Idea Paper

I’ll  will write my  paper  on  the  Feminist  Theory, on how the most mentioned women in the book  act and how they are treated in the novel. I will compare the younger generation to the older generation, it will deal with Nica and to a lesser distinct Cindy compared to the older women Sylvia and Mary. I will be discussing the differences and similarities in how they are oppressed or put down unknowingly. What really stood out to me in this was how Nica and Sylvia are treated by their step fathers and husbands respectively. And also the way Cindy and Mary are treated by their husbands and their different ways of dealing with it. To me this book with all the violence and racism in it make me think it takes place during the seventy’s when the Civil Rights movement was going, but then there are aspects that make it seem more modern than that, either way whether it be now our in the past there is still discrimination against women even though it’s on a smaller scale. One example of a time when Nica’s character goes through and experiences a tough time is when her step father is yelling at her loud enough that Sonny can hear them about how she can’t iron or starch one of his pieces of clothing right. She’s also being used as a twenty four hour babysitter; she doesn’t go to school or have any friends, she stays indoors all the time to watch Angel. In the older women’s case it’s different in the fact that both husbands are alcoholics and tend to yell and scare their wives but the way each wife deals with it is different. It seems like Sylvia is the stronger one in the sense that she knows how to manipulate Cloyed to calm his anger or take his mind off way he’s angry. Mary seems to be the downtrodden wife that is unhappy and wants things to change but is a little resigned to her situation and just doesn’t try to anger her husband. There are many mentions throughout the book that deals with or mentions the struggles that each female character goes through at some point of their life so the material I will need for this subject shouldn’t take a long time to put together and write. I think the topic I chose to talk about will have a lot of information and will keep my attention, it’s a complex situation these women are going through and this still happens a lot today.