with self love and self importance.  The story teaches us to be strong, brave and confident.   The challenges that present themselves to women are many as they involve challenges of sexism, racism, and exploitation. A woman who knows who she is, through self love and self value can fight these obstacle of oppression.

The Big Mama Stories by the author Shay Youngblood:"They tell me...Now I know"

Monica Johnson

Professor Lennon

Freshman English/Introduction to Literature: African-American Storytelling

24 September 2010

The short story "They tell me...Now I know" is a narrative taken from the book The Big Mama Stories by the author Shay Youngblood.  It is a coming of age story of a young African American girl displaced by her biological mother who finds the help she needs in her journey through life. This help comes from a group of women, who are her educators, mentors and guides. They are the women who she refers to as Big Mamas. Our story is set in Princeton, Georgia, it is summer, and it is the morning that announces to our young protagonist the moment that bridges physical adolescence to young adulthood. This is the moment that brings together our bodies and minds.  The physical transition which is marked by blood representing life.  It welcomes a new sense of belonging in the form of confidence, sisterhood and womanhood. 

The main conflict of our story for the protagonist, who is our narrator, is fear. The fear which is framed with the unknown and introduces itself   in the form of questions and denial of her rite of passage  to cross over to the river, which is colloquialism for growing up.  This fear is brought on by the appearance of the antagonist, which is the blood. Which our narrator admits that she new her time would come as she states, “I new the day I became a woman would be marked by blood.” (101)  But from this day on the inner conflict begins with the questions of a child, the confusions, the restlessness that presses on her mind. The questions of when will she know the luscious secrets “the sounds from behind the late night doors” or when will she get those fascinating answers about “Love sex and money.” (101)  However, it’s the fear of change and knowledge that scare our young protagonist.  All her questions will be answered, real issues materialize and real responsibilities begin as she is no longer in the dark, asking the questions that she feels no one will answer. It’s the fears that tempt her into a state of disillusionment and hesitation. The moment where she thinks that maybe she’s not ready to cross over to the river, that her Big Mamas are welcoming her to do. 

The character of the narrator is curious as she wants to know the meaning of the answers she seeks but her curiosity still leads her into childlike, wide-eyed, fairytale. As she waits to know the secrets of womanhood, she states “I kept hoping for presents like cameras, new clothes or jewelry.” (103) She openly admits that she is afraid to go the river and that even though she wants to know the mysteries that hold her bound to adolescence she states, “Suddenly, I was scared” and asks other questions such as, “why I have to go now.”  (103) we see our protagonist’s inner child needing to be comforted and held just a little longer.

One of the main characters in the story, Big Mama, who is a kind hearted person, and has been the mentor who has opened her home to the narrator, comforts and reassures our protagonist that it is time for her crossing over as she explains “when a girlchile get her first blood her mama or one like her mama have to prepare her."Then the women in the family can take her to a secret place for the crossing over.” (102) Another character, Aunt Mae, Big Mama’s blood sister, a woman who is bluntly honest who shares her story with the narrator of her first sexual encounter as she explains “ I was weak with desire and I didn’t know exactly what it was.” (103)  

            The narrators Big Mama's all offer her lessons that will guide her in life.  There is Big Mama, Aunt Mae, Miss Mary, Miss Corrine, Miss Lamama, Aunt Vi, and Miss Tom. All the women make contributions in the area of human experience.
 The Big Mama's realizes that the narrator is filled with questions as Miss Corrine states, "Daughter been restless, asking lotta questions...its bout time she got some answers." (102) The women all teach her through stories and life lived experiences.  They talk to her about subject matters such as sexual desires, they tell her to "keep your own money-be independent, treat other folks like you wanna be treated, but let no one walk over you. Stand up for yourself” remember where you come from, pray, put faith in the Lord and in yourself and if you don't want a baby, keep your legs crossed and your dress tail down." (104)

 The character traits of the narrator include her neediness and inquisitiveness as she spends more time with her Big Mama's learning and listening to them. The narrator’s motivations are that she wants to be an adult. She wants to be involved in matters and she wants to feel a part of something. Furthermore, her behavior is persistent, obedient, and respectful. For example, she did not refuse the ritual to cross over to the river.  

In the end, our narrator is a character who is dynamic.  She has transformed from a fearful and questioning little girl to a mature young adult.  The narrator is now ready to be called to the circle of women by name.  The women introduce our narrator, Rita, in the crossing over ceremony.  They offer her gifts of wisdom and the keys to freedom from oppression (Lennon. English 1B Glossary).  The Big Mama’s have been true mentors in their teachings of life lessons.  They have taught her how to defend herself from racism and sexism. They have taught her to be independent, to pray, awareness, to challenge, to be her self and to remember who she is. The crossing over is complete, as Rita can dance through her journey of life with confidence and the belonging to a sisterhood of women.