going, even when the whites were losing everything they had. .
Despite her sudden move to the noisy, foreign, disordered, and bizarre city of St.
Louis, Maya is still the same person. Maya shows her ability to cope with her new.
environment, although she already felt out of place in her old community. Unfortunately.
she does not gain what she always hoped for--a true relationship with her biological.
mother, but she meets some of her strong-willed and distinctive relatives, who actually.
start to make her feel like she has something worth while in her life. She remembers that.
one of her uncles constantly tells her not to worry about her appearance but rather to.
appreciate her intelligence, which will bring her further in life. This experience reminded.
me a play that I read last year, "A dolls house." The play was in a absolutely different.
setting, yet the main protagonist Nora depended on her appearance and beauty to guide.
her, yet when she desired to make something of herself, it was too late to show her.
intelligence. Maya's Uncle taught her an important lesson, which may have kept her going.
on throughout her life, and was the first step to gaining her identity.
In the novel, Maya is sexually molested and eventually raped by her Mother's.
boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. Mr. Freeman takes advantage of Maya because her Mother,.
Vivian, is out most of the time. Also she has never experienced much physical contact or.
affection, being sent away from her Mother and Father. She confuses Mr. Freeman's.
horrifying and vulgar behavior with the physical attention and love she never received as a.
child. This part of the novel reminded me much of Mayella Ewell from the novel To Kill A.
Mocking Bird. The names are even a bit similar. Mayella, although older, was raped by her.
own father, Bob Ewell. Both girls were deprived of love and attention as children, so they.
both, mistake, or even take pleasure in what these immoral men are doing to them.