Who Is Mama Nadi Symbolize Tough Love In Ruined

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In the play Ruined, Mama Nadi symbolizes tough love, as seen through her encounters with the characters Christian, Sophie, and Salima. Mama Nadi puts up a tough persona, but she also has a soft spot for several characters. A playful love-hate relationship is introduced in the opening scenes between Mama Nadi and Christian. Furthermore, Christian introduces Mama Nadi to Samlia and Sophie and there is an automatic sense of bitterness from Mama Nadi towards the two girls. This bitterness later evolves into compassion and tough love, because Mama Nadi feels a connection and a sense of responsibility towards the girls after finding out that they are no different from her. Although it may seem like at times Mama Nadi is only acting for her own selfish reasons, it is later revealed in the play that she does these things to protect others. There are several instances in the play that may indicate that Mama Nadi is a selfish woman, …show more content…

This scene demonstrates the theme of tough love that Mama Nadi symbolizes. Sophie is scolded for stealing money from Mama Nadi so that Sophie can see that she could be out in the streets continually being raped, but instead Mama Nadi took her in to protect her. It can be inferred that Mama Nadi did not have children of her own, which is why she treats the girls at the brothel like her children, especially Sophie. Due to her situation, Sophie cannot be a prostitute in the brothel like the rest of the girls. Mama Nadi did not have to take Sophie in because she has no use business wise, but because of the fact that Sophie is ruined, Mama Nadi takes her in and makes her the singer and the accountant of her bar. Mama Nadi is a character that mainly cares about her business, which is also why she is very protective over her bar. The idea of tough love is used by Mama Nadi towards Sophie so that she can learn to not betray those who help

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