Gloria Naylor’s rewriting of the Humanistic hierarchy beautifully intertwines the main character’s, Mama Day, efforts to help others and challenge the common beliefs surrounding the Humanistic hierarchy by showing how the four features of the hierarchy, God, man, animals, and plants, are all connected. Gloria Naylor proposes the theme that there is no hierarchy at all , but rather each of the parts of the puzzle need one another to survive. Ironically, Mama Day uses such sources of plants and animals to help other characters in the novel, such as George, survive. With survival being a main theme of the hierarchy, (survival of the fittest) Mama Day proves that the only possible way to truly survive is through interconnectedness and appreciation …show more content…
for every aspect of the hierarchy. Gloria Naylor uses her main character, Mama Day, to present the challenge of the Humanistic Hierarchy.
Along with the truth of survival is the polar opposite truth of death. Such interconnectedness with nature can not only aid in survival but without it Mama Day argues can lead to death. Mama Day is a midwife who births children. She is a virtual doctor with no medical degree or back up, yet she brings life into the world. The great chain of beings is a resource that she relies on to help others to survive. Within the bounds of Mama Day’s life there is no chain. However, within the bounds of reality there is such a chain. The realistic chain is highly hierarchized to the point that there is no question of anything flowing through the flunks. First comes God whom created man who is dominant over animals who feed off of plants. God being the most powerful and plants being the least powerful. Throughout this chain there is no question of power. God is the most powerful and therefore man, animals, and plants all abide by him. Where as to animals and plants man is more powerful and so on. This humanistic concept is challenged through the way in which Mama Day lives her life. She lives her life by acting as if god, man, animals, and plants are all equal. There is no one dominant force therefore each aspect of this chain needs one another to …show more content…
survive. Mama Day resides in Willow Springs were she brings plants, animals, man, and God together under one roof.
For example, the woods within Willow Springs are used as a symbol portraying the obstacles one will face in their personal journey. Nature serves as the lowest tear in the Humanistic Hierarchy , however it serves to challenge and therefore help people in Mama Day’s hierarchy. Such challenging effort is not supported in the hierarchy version of the chain of beings. On the other hand, for Mama Day one must find a way to get through the woods and as a result they will reach the destination they desire. The woods serve to aid man in their journey and success to the final destination of this journey. “Little Mama, these woods been here before you and me, so why should they get out your way- learn to move around ‘em” (78). The connection and personification of nature within the life of Mama Day is present in this quote. There is a woveness of nature within her. Furthermore, when life within nature grows life within yourself grows as well. Gloria Naylor writes, “And the way you watch that grow - round and full - the life will sure to be growing inside of you” (97). A sense of fulfillment is painted depicting how real, tangible growth in nature that one is aware of sparks growth within the person themself. The growth within is growth that is felt rather than seen or tangible. The typical humanistic approach is not portrayed, but rather the approach of Mama Day because this
quote defends how one can look at a life form that intertwines everything unlike the humanistic approach which doesn’t regard everything as connected. Mama Day is a virtual mother to animals and plants alike. In addition to the connection between the woods and man , Mama Day connects the moss within the woods to man through a mutualistic relationship. In mutualism, both organisms benefit. While Mama Day is explaining to George, a man on a journey through out the woods, how the woods and man are part of a mutually beneficial relationship, he states, “I didn’t understand why we had to put moss in our shoes before entering the graveyard. ‘It’s a tradition,’ you said” (219). You , referring to Mama Day. Once George places the moss in his shoes in order to enter the graveyard he has an experience with the graveyard that connects him to it on a spiritual level. George discloses, “As soon as I put the moss in my shoes, I could hear them all in the wind as it moved through the trees and stirred up dust along the ground” (223). Nature is used as a means of communication. Mama Day’s moss tradition sheds light on her belief that when you connect and are a part of nature it won’t be dangerous to you. It will help you survive the dangers. George, whom is traveling through out the woods, might not be able to survive if he isn’t connected with nature. Therefore, nature must be used for survival. George get spiritual benefits from nature that help him navigate through the woods. In a true hierarchy the level below another could not have the higher level dependent on it , however for Mama Day man can rely on nature, and when man does man survives. Mama Day also challenges the connection between man and God. Within the rules of the typical Humanistic Hierarchy God is superior to man, however with Mama Day she is one with God. The role of superiority is not present. For instance, Mama Day’s last name is taken from the seventh day during which God died. She is one with God in this sense rather than one who only follows God. She can make her own decisions and follow her own destiny rather than the one that God has for her. That said, she still seeks advice from God, which abides by the aspect of the hierarchy that Mama Day supports stating that everyone needs each other. As the novel commences Mama Day, “cried unto God with,” her, “voice, even unto god with,” her, “voice. Restless and disturbed , no land in front of it, no land in back, it draws up the ocean vapor and rains fall like tears” (249). An intertwinedness with god is once again portrayed within the relationship between man and God. God and man rely on each other, one force is not seen as dominant. Furthermore, God in this quote, “draws up the ocean vapor and rains,” showing how God relies on the use of the ocean to help make it rain, a relationship during which God, the most powerful, uses nature, the least powerful, to help Mama Day, man the second most powerful, feel relief. Challenging the connection between God and Man as one during which both benefit and need each other results in a sense of organic connection that helps God further relate and aid man through the mechanisms and sources of nature. Mama Day uses animals as a source of slowing down the momenturn during her walk in the forest with George. “She stops every now and then to point out nesting cat birds or the rare glimpse of a red fox, so he can catch his breath” (205). Due to the fact that Mama Day points out the various animals she spots to George she shows a beneficial connection between animals and humans and nature and humans. This connection is one that helps George survive his time in the forest. George is thrown into a completely different world when he enters nature. He is thrown into a world infested with animals and plants, one that he doesn’t see as threatening at first, however without a true connection to the forest and the animals one can surely stumble along trouble and end up dying rather than striving to survive. As Mama Day leads George into the forest she realizes that, “Most of the alligators disappeared with the marsh. Did he know that gators could sing?” (205). She wonders whether George can make the connection between an alligator being threatening due to being a different species with different intentions, but also being helpful due to fact that an underlying beneficial connection between man and animals is present. Mama Day intertwines the connection of a person and animal through alligators when she personifies them. An alligator singing is a characteristic that a human has, a talent even. One that portrays communication between humans, however once an alligator sings the wall between man and animal is broken and they become one. The two beings are now able to communicate. The personification of animals and plants becomes prevalent to making Mama Day’s point that animals plants and people are all one as the novel continues. For example, the way in which Gloria Naylor gives the ocean humanistic features connects man and nature. It is stated that, “Open and flat with the ocean breeze almost always whispering through the hanging moss on a big ancient moss“ (206). Man and nature, in this case the ocean, are intertwined with each other. The ocean and man can have the same abilities; to whisper. Moreover, Mama Day describes a plant as having the power to eat. Mama Day informs George to, “Step smart over these cockleburs, they’ll eat through the leg of them jeans” (206). Mama day gives cockleburs the power to eat through something. A plant eating, which is typically a humanistic action, breaks the border between man and nature by connecting them through common habits and means of survival. Eating is what a human does to survive, but so do plants, therefore man and plants are alike. In closing, the action of the ocean whispering is brought back into the forefront of the reader as the novel progresses many pages after it was originally presented when Gloria Naylor writes, “And if she breathes real soft, there’s just a whisper of the ocean washing up the far bluff. The dampness of the night sneaks up on her, and the longer she sits out there, the harder it is to get up and go back into the lighted house”(240-241). Mama Day challenges the humanistic hierarchy by using animals as a source to slow down the momentum of a walk and by giving nature humanistic features that in turn tie man and nature together. The rewriting of the Humanistic hierarchy portrays how Mama Day challenges the connection between God, man, animals, and nature as Mama Day uses each of these aspects to survive and help others, such as George, survive. Such a hierarchy is a chain of beings that is intertwined and reliant on each other, separation is not present because if it is survival is not possible.
Additionally, she experiences her fall from innocence as she grows up and sees the ugly side of the world. Each year, each chapter, it is shown of how she learns more of the darkness in the world- more about her poverty, her father’s drunkenness, and her class status. Here Francie’s mother states, “Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than to just be... safe. At least she knows she's living.” (Page) Certainly, these words speak to every human being who has to work painfully to live; that life itself is despondency. Additionally, the strength of Francie is compared to the symbolization of the tree in front of their tenement. The tree that grows in Brooklyn symbolizes the hardship and perseverance of life. The tree which struggles to live almost no soil, light, or water, but it strives to live. Just as how Francie will live no matter how sick and tired she is of this world. In conclusion, Francie Nolan speaks to the readers to stay strong through the harsh circumstances.
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” centers on a mama, Mrs. Johnson, and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee, and how they view their heritage. In “Everyday Use”, the author, Alice Walker, uses symbolism not just to convey imagery and increase the story’s emotional impact, as is typical for most literature, but also to tell parts of the story, be more descriptive with her depictions of characters and objects within the story, give back story, and communicate more of her characters’ personalities. Like most writings, “Everyday Use” contains symbolism in the form of objects and actions, but the symbolism in Everyday Use is very notable and striking because it is materialized in rather unorthodox ways and places, such as characters’ names, in the back
This duality is concealed within a character because the darkness(truth) conflicts with the light(dreams/hopes) when we hold onto our desire to unite ourselves with our true lover. The author reveals that the light of the “sunset” represents the strength, by illuminating that days are going by, but the true lover still sticks to their strength. The author portrays darkness through the “death” of the“lilacs” representing the inevitable truth that one has to face when holding onto their desire to meet their true love. Parker illustrates that one whose “eyes are deep with yearning”, will persist to their strength until their determination does not overcome the obstacles preventing one from accessing true love, embracing love as a natural and beautiful thing. “Deep” represents her strength and “yearning” is symbolic of her desire to meet her husband. “Yearning” adds a sense of beauty and “deep” illuminates a depth to her strength and how it can overpower obstacles in her life. The author blends “deep” with “yearning” to enhance and illustrate that when we hold a desire we have to deepen our strength and embrace it to achieve what we aspire. The image of “an old, old, gate” where “the lady wait[s]” emphasizes the idea that her husband’s death is “old”; it occurred many years ago, but
This quote compares nature to Nana. It is used to demonstrate her place in the class/social life. By showing her relationship to family, th reader is able to see how Nana is portrayed throughout the novel
In Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use,” symbolism, allegory, and myth stand out when thinking about the characters, setting, and conflict in the story. The conflict is between the mother and her two daughters (Maggie and Dee). There is also the conflict between the family’s heritage (symbolized by the quilt, bench, and butter chum) and their different ways of life. Dee chose a new African name, moved to the city, and adopted a new way of life while Maggie and her mother have stay behind. The quilt (the most important symbol) represents the family’s heritage in that it is made of scraps of clothing worn by generations of family members. The quilt has been sewn by family hands and used on family beds. It has seen history and is history. Maggie and her mother see that that history is alive but Dee thinks it is as dead as her name. Dee does not see that name as part of her heritage. By analyzing these symbols, a number of possibilities for a theme can be seen. Walker could be suggesting that to understand the African-American heritage, readers have to include the present as well as the past. However, the theme could be that poverty and a lack of sophistication and education cannot be equated with ignorance. Lastly, she could be telling her readers that dignity or self-respect rise from and are virtually connected to one’s entire heritage- not just a selected part of it.
Individual growth can come in many forms, many of which involve finding your sense of place. A sense of place can be describes, in a sense, as a place where you feel like you belong, have a purpose, connect spiritually, and are familiar with. Finding where you belong usually takes a journey and a great deal of culture, history, and spiritual discovery. Momaday helps us to understand his journey by telling us a few tails of his people. Also, he tells us about his grandmother, who helped him through his journey, felt connected to, and eventually whose death pushed him to make all of the connections between what he has learned, not only about himself, but also about the tribe. He uses a poetic writing style and three different voices to drive
Nature is a universal concept that nearly everyone on the planet can relate to, as well as the struggle of not knowing one’s place in the world, both of which are central themes in Mary Oliver’s poem. For example, in the opening lines of her piece Mary Oliver urges her readers not to feel guilt or shame for how he/she may be feeling via metaphors from nature, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” (Lines 4-5) She also utilizes nature to create beautiful imagery for her readers. These images not only add to the splendor of the poem but are part of her purpose as well. An example of this is Lines 8 through 11, in these lines Oliver writes out, “Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers…” By using these examples and symbols from nature Oliver helps to communicate her message, which is that every person on the planet has the right to be comfortable in his/her own skin. When the author uses these techniques she is able to harness the pathos technique to convince her reader that she is correct in her statement within the
In the contract of life, there are numerous requirements. Every living being must be able to reproduce, practice homeostasis, consume energy, and adapt. However, there is one component of life that facilitators don’t include in their lesson plans: death. While all living organisms must have the ability to perform certain tasks in order to be considered living, all life must come to an end. Death is not a matter of if, but when. Many humans share a common fear of losing a loved one, yet authors utilize death to convey a profound meaning within their novel. In the first paragraph Bill Barich’s novel, Laughing in the Hills, he uses the inevitability of death to supply the reader with insight on the theme of his writing.
These lines demonstrate the stage of adulthood and the daily challenges that a person is faced with. The allusions in the poem enrich the meaning of the poem and force the reader to become more familiar with all of the meaning hidden behind the words. For example, she uses words such as innocence, imprisonment and captive to capture the feelings experienced in each of the stages. The form of the poem is open because there are no specific instances where the lines are similar. The words in each stanza are divided into each of the three growth stages or personal experiences.
A prominent theme throughout Mary Oliver's poems is the appreciation of the natural world and all of its little details. Oliver is renowned for her ability to immerse the reader in the natural world through powerful language and imagery, allowing them to truly appreciate the beauty of nature. Her close observation of nature illustrates her intimate relationship with nature and is exemplified in one her most famous poems "The Summer Day," in which she questions the origins of nature. In this poem, Oliver conveys her love of nature through the speaker, who is not only a passive observer and admirer of nature, but also an active thinker and component of nature. By choosing nature as the poem's center of attention, Oliver is able to depict nature as a beautiful and mystical place, evoking the reader's awe and fascination. This poem is so beautiful because the speaker describes to the reader the lovely little idiosyncrasies that she notices within nature, illustrating how nature is infinitely complex and that even little insects are worthy of appreciation.
The theme of Everyday Use is not immediately apparent, although Alice Walker begins the story by creating a familiar setting in the comfort of home that lead to the spirit of heritage and its importance in our lives. The protagonist, a single mother of two daughters, sees herself as ."..large...rough... slow-witted" and not fitting into the social strata of her oldest daughter, Dee, who ."..has held life always in the palm of her hand." The story begins with the mother preparing the yard to be ."..more comfortable than most people know....like an extended living room" for Dee's homecoming. This line early in the story also shows the mother placing a high value on comfort.
Terror management theory (TMT) asserts that human beings have natural tendency for self-preservation if there is threat to one’s well–being (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997). It notes that we are the cultural animals that pose self-awareness on the concept of past and future, as well as the understanding that one day we will die. We concern about our life and death but aware that it is unexpected by everything. The worse matter is that we become aware of our vulnerability and helplessness when facing death-related thoughts and ultimate demise (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1992). The inevitable death awareness or mortality salience provides a ground for experiencing the existential terror, which is the overwhelming concern of people’s mortality and existence. In order to avoid the continued existence of threats, people need faith in a relatively affirmative and plausive cultural worldview and meaning of life (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1995). Cultural worldview is a perceptual construction in the society which explaining the origins of life and the existence of afterlife. We have to invest a set of cultural worldviews by ourselves that are able to provide meaning, stability and order to our lives and to offer the promise of death transcendence (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004). On the other hand, we hold a belief that one is living up to the standards of value prescribed by that worldview and social norm shared by a group of people. This belief is derived by self-esteem of individual. We maintain the perception and confident that we are fulfilling the cultural prescriptions for value in the society and are thus eligible for some form of personal immortality (Landau & Greenberg, 2006). We Together with the assump...
Virginia Woolf’s essay “Death of the Moth” describes her encounter with a moth as it fights furiously to escape her windowpane before it is claimed by death. The speaker’s first instinct as they intently watch the moth’s struggle is to help it, but as she goes to do so, they realize that the moth is engaged in the same inescapable struggle faced by all living creatures as they try to prevent death from robbing them of life. By witnessing the moth’s death, the speaker is compelled to ponder the philosophical implications that incur within the circular pattern of life and death. She is conscious of death’s omnipotent inevitability, but concludes that the ever-present possibility of death serves as a primary motivational force necessary for life to have value and meaning. Since death cannot be overpowered, the way an individual struggles to survive and preserve life even in its final moments is more valuable than the mundane, meaningless activities pursued with apathy.
Intro : Introduce the concept of death, and how the concept of death is shown to be something to be feared
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.