Communities in “The Women of Brewster Place” and “Paradise” It is true when it is said that, “All paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in” (Online Newshour 1998). There is no perfect utopia, no place where pain doesn’t exist. The idea of paradise is just an idea because it is not reachable. No one lives in paradise and no one ever can because if they did, it wouldn’t be paradise anymore; just another world where ideas of how to make it perfect arise.
The world moves forward and its inhabitants evolve; all people have their likes and their dislikes and that has somehow integrated with our feelings and preferences towards other people, even other races and genders. Surprisingly, though humanity has largely grown past the point of outwardly expressing it (most of the time), prejudice remains at the forefront of what is hidden in our minds. There were times however, when prejudice wasn’t hidden and intolerance was shared with as many as would hear. “Paradise” by Toni Morrison and “The Women of Brewster Place” are two such examples of the types of prejudice people faced.
In “Paradise,” Toni Morrison writes about a town called Ruby that consisted of mainly African Americans. These folk believed that they were a strong community, but when things begin to become dire, the men turned their frustrations to a female community called, “The Convent” (Morrison 3). Another community having its own problems can be seen in “The Women of Brewster Place,” by Gloria Naylor; but these problems are somewhat diverse. Fundamentally, the perspectives on the feminine communities found in “Paradise” and “The Women of Brewster Place” show how prejudice toward gender and race affect the characters in the two novels.
This paper is a comparison of these two novels and how they show similarities and differences in how prejudice affects the main characters. All African American communities were a part of life before the Civil Rights Movement. Many cities had a section of town that was only for African Americans and whites refused to let them move into their own sections of town. Morrison already had knowledge about the life of blacks, yet she still researched what many of these sections were like so she could create a better story based on these lifestyles.
Morrison also wanted to show the feminine perspective of this life and how prejudice against gender affected people at that period of time. Mandolin Brassaw states, “The Convent turns itself into a paradise for the women living there, demonstrating that improvement relies on the viability of change and fluidity that the men in Ruby eschew” (Brassaw 17). Critics have argued against Morrison for the way she uses the settings of the story of the African American people, especially from the feminine perspective (Gauthier 395).
The feminine perspective of the communities in “Paradise” shows how discrimination affected the women in the novel, who lived in their own “community. ” Morrison describes an African American town that isolated itself from others who believed this would make them a strong community; what they did not realize was that their blocking out of others would not make them any safer. The men in the community set rules and standards that would keep people who were different out of their community. “That is why they are here in this Convent. To make sure it never happens again. .. That nothing inside or out rots the one all-black town without pain” (Morrison 5). Often, people believe that prejudice is shown toward people who are from different races, cultures, or ethnic backgrounds. However, the fact is that gender is also often a reason for bias. The community of Ruby wanted isolation from the white world and the one way they believed they could do this was to stop anyone who was different. The women from the Convent were different; they allowed people into the Convent that the people in Ruby would have rejected.
These women believed in giving people a second chance and not being judgmental (Staples 1998). To help the readers understand the feminine perspective, Morrison used various female characters to show how they were different than the people of Ruby; she also wanted the readers to understand the bias that the men of Ruby had toward these women (Romero 415). Morrison approached “Paradise” with the goal of presenting the way women were treated before Civil Rights. She also wanted the readers to understand that African American men were abusive to the African American women the same way that white men abused their women. Paradise presents a fuller account of a healing individual and collective historical trauma” (Romero 415). The reason for this is because, often readers are not aware of the healing that African American people have needed after the way they were treated as slaves(Romero 415). Morrison tells a story of a community that believed the right way of living was to eliminate those who were not African American or those who were of the female gender. In essence, Ruby was a town that oppressed those not living up to their standards of life, including the women living in the Convent.
In order for the citizens to prevent any type of oppression, they established “a rigid, isolationist code of behavior that refuses to allow any new ideas, beliefs, or ethnicities to interfere with their sense of racial pride and community” (Romero 416). The men in Ruby had isolated the community believing this would stop oppression, but in reality, it actually caused it. When problems were seen as beginning to occur, the men in Ruby looked for those who were different so that they could blame them; they failed to look at their own community and what was causing the problems they were having.
Prejudice can lead to violence and this is seen with the intolerance the men in Ruby had against the women at the Convent; they wanted someone to blame. Since the women at the Convent were different and they accepted others who were not accepted, the men decided that they would eliminate the problem. Morrison tells how nine men from Ruby decided to murder the women at the Convent, beginning with the only white girl (Morrison 3). The men of Ruby wanted to keep away and purge any evil from the community and often they would turn people away if their skin color was different.
These men believed that the Convent was the place that the devil owned and the only way to eliminate the problems was to murder the women. “Did they really believe that no one died in Ruby? Suddenly Pat thought she knew all of it. Unadulterated 8-rock blood held its magic as long as it resided in Ruby. That was their recipe. That was their deal. For Immortality. Pat’s smile was crooked. In that case, she thought, everything that worries them must come from women’” (Morrison 217); “the men actually wanted the women to become pure or transform away from sin, but even when the women did transform they were murdered” (Brassaw 17).
As a result, it can be seen that the men in Ruby were prejudice against gender and even against the lighter population. The men in Ruby wanted someone to blame for their problems and they looked at the women at the Convent because they were female and they were different. , the men in Ruby had stricter standards (Romero 419); The fact that the women unconditionally accepted others who had diverse races, ideas, or behaviors made them different and so, dangerous to the men’s way of life.
If women do not know their place, they can gain independent thought, strength of will, develop new ideas and goals, and challenge the way of things to make it more to their liking. “Who could have imagined that twenty-five years later in a brand-new town a Convent would beat out the snakes, the Depression, the tax man and the railroad for sheer destructive power? ” (Morrison 17). From the feminine perspective, the women did not have the prejudice that the men from Ruby had nor did they follow the standards required by the community of Ruby (Romero 419). “When problems started, the first place they looked was at the Convent.
How they come to pin the blame for this disruption on the strange women in the Convent is a tale of Faulknerian complexity and power” (Gray 1998). What Morrison shows in the novel is that prejudice is not found only in race, but also gender. While the novel, “Paradise,” shows the feminine perspective of life in the community of Ruby, the female perspective of the novel written by Gloria Naylor, “The Women of Brewster Place,” shows how difficult life can be for women. Naylor begins the story by using the epigraph from Langston Hughes’s poem, “Harlem,” that asks the guest ion about the dream deferred (Chapter VI: Contemporary Fiction 147-193).
Naylor tells about how she discovered the world of African American female writers that included Toni Morrison, Terry McMillion, and Bebe Campbell and the affect these authors had in encouraging her to become an author (DiConsiglio 16). “She discovered feminism and African American literature which revitalized her and gave her new ways to think about and define herself as a black woman” (Gloria Naylor 2009). For an African American woman who grew up with the belief that only white men could become authors, this was exciting for her. She realized that her dream of becoming an author was possible.
She also saw the need to tell stories about African American women, because most authors write either from the point of view of a white man or an African American male perspective. The novel, “The Women of Brewster Place,” is about different African American women who go through oppression and prejudice. Further, it is a novel about a community of women who suffer and struggle from different problems that life presents to them. The importance of writing from the feminine perspective is to show the way women have struggled and how they have overcome these struggles; in the past, African American women have struggled and still survived.
For instance, many African American women were separated from their husbands and even their children during slavery, times of war, etc, but they managed to survive. The point of view that Naylor wanted to present was that life is a celebration regardless of the problems faced and that the problems in the novel can be seen as a “black female experience” (Gloria Naylor 2009). The story begins by telling how Brewster Place was built and the reasons for its existence (Naylor 1). It is important to realize that Brewster Place was not originally created for the poor, but to help soldiers coming back from the war (Naylor 1).
The novel tells how Brewster Place became a dead-end street, how an African American became the caretaker of the buildings (Naylor 2), how African American women moved into these buildings, and how they would stay there. To further elaborate, “stay” means that these women would have no brighter hope for the future. “You constantly live in a fantasy world—always going to extremes—turning butterflies into eagles, and life isn’t about that. It’s accepting what is and working from that” (Naylor 85). The novel is about the community of women who lived at Brewster Place, specifically about seven different women.
The stories of these women are told from the feminine perspective. “Each woman’s story sheds light on her personal past, explains how she arrived at Brewster Place, and characterizes her position compared to the rest of the community” (Chapter VI: contemporary Fiction 147-193). What makes the novel unique is that it is about a community of women who are bound by sisterhood; the sisterhood of African American women that have brought them into Brewster Place creates the feeling of community; and these women hold little hope for improving their lives (Matus 49-65).
Brewster Place has many different people living within its confines. Although they all face discrimination, each has their own story. Kiswana Browne is one character. She is one of the six women portrayed in the novel. Kiswana, whose real name is Melanie, was born and raised in an affluent black suburb, Linden Hills, However, she dropped out of college, changes her name, and moves into Brewster Place in order to fight for the cultural and class revolution she so ardently believes in. Kiswana is young and naive but full of optimism and ideals (Gloria Naylor).
Lorraine is One half of the lesbian couple in the novel. She is light-skinned, sensitive, and overly concerned with the way people treat and judge her for her sexuality; she tries to fit in with the other women of Brewster Place but is rejected. She eventually finds comfort in Ben, whom she murders after being gang raped in an alley (Gloria Naylor). Theresa is the other half of the lesbian couple. She is darker and is a strong-willed, commanding woman who tries not to care what anyone says about her, but she is obviously disturbed by the prejudice she and Lorraine encounter. “‘They, they, they! Theresa exploded. ‘You know, I’m not starting up with this again…. Who in the hell are they? And where in the hell are we? Living in some dump of a building in this God-forsaken part of town around a bunch of ignorant niggers with the cotton still under their fingernails because of you and your theys. ’” (Naylor 134). Ben is The oldest resident of Brewster Place and a drunk. Ben is the first African-American to move into Brewster Place. He arrives from the South after his wife and daughter abandon him. He is tormented by his memories and is constantly seeking solace in alcohol.
Ben becomes a brief father figure for Lorraine, and reveals the depths of his compassion and emotion. He is killed by Lorraine after she is gang-raped (Gloria Naylor). Mattie Michael is the most important character in the novel. Mattie moves to Brewster Place late in life, after her son abandons her and forces her to lose her home. Mattie quickly becomes a surrogate mother to several of the women in the housing complex, offering love and support to women who, like her, have only one another to rely on. Mattie demonstrates how rough ife was for African Americans; similar too many African Americans in the past, Mattie suffers from abuse and betrayal. In a way she can be compared to the women in “Paradise” because she also accepts others that the community would reject. Mattie is not only seen in the beginning of the book, but she plays an important role in helping one of the other women. She offers acceptance to others because she knows what it is like to be rejected. Mattie plays the role of accepting the relationship between Lorraine and Theresa as she does not judge them because they are gay. She refuses to join in the community condemnation of Lorraine and Theresa’s lesbian relationship, preferring to mind her own business… ” (Matus 49-65). Mattie takes the feminine perspective of acceptance of women in that she believes that women can have different types of love for one another (Matus 49-65). This makes her a very valuable character because ironically, While Naylor tells the story about Lorraine, a gay woman, it is important to remember that the gay movement has been slow in acceptance even by the feminine viewpoint (Chapter VI: Contemporary Fiction 147-193). Cora Lee is yet another character.
Cora, from a young girl, is obsessed with new baby dolls, demanding a new one every Christmas of her childhood; She grows up to have a number of different children by different men (Gloria Naylor). Naylor, in essence, creates a female character who believes she has been rejected by her father when he refuses to give her any more dolls. Cora Lee desires to have babies, but the problem is that these babies (like puppies) grow up (Gloria Naylor). Often in the past, the duty of women was to have children. A look back into history will show that many African American slaves had babies they had to give up; they were sold to other slave owners.
By doing this, Naylor is trying to show how difficult it was for African American women to have children and to lose them. In Today’s World, If Cora Lee had babies and failed to attend to her older children, the children would be removed to a foster home. “Cora Lee is actually living in a fantasy world of dolls, except the dolls are babies” (Khay 2006). Only when her neighbor, Kiswana Browne tries to help Cora Lee see what she is doing to the other children does she wake up to the fact that the children are not getting their needs met. Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over” (Naylor 70). Brewster Place can be stated to be a feminine community that offers an anchor for women to survive, but also a burden because these women know there is little hope of improvement in their lives. “Brewster Place is an anchor as well as a confinement and a burden; it is the social network that, like a web, both sustains and entraps” (Matus 49-65).
These women want the same things that other women crave, but know that finding love and improving their lives is almost impossible as they have hit the end of the road. “…practically every apartment contained a family, a Bible, and a dream that one day enough could be scraped from those meager Friday night paychecks to make Brewster Place a distant memory” (77). Even the location of Brewster Place is at a literal dead end, which actually should signal to the readers that each of the women will not find their dreams. The wall separating Brewster Place from the main avenues of the city serves several important purposes.
Following its initial creation, the wall comes to symbolize the indifference with which Brewster Place is treated by the men responsible for its creation. Because of the wall, Brewster Place is economically and culturally isolated from the rest of the city. The wall has forced Brewster Place to fend for itself. For the residents of Brewster Place, the wall symbolizes the fact that for most of them, Brewster Place will be the end of the road; their lives will go no further, regardless of how much they may hope or dream (Khay 2006).
The wall, for them, represents the wall that has been built around their lives, either by failed opportunities or by a series of misfortunes. The true disastrousness of the wall becomes evident at the end of the novel. Along this, Lorraine drags her nearly lifeless body after she is gang raped, and it is from this wall that she grabs the brick she uses to kill Ben (Matus 49-65). “The Women of Brewster Place share a gender prejudice with the women of “Paradise. ” These problems for the Brewster place women is that they also “don’t know their place” in the grand scheme of things.
Mattie left her parents home at a young age and was pregnant without being married. This is seen as negative by the men of that time because a woman is supposed to save herself for the man she is going to marry. She is only supposed to have children with the man she is married to. Theresa and Lorraine are in a loving relationship, but that doesn’t matter to most that live in Brewster Place. The fact that they are lesbians make it impossible for them to gain acceptance from anyone because a woman is only “supposed to be” with a man. But I’ve loved some women deeper than I ever loved any man…. And there been some women who loved me more and did more for me than any man ever did…. Maybe it’s not so different…. Maybe that’s why some women get so riled up about it, ‘cause they know deep down it’s not so different at all” (Naylor 141). Just like in “Paradise,” Men affect the lives of these women in drastic ways. For example, Mattie’s grown up son, Basil, while out on bail after killing a man during a fight, selfishly decides to flee and forfeit his mother’s house rather than risk the chance of going to jail.
As a result, Mattie loses her house and is forced to move to Brewster Place (Matus 49-65). C. C. Baker, who is a local thug and drug dealer, rapes Lorraine after she gave him attitude earlier. C. C. was aware of her being a lesbian and this again falls under prejudice because he wanted to show her “what a real man could do” (Naylor 162). When Basil leaves, Mattie is never the same because she has lost everything and has nothing left to lose. When Lorraine is raped, her mental state degrades to the point of thinking that Ben is trying to hurt her when all he wanted to do was help; this results in her murdering him.
In essence, these two women were killed by men in their lives. If they weren’t killed physically, then definitely emotionally because all their hope was taken away. Naylor and Morrison created novels that tell the stories of women who have struggled to survive. These women live in different communities, but they are similar in the fact that they are all women struggling with problems that life presents. The characters that Naylor and Morrison create are similar in nature in the fact that they have dreams for the future that are unlikely to be fulfilled.
In the case of “Paradise,” The women were murdered and have no dreams or future at all because the men of Ruby decided it so. In the case of “The Women of Brewster Place,” although none of the women were literally killed, the women have reached the end of their perceived potential and have no hope or dreams, which essentially meansthat they were murdered inwardly and over time. All these women could have been real and they could have lived when life was difficult for African American women.
While prejudice against African Americans was a problem before the Civil Rights Movement, gender prejudice against women was also a real problem that can be seen in the female characters that Naylor and Morrison created. Violence by the men of Ruby not only killed the African American women, but they also “kill the white girl first” (Morrison 3). An assumption that can be made is that the men killed the white girl first because they might have seen her as even lower than the black women because she was white as well as being female.
Clearly, they had a bias towards all women. Prejudice led the men of Ruby to believe that the problems the community were having was caused by the behavior of the women in the Convent; They failed to consider that the cause could lie within their community and that trying to find the actual problems would have been better than murder. Morrison writes, “They think they have outfoxed the white man when in fact they imitate him. They think they are protecting their wife and children, when in fact they are maiming them” (Morrison 306).
They essentially did what they never wanted to be like; like white men who abused and murdered African American women. Their gender Prejudice against the female has caused the men of Ruby to take the lives of others who are similar to them; at least in skin tone. In Naylor’s story, Brewster Place was first created by the community (Naylor 1) and not by reclusive who want their own path outside of the community. Brewster Place possessed the type of intolerance that doesn’t aim to kill, but rather, aims to drag everyone down with it while keeping them alive to feel the pain.
In some cases, rape can be considered worse than murder because the woman that was raped has to live with what happened. in both novels, sisterhood plays a role whether it is in the Convent or in the lives of women at Brewster Place. These novels are similar in the fact that women suffer from the experiences of men. They are also similar in the fact that bias caused problems to the women that might have been prevented if the communities had been more acceptable of the women. Both novels have female characters that bring the stories alive as they embrace the sisterhood of the feminine gender.
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