Michael Keohane
Block E
“Comparing and Contrasting Sadie and Maud”
The poem Sadie and Maud was written by Gwendolyn Brooks and is included in her first volume of poetry known as A Street in Bronzeville. Gwendolyn was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1917, but moved to Chicago at a young age. Her first poem was published when she was thirteen years old, and it was called Eventide. By the time Gwendolyn was seventeen, she was publishing poems for the Chicago Defender, a newspaper for the black population. After attending junior college, Gwendolyn began writing the poems that were included in her first collection, A Street in Bronzeville”, which was published in 1945. These poems focused on portraying the black urban poor. In the 1940s, when these
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At the very beginning of the poem the two sisters are established as different when “Maud went to college” and “Sadie stayed at home”. While Maud goes off to college to exceed the standards for women, Sadie decides to live life to the fullest. “Sadie scraped life with a fine-toothed comb” and “didn’t leave a tangle in”. The meaning behind this is that Sadie explores as much of life as she could, not leaving a single tangle uncombed. Sadie is described as “one of the livingest chits in all the land”. A chit is a lively, immature young woman, not a well respected member of society. As Maud is being educated and therefore respected by society, Sadie is rejected and isolated. This can be observed when the poem states that “Maud and Ma and Papa nearly died of shame” after Sadie has children before marriage. Maud, who is respected by society, is grouped with her parents while Sadie is isolated from the group. Despite this rejection and disrespect, Sadie enjoys her life, and even passes on her knowledge to her children, giving her a lasting impact on the world. Maud, however, lives alone in her old house, as she was so focused on exceeding her standards and being accepted by society that she did not enjoy her life. Although Maud is accepted by society and exceeds expectations, Sadie, who is disrespected, finds more joy in …show more content…
The time Maud spends receiving her education is spent by Sadie enjoying her life. Maud, the educated sister, ends up “all alone in this old house” at the end of her life, while Sadie “left as heritage her fine-toothed comb” for her children. This result is not just a statement against education, but a statement against society. According to this poem, no matter which path a person chooses, there will be a negative in their life. If someone exceeds societal expectations as Maud does, then they will be accepted by society, yet sad. In contrast, the complete opposite path that Sadie follows allows her to be happy, but she is rejected and disrespected by society. Society has made impossible standards for African-American women; if they want to be happy, they will be rejected by society. When what limited opportunities available to women are seized, they are unable to enjoy their lives. The poem Sadie and Maud comments on the impossible standards set forth by society for African-American women, and even women in
Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the most respected and established poets of all time. Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas, on June 7, 1917. Shortly after her birth her family moved to Chicago, Illinois where she was raised. Gwendolyn Brooks’ parents were very supportive of their daughter’s passion for reading and writing. Gwendolyn Brooks had a true gift from God and it was writing. Gwendolyn Brooks’ mother discovered her talent for writing when she was seven. When she was thirteen she published her poem, “Eventide” which appeared in American Childhood. (Bio.com)
Racial inequality was a big thing back in the day, as the blacks were oppressed, discriminated and killed. The blacks did not get fair treatment as the whites, they were always been looked down, mocked, and terrified. But Moody knew there’s still an opportunity to change the institution through Civil Rights Movement. As she matured Anne Moody come to a conclusion that race was created as something to separate people, and there were a lot of common between a white person and a black person. Moody knew sexual orientation was very important back in the 1950s, there was little what women can do or allowed to do in the society. For example, when Moody was ridiculed by her activist fellas in Civil Rights Movement. Women indeed played an important role in Moody’s life, because they helped forming her personality development and growth. The first most important woman in Moody’s life would be her mother, Toosweet Davis. Toosweet represent the older rural African American women generation, whom was too terrified to stand up for their rights. She was portrayed as a good mother to Moody. She struggled to make ends meet, yet she did everything she could to provide shelter and food to her children. Toosweet has encouraged Moody to pursue education. However, she did not want Moody to go to college because of the fear of her daughter joining the Civil Rights Movement and getting killed. The second important woman to Moody would be Mrs. Burke, She is the white woman Moody worked for. Mrs. Burke is a fine example of racist white people, arguably the most racist, destructive, and disgusting individual. In the story, Mrs. Burke hold grudge and hatred against all African American. Although she got some respects for Moody, State by the Narrator: “You see, Essie, I wouldn’t mind Wayne going to school with you. But all Negroes aren’t like you and your
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is about a mother with two daughters, Dee and Maggie. The mother and two daughters are very poor and are of different color than people surrounding them. Dee and Maggie are very opposite each other. Dee is pretty and is somewhat intelligent, she also had the privilege of going to school. Maggie is not so smart, and she is going to be getting married to an earnest face guy named John Thomas. The relationship that the narrator and Maggie have is very gentle, but also simple because their personalities are very much alike. In “Everyday Use”, Dee and the narrator would argue more than the narrator and Maggie. One of the arguments was about Dee taking the quilts, the narrator, “looked at her like that something hit
...devoted herself to the practical and compensating notion of supporting a household during the early 1900s. The farm girl’s exclusion from society allowed her to possess freedom, unattainable to the Gibson Girl. Victorian society bound the Gibson Girl to unrealistic expectations and oppressive restrictions. Society possessed no dominance over the ideals and appearances of a farm girl thus demonstrating that the Gibson Girl’s life held just as many, if not more, difficulties.
The issues in Maud Martha are issues that unfortunately still exist today. There are still many issues that deal with race. They are underlying issues not only in society but in Brooks’ writing as well. Brooks uses these issues in her writing to convey her own feelings of frustration towards the colorism that exists in regards to race and culture. Through her depictions in Maud Martha, one might conclude that despite her prestige as a writer, Brooks is not proud of the black culture. In both her writings and her autobiography, Brooks seems to accept the fact that blacks are inferior and there is nothing that she can do to change this. She feels as though blacks are not regarded as equals in our white society. She believes that to be successful and beautiful, you must be white just to be given the opportunitie.
In its simplest form, a child is a product of a man and a woman but Alice Walker one of the foremost authors during the twentieth century, adds depth to her black American women by focusing on the role that race and gender played in their development. Family reunions can be times of great anticipation, excitement and happiness but for Dee, a young, beautiful, African American and our leading character, it was a reunion with underlying, unspoken tensions. Dee was Dee but Dee had changed; a new husband, nice clothes, and a college degree to boat. Maybe that college degree certificate could be farmed and hung on the wall replacing that old photo of George Washington Carver, out with the old and in with the new. Alice Walker is showing how one’s education influences thoughts about traditions. There are two different ways of thinking about the traditions and the author realizes and put them as two characters in the story. The evidence of culture and traditions become very clear with the introduction of the family quilt. For example, Dee says that “the quilts are priceless” and decides to keep them as a material substances. Maggie, her sister, also sees the quilt as priceless but priceless as it relates to her culture. Walker focuses on African American heritage and its value. She emphasizes that cultures are the foundation of families and pointing out to the reader that traditions are rooted in everyday use.
Many women who were part of the middle classes were often not sent to school and so didn’t usually learn a skill that they could use to make a living. Consequently, as they were women and so were often not left much, if any, inheritance when their parents died, women found that they must. marry in order to have money and to keep their place in society. Charlotte takes advantage of her situation to marry purely for money. and not for love, this is what many women do and what society.
The last stanza, follows the girl to her death where the author ironically describe her perfect nose and casket.“In the casket displayed on satin” (19) is a symbol of death and also is a big Barbie box. “Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said / consummation at last. / To every woman a happy ending” is a sarcastic and ironic showing of how society accept the women not for who she was,but for what society want her to be.
The first character we meet is Ruth Younger. Ruth is a hardworking mother who has had a thought life up until this point. The Writer opens up describing her by saying that “she was a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but now it is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face.” (Pg. 1472) This description bears a strong resemblance to the line in Harlem, “Does it dry up, like a raison in the sun?” (Line 2) We immediately are thrown into the madness of her life. She wants desperately to have a happy family and is in constant disagreement with her husband’s ideas. We see how her living arrangements have made her believe that there will never be anything better in this world for her. The saddest part is that she believes that bringing another child into this sad existence is something she cannot do. When she makes the decision to visit the abortion doctor, it immediately brought me to the final line in the poem where Hughes states “Or does it explode?” (Line 11) There had to be an explosion of desperation for a w...
In the Short poem “Sadie and Maud” I did not understand what the author was trying to say. The way Gwendolyn Brooks uses her words in the poem is very confusing to me. After reading the background information I started to understand a little more what Gwendolyn Brooks was trying to say in the poem. I think The Gwendolyn could have been a little bit clearer in her writing. This way the reader would not have a hard time trying to understand what she was saying in the poem.
The theme of Gwendolyn Brooks's "Sadie and Maud" is that going against the grain of society is perfectly acceptable. Brooks conveys this message by depicting two contrasting sisters: Maud, who follows the rules of society, and Sadie, who does not allow social expectations to dictate her life. The poem explains how these women lead very different lives that reflect the choices they make.
Imagine that you have a dream or goal that you’d like to pursue, but you’re denied the opportunity to even begin. This is a dilemma that most women faced on a daily basis in the 1930’s. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, this sort of discrimination is frequently demonstrated by all the characters, as this was an accepted “trend” in society. Although Curley’s wife is given a major part in the plot, she is often dismissed and overlooked. The male character’s disregard of Curley’s wife’s goals and dreams represents a broader discrimination of women in society.
The soundtrack of the dark comedy movie Harold and Maude (1971) directed by Hal Ashby asserts that even the most paradoxical and abstruse of circumstances can lead to an unimpeachable bond whether it be between two characters or music that leaves its listeners shackled into the story. Ashby exhibits this by playing upbeat, happy songs directly following a funeral scene with lines such as “Love is where we all belong” and this directly correlates with the relationship between Harold and Maude: two very disparate people who ended up improving each other’s lives for the better.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
Technically a lyric, the poem filled with narrative and drama: an off-the-farm college girl, a Southerner, and perhaps a Georgian like Sellers herself, has fallen in love with a “quiet girl down the hall” (9). The girl’s conservative mother “has seen to” (10) having her daughter seek for an expert help. Ungraceful, conflicted inwardly, and beset outwardly by parental pressure, the girl now waits to see a counselor. No character speaks, but the role of each is well defined. At least five characters, perhaps six, come into play: two girls, their two mothers, and one or maybe two counselors. Onstage is the “terra cotta girl” (1)--and maybe her mother as well. The other, “quiet” (9) daughter and her mother, along with a counselor (perhaps the same one), running a parallel to the scene we are witnessing.