When talking about Moms Mabley many comedians start off by saying, “she was the first woman that made me laugh”. Jackie “Moms” Mabley can be considered the original queen of comedy. Her oversized dresses, floppy shoes, hats, and droopy stockings made her relatable. Her rough voice, toothless grin, rubbery face, and large, bulging eyes became her trademarks. Her witty jokes, musical parodies, and verbal irony made her a pioneer.
One of the major components of Moms Mabley’s comedy was her character. While she was known to the world as Moms Mabley she was born Loretta Mary Aiken. I don’t think one can truly understand the comedy of Moms Mabley without recognizing the life of Loretta Mary Aiken. Aiken was born in Brevard, North Carolina. By the age of fourteen she had been raped twice. Her grandmother encouraged her to runaway so she wouldn’t get raped again. Although these details are short and concise I believe they provide the foundation for the Moms Mabley character and her comedy. During the era of slavery tragicomedy was prevalent because it was a mixture of humor and violence. Many people
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believe comedy cannot exist without a sense or presence of tragedy. Aiken’s experienced a significant amount of violence and tragedy in the earlier years of her life. Although her comedy never truly focused on the sexual violence that she endured as an adolescent her need to laugh, and her desire to make others laugh stems from the violence that she was subjugated to. This assertion stems from the belief of the relief theory. The relief theory asserts the notion that humor exists to facilitate the relief of tension caused by one’s fears, or it is used to release pent up aggression. The relief theory also states that one should “assume the attitude of an adult toward a child to recognize the triviality.” To understand, and process the abuse that she endured as child Aiken’s used humor. After she ran away from home Aiken’s began to get involved with vaudeville acts, which allowed her to become a performer. As she delved more into the comedic realm she created her Moms Mabley character. Aiken’s modeled her character after her grandmother, who encouraged her to runaway, and was one of the most prominent figures in her life. Aiken’s troubled adolescent years made her a comedian. Her love and admiration for her grandmother created her character. The fusion of these two elements of Aiken’s early life created Moms Mabley. After creating her comedic character Moms Mabley then created her style of comedy. In a way she represented the rapid-fire joke after joke comedy that was prominent in the early twentieth century, while representing the narrative aspect of comedy that most African-American comedians would develop and master in the 1970’s and 1980’s. While watching Moms Mabley’s routine I couldn’t help but notice the level intelligence and wit that she possessed. Mom’s Mabley purposefully used her wit to tell racial jokes that served as a poignant reflection on the inequalities in society, while maintaining a degree of humor that made it acceptable to all audiences. In her joke about being pulled over by a police officer for running a red light she explains that she chose to run the red light because she saw white people driving during the green light so she came to the conclusion that the red light belonged to the blacks. This joke blatantly addresses the segregation that existed in America in the early and mid twentieth century. The wit and element of aporia in the joke not only causes people to laugh, but it also makes them reflect. In the joke Moms Mabley seems puzzled by being pulled over for running a red light, the puzzlement that Moms Mabley has within the joke can then be juxtaposed with the puzzlement that can occur within members of the audience. For a brief moment the joke makes the audience question the comedy of the situation. The segregation that Moms Mabley illustrates in the joke is real, but is it funny? Small, quick jokes like this illustrate the brilliance of Mom’s Mabley’s comedy. Moms Mabley was also able to showcase her comedic talents in a more subversive manner.
Her subversion was not judged or frowned upon by many audiences because of the character that she portrayed and because of the person she actually was outside of her comedic bit. Moms Mabley often joked about her lust for younger men and her repulsion for older men. In “The Youngest Teenager” Mabley says her husband “looks like six o’clock”. The sexual innuendo and verbal irony makes the joke subversive and almost crude. However, because Moms Mabley was an older woman known for being a lesbian, and occasionally wearing men’s clothing the subversive elements of the joke are overlooked. Moms Mabley’s personal style and characterization gives her jokes a deeper comedic element, because it juxtaposes and showcases the incongruity between her and the males that were the center of her
jokes. With her large colorful dresses, her deep, raspy voice, and her toothless smile Moms Mabley was able to construct a new world of comedy. She introduced storytelling to comedy. She approached delicate topics like sex, racism, and politics and used her wit and metaphors to bring humor to these serious subjects. Not only was she one of the first major female comics, but she was also one of the most prominent African-American comedians. Her attributions to the comedic world laid the foundation for African-American comedians and comedy as a whole.
The specific situation I will talk about is towards the end of the film, Mae Mobley watched as Elizabeth (her biological mother) fires Aibileen, who was practically her only mother figure since the maids did most of the parenting during this time frame. A similar plot happened with Skeeter. Her mother also fired their maid, Constantine, who raised Skeeter as a young girl. This can be very traumatic especially to younger children because to the kids it was just like
Family is a story about slaves, masters of the land, and the interconnectedness of what it means to be “family”. Loretta is the daughter of the Master of the Land and as a child spends time with Sun even teaching him to read. She was going against the law in doing this and she helped him to escape. Loretta was not a mean person; she risked a lot for Sun and truly cared about him. She knew he was her half-brother and treated him with respect. When Sun left he promised he would send for her, but he never did. He sent letters asking how his sisters were and she became jealous. Loretta had power over the slaves because she was the white daughter of the master and as she grew more jealous and learned the ranks in society she changed. She took out her anger and jealousy out on Peach, Plum, and Always. She became evil and all the goodness in her heart was gone. Due to the experiences in her life, she adapted to accommodate for her jealousy and to take on the role of Mistress of the Land. Under different circumstances in a different time period this might not have been the outcome. As a chil...
witted, and had an amazing sense of humor. Her husband was a lady's man and
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.
Through the protagonist, Bone's narration, her mother known as Mama is a victim of the bottom class. Her life is cheap and inconspicuous, as the beginning of the novel mentions, "Mama...hated the memory of every day she's ever spent bent over other people's peanuts...while they stood tall and looked at her
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
Ma is supposed to be seen as the matriarchal archetype, a strong-willed, beautiful woman who can take care of her family. While men were distracted by how bad things got, “the women knew how the past would cry to them in the coming days”. (111) Steinbeck implants thoughts of both patriarchal dismissal and feminine uprising throughout the novel when Ma gradually makes more of the decisions and personally sacrifices more for her family, and both men and women in the family turn to her for traditionally male
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
Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...
In both these works, the mothers play the most important role in the development of the plot. They represent the pillars of strength and they are the ones that hold the family together and the hope alive. In Lorraine Hansberry's work, Mama is a widow, mother of two children and the head of the household: "There are some ideas we ain't going to have in this house. Not long as I am at the head of this family." (Hansberry 51) Mama is aware of the high position she is awarded in the family, since her husband is dead and she is left in care of the family. Qualities like independence and strength surround her and give her and air of authority. She takes charge when others hesitate and she gives courage to the insecure. "You just got strong willed children and it takes a strong woman like you to keep'em in hand, (Hansberry 52) her daughter-in-law tells her at one point. This symbolizes the love and respect she carries for her, but also the power that Mama radiates over the whole family.
In 1988 Gloria Naylor wrote the novel Mama Day in hopes to show the world that one can either accept the hand they are dealt and make it come out to the advantage of themselves and others, or one can hide from their pain and live a life scared of what may come in the future. Mama Day is set on an island off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia that is inhabited by the descendants of a slave population. The main characters in the novel; Ophelia, Abigail and Miranda, also called Mama Day, all experienced a lot of pain in their lives; it is how they chose to deal with their experiences that sets them apart from each other.
George and Ophelia grow up in significantly different environments with exposure to vastly dissimilar experiences; their diverse backgrounds have a profound impact on the way they interpret and react to situations as adults. George and Ophelia both grow up without their parents, but for different reasons. George grows up at the Wallace P. Andrews Shelter for Boys in New York. The Shelter’s strict surroundings did not provide the warm and inviting atmosphere that a mother strives for in a home. The employees at the Shelter are not “loving people,” (p. 23) but they are devoted to their job, and the boys. At a young age, Ophelia loses her mother. We learn very little about her apparently absent father. Mama Day and Abigail raise Ophelia. Abigail provides a source of comfort and love for Ophelia as she fulfills the role of mother figure. Mama day, Ophelia’s great aunt, acts more as a father figure. “If Grandma had been there, she would have held me when I broke down and cry. Mama Day only said that for a long time there would be something to bring on tears aplenty.” (p. 304). Ophelia grows up on the small island of Willow Springs. Everyone knows each other and their business, in the laid-back island community. The border between Georgia and South Carolina splits down the middle of the island. Instead of seeing any advantage to belonging to either state, the townspeople would prefer to operate independently. For George and Ophelia, the differences in their backgrounds will have a tremendous impact on many facets of their adult lives.
Overall I found this character to make up the novel using her strength, wisdom, and intelligence was very important. The novel manly told the tale of the daughters, but I found the mother's character to be the true story told by the novel. I felt like it was a symbol for women power and over the changing times this was really a new concept for women for the time period to still have money and be in such a political standing for women. This was a very inspiring story especially for women and I felt like the mother's character was a true activist for new countries changing times.
All three of the main female characters are treated in a way that many would consider rude towards any human being, despite their various classifications. Big Mama has to constantly endure Big Daddy’s cussing and ungrateful behaviour towards her. She shows him as much love as one person can show, and in return, she is certainly notified of the want for her to be gone from Big Daddy. In Act two, it is also assumed her somewhat “bossy” behaviour is her wanting to take over the plantation when, in reality, it’s how she shows she cares. It is also assumed she doesn’t love Big Daddy even though everything she does is essentially to please him and make him happy. This is explicitly shown in the last act after she finds out Big Daddy definitely has cancer and she is even more willing to stand up for Big Daddy when it becomes obvious Mae and Gooper are just trying to take over control of the plantation when he dies, when he hasn’t died yet. She asserts her position as his wife with pride. The treatment of Maggie doesn’t come from Brick, who treats her in an ignorant fashion through virtually silence, but more so from the rest of his family. She is treated different because she has not yet had children. This causes many unfair and uncalled for statements concerning her ability to be a good wife and her personality. She is seen as a bad woman by the majority of the family when in
Mama is a powerful, strong witted person. She has a lot of control in this play and dominates as a woman character. This is unusual because this is usually a male’s position in life. She is a woman, “who has adjusted to many things in life and overcome many more, her face is full of strength”. In this play she is illustrated as taking over for the head of the family and controls the lives of everyone in her house. Rules are followed to Mama’s extent. She controls what is said and done in her house. After Walter yells, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” (70). Mama responds in a strong tone of voice saying, “I don’t ‘low no yellin’ in this house, Walter Lee, a...