Blog 4 Assignment -- Analysis of Mama Day

Mama Day is a book about a small family that lives on a small island off the coast of Georgia. The island, called Willow Springs, while legally under the jurisdiction of the United States, has never actually been part of any state. Sapphira Wade is the first-great-grandmother of Miranda "Mama" Day. Sapphira Wade was a slave. She married a man named Bascombe Wade and became the mother of seven sons. Sapphira Wade acquired the deed to Willow Springs, and the island became a community for free blacks in the time before the American Civil War.

Miranda "Cocoa" Day is often at odds with Dr. Buzzard, a healer on Willow Springs. Dr. Buzzard brews moonshine and offers a variety of other remedies for people who fall ill on Willow Springs, as the island is cut off from modern mainland society. Miranda Day has one sister, Abigail Day. Abigail Day is the grandmother of Ophelia "Cocoa" Day, which would make Miranda "Mama" Day the great-aunt of Ophelia "Cocoa" Day. Abigail Day is a kind and caring grandmother to Ophelia Day even to the point of coddling.

Ophelia "Cocoa" Day is the last Day alive among her siblings. Ophelia Day grew up in Willow Springs, but went to school in New York. In New York, Ophelia Day meets a man named George Andrews. Unlike the Day family, George grew up away from family, in New York, and is therefore disconnected from his heritage. George Andrews is a much more independent and systematic person than the Days. He is a big fan of American football and likes to look at all the different plays and strategies. George Andrews works at an engineering firm. It is important to note that he has a heart condition that is rather debilitating.

Mama Day differs from Kindred in numerous ways. While Kindred is a nonlinear book about a woman going back to slave life, Mama Day is a chronological book about modern black citizens living on an island, free from the oppression of the white man and, indeed, the hustle and bustle of western society. As a matter of fact, Mama Day seems to completely lack any reference of racism or oppression. Mama Day boasts a story all about a family of black women living freely and independently on an island more-or-less in America with little, if any influence from white society.

The greatest source of white cultural influence in the book would be Ophelia Day's husband, George Andrews. He was raised with whites in white society. Ophelia Day, not so unlike the bridge between Willow Springs and the American mainland, bridges the gap between white society and black culture to Miranda Day and the other denizens of Willow Springs.

The biggest theme in this book may not be immediately obvious. The biggest theme in the book Mama Day, by Gloria Naylor, is family and heritage. They live on an island that has virtually always belonged to their humble black family. All of the main characters are black and have an association with the Day family. Miranda Day is familiar with herbal medicine and knows much about African folklore. She believes she is better at healing than the island's doctor, Dr. Buzzard. George Andrews, despite growing up as an orphan in New York, hoped to connect with his black roots, and hoped to have a family. The climax of the story is the death of George Andrews.

One minor theme in Mama Day might be spirituality. Sapphira Wade is believed to have killed her husband, Bascombe Wade, before she, herself died. Belief in the supernatural may have played a role in this. Miranda Day believes that her world, like any other, runs on the magic of belief. George Andrews thought Miranda Day was crazy for believing in the supernatural, although he later adopted faith in it as well. One of Miranda Day's quotes is, "Everybody wants to be right in a world where there ain't no right or wrong to be found." It's a beautiful notion to say there is no right or wrong in the world, as it seems oblivious to the idea of real-world wrongdoing. While I do appreciate that much, I would have to contend that there is a such thing as right and wrong in the world; at least that's what the historical works of many religious persons, including Christians, would seem to suggest, if not declare. Additionally, while voodoo and other forms of cultural magic are referenced in the book, Christianity has always been somewhat opposed to interfering with nature, defeating the natural order, and playing God. Asking God for guidance and instruction on your wishes is staunchly recommended over forcing your wishes.

Blog 3 Assignment -- (Free Prompt)

Aww, God above, dear God above, I need help to pass this assignment. I didn't catch the prompt because I can't remember what class was on Wednesday. I'm just so damn sick of being rushed to do shit. My animal studies class is easy enough besides the essay project. Math class is rather straightforward, albeit as confusing in organization as ever despite being nowhere near as bad as the upper division engineering classes. This class, the writing class, has to be the most frustrating. I managed to read up to about page 82 before throwing in the towel. I can't think of jack to write about with this book. I'm behind in math class and there's a quiz coming up, so that is the number one competing factor with this class. You know what happens when falling behind in one class causes you to fall behind in another -- absolute shit follows, apparently. God, I pray constantly for help. I must have struck a nerve somewhere because school just seems to hate the living fuck out of me now, when it was never like that prior to my entrance to senior year. I'm a very good person. I put nothing before God. I bar sin. I repent. So what in creation could be killing my success in school? Sigh. I used to avoid the word "God above" like a bad word, but now I know it can be nothing but medicine to say. God, I need help concentrating on school, keeping up in school, and passing assignments. This is all that I need as far as present priorities. My recent failures in school lead me to start seriously wishing for the door to another place, even if it is suffering. At least I would be suffering directly and not suffering under the weight of school and household supposed-obligations. Dear God, I am dying to move past the college phase of life and be an adult properly, but I'm well and properly trapped here by the system, trapped in my parent's household by a closed society and empty neighborhood. I was suckered back into school because I literally had no other options in life here. God, if I could pass this semester without a failure, that would spell hope, as this semester should be the last one that I take 3 classes. The math classes ahead, we can only hope to be clearly organized and actually helpful, unlike the engineering classes of yore. God, if I could miraculously drum up a blog assignment in time, I can delete this malarkey, but if not, the teacher must know I am suffering. I'm suffering from household emptiness, suffering from a society dead of opportunity for me, suffering from powerlessness against oppression far away, suffering from the lack of even a single real friend, suffering from a lapsed academic concentration ability, and suffering from just the sheer unavailability of life in this town. If there was a door, here, and the door would take me to a real home, anywhere, I would abandon all this nonsense to go someplace I can express myself, somewhere I can breathe right, somewhere I can actually be someone and forge a life for once. Aw, heck, I would rather be completely dead than subject to the grueling punishment of obligation by schoolwork and, shudder, household. God, if I cannot walk away, then please help me just pass class so I can keep making (or faking) it in the hopes that I will ever meet a real friend here. Thank you.

. . . Yeah, I've been reading the book. Thank God for text-to-speech because I lost the ability to concentrate on boring. No, honestly, I literally cannot even see straight when I look at boring text now, and I never had trouble reading before. Yeah, I'm reading the book with the help of text-to-speech and while it isn't bad, it's grueling to think I have to write about it. I can't find jack to write about with this. It's like a narrative of daily life. There's no racism, no conflict, and nothing remarkable. That's why I find it so unbearably grueling to be forced to write about.

In all seriousness, there is a phantom menace in society, and it is the menace of Work-Worshiping.
Indeed, hard work pays off, but what is problematic is the blind worship of working, and worse yet, talking down on others for not being the same ditch-digging connoisseur you are. It's important to realize that hard work is relative. One man's hard work is another man's chump-chore or monumental feat. There's a big difference between encouraging hard work for success, and punishing the innocent for not overworking their backs off. You can't control everyone. You can only throw a line so far before you have no choice but to leave it up to faith, and why not pay some homage to faith in God above for once?

This assignment would be a chump-chore to me if the work was more defaulted, i.e. supplied prompts and actual connection to the text.

Yeah, here's a connection to the text: the slow, grueling drag & drivel of daily life with no real friends or hope for purpose. That's my life right now and I'm behind in math, which I absolutely need to pass because it is my major. Why, in fact, this should get a higher grade than a disingenuous, generic text analysis because I write this from the heart.

On a related note, I have determined that Islam and Mormonism are absolute bogus. I was a scientific atheist since childhood well into college, but God interacted with me directly and now I believe in the teachings of the Bible. The Bible is very strict about not worshiping false gods or prophets, and not making undue concessions to such sin.
Islam is not a valid religion because it stems from the blasphemy of a false prophet and worship of a false god (Allah before God-above).
Mormonism is not a valid religion because it says salvation can only be accomplished if you adhere to Mormonism and become a top member. A cute idea, but it is far from realistic and prone to fault.
Judaism is a valid religion, albeit arguably incomplete since it pretty much just adheres only to the Ten Commandments. The problem with Judaism is that it seems to be stuck on policy prior to the time of Jesus.

Prophets Joseph Smith and Muhammad were patriarchs. Indeed, the Bible is clearly chock-full of patriarchs. They do not get a free pass just because they were in the Bible. Even Jesus's family had shortcomings and lived in unjust patriarchy. Jesus Christ, himself, however, was not a patriarch.