Etta Mae Johnson By Gloria Naylor I enjoyed reading the story Etta Mae Johnson by Gloria Naylor. Reading this short story was a positive experience for me. Gloria Naylor really managed to bring out what a woman should be aware of when looking for a relationship. The characters were interesting and believable; I believe that the author did a good job of creating the characters. She used real life situations in developing the characters. For example, Etta Mae Johnson reminded me of a friend of mine whose name I won't use. But they seem to have similar personalities. Mattie on the other hand was very comfortable in the Lord. The character of Reverend Woods seemed to make the story more interesting. He was a man who preached one way and lived another. My favorite character was Etta Mae Johnson because she was a woman that everyone loved to hate.
Although the story Etta Mae Johnson by Gloria Naylor was a good short story that I could relate to, there are a few changes that I would have made to make the story better. I found it difficult to follow which required me to read it more than once to gain a clear understanding of the important points the author was trying to make. Gloria Naylor's pace of the story was much to slow in the beginning. However she did pick up the pace toward the middle and was able to hold my interest, by using the analogies from the jazz singer Billie Holliday. I thought this was most ingenious of Ms. Naylor. My favorite scenes in the story were when Etta Mae was at Mattie's house and they were poking fun at each other about their differences and the way they lived. The author brought out the humor between the two characters. I found myself laughing out loud and missing home and my sisters, because this scene was a lot like the kidding we do. My second favorite scene was when the author used a simile type style using the comparison between the unlike things that Etta Mae was thinking and the sermon, Reverend Woods was giving.