When the story of Mattie Michael is provided in the first chapter, the reader is also introduced to the characters of Butch, Sam Michael, and Basil. Butch, Basil’s father, is admittedly non-committal, explaining to Mattie that “[he] just don’t stay long enough to let the good times turn sour” (16). By extension, he is irresponsible, not stepping up to carry the burden of Mattie’s pregnancy, which came as a result of their intimacy in the herb patch. In this case Mattie was spared a certain degree of disappo

Lorraine presents the greatest departure from the women that we have discussed thus far. She was a known lesbian, and as such she sought no romantic dealings with men. However, she was not spared the pain and grief so commonly imposed by men in Naylor’s novel. Circumstances would cause Lorraine to find herself “on her knees, surrounded by the most dangerous species in existence—human males with an erection to validate in a world that was only six feet wide” (170). She is gang-raped. Later, C.C. calms one of his paranoid buddies by reminding him that “[his] dick ain’t got no fingerprints” (171). This voices blatant disregard and unaccountability for a crime that is wrong in every sense of the word.

Basil is the last man to deliver the final blow to Mattie’s spirit. As her son, she invested so much in him emotionally and expected a great deal in return, although she was extremely patient with him. He would inevitably disappoint her in the end, when she put nearly everything she owned on the line for him. This was an unwise gamble, considering Basil jumped bail causing Mattie to lose the home that she worked so hard to keep and maintain, but Mattie felt that she had no other choice. Given her unwavering adoration of him and the fact that she never condemns him for what he has done to her, it is questionable whether Mattie would have chosen otherwise if she had to opportunity to do it all over again. In this, it seems that Naylor is criticizing the black mother that excessively pacifies her son, perpetuating his irresponsibility and his inability to cope in the real world where everyone else would not be as accommodating. Miss Eva offered very valuable advice in that regard, upon her first meeting with Mattie:

Cora Lee suffered the violence of Sammy and Maybelline’s unnamed father, but it seemed that she was never able to apply the fault justly. She blamed everyone but the man, and that is clearly problematic. It is quite sad that he is the one that she had “really liked,” still contemplating what it would have taken for him to stay, yet after he left she remained hopeful. Cora Lee recalls Brucie’s father, who promised to get her off of Welfare only to disappoint her by leaving for some milk and never returning. Here, the reader is once again confronted with the question of dependence. Why should Cora Lee depend on Brucie’s father to get her off of Welfare? Should she not tap into her own self-reliance and start making attempts on her own. Instead, she allows her spirit to be broken to the point where she accepts a procession of men into her bed, uncaring

Some topics in this essay:
Mae Johnson, Cora Lee, Women Brewster, Sam Michael, Brewster Basil, Sammy Maybelline’s, Butch Basil’s, Reverend Woods, Miss Eva, Serena Serena’s, black women, cora lee, black community, sam michael, women brewster, etta mae johnson, etta mae, mae johnson, women black community, male characters, sammy maybelline’s, brucie’s father, black women black,