Mama Day

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From the moment we are born, we take on the qualities and beliefs of the people around us. As these qualities are reinforced throughout our upbringings, they become more and more entrenched in our personalities. These qualities end up forming the foundation of a person’s character. While they cannot be completely erased, they can still be changed by the people we associate with and the situations that we find ourselves in. The Mama Day character, George, created by Gloria Naylor, shows us that personalities are forged by the environment and changed through circumstance.

After being orphaned as a young child, George grew up in a boys’ shelter named Wallace P. Andrews. There, through what some may call harsh punishment, Mrs. Jackson, the strict …show more content…
However, Ruby, a jealous sorceress, casts a harmful spell on Cocoa out of spite. Amidst this, a hurricane devastates the island, cutting off escape routes. As Cocoa’s condition worsens and bridge repairs lag, Naylor illustrates George’s urgency as he resolves to take action, planning to “repair that boat”. I am going to put the oars into the oarlocks and begin to row across the Sound.” (Naylor, 282). Instead of cooperating with the rest of the community, George prefers to take an enormous risk, one that will probably lead to his death, for an off chance that outside help will be able to find a cure for his wife. Naylor then reinforces to the reader George’s belief that he alone can help Cocoa, considering that “They burned my boat,’ I spit out. ‘Because they like you.’ ‘Then they must hate your granddaughter—I was going to get her some help.” (Naylor, 289). George’s belief that the sabotage of his plan spells certain doom is rooted in his profound sense of self-reliance. Only after every other option becomes impractical does he accept that the only way to save Cocoa is by allying with Mama Day. While illustrating George’s attitude change, Naylor still demonstrates an underlying skepticism through George’s criticism of Mama Day for “talking” in a lot of metaphors. But what it boils down to is that I can be of some use to you, and I came here for that. So, please, what is
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