"Linden Hills", by Gloria Naylor successfully creates a chilling argument against oppressive patriarchal societies and families. She vividly exposes the implications of what can happen to a society when cultural traits, morality and close family and neighborhood ties take a backseat to the attainment of material things and status become the driving force for people.
"They eat, sleep, and breathe for one thing - making it."" (Naylor 39). This quote is from Lester in a conversation with his friends, summing up the people of Linden Hills, of which he begrudgingly is one of. Although he lives on the outermost circle of Linden Hills, he feels nothing but disgust and contempt for the neighborhood as a whole. This scene early in the book Linden Hills lays the groundwork for a journey through the neighborhood with Lester and his friend Willie that reveals the negative impact when a society focuses on things and status and loses touch with it's sense of community and family. We will see how Willie, an outsider from Putney Wayne with no education and no money, is the one with the greatest amount of character and morality. .
As Lester and Willie travel throughout Linden Hills in an effort to make a little money, they encounter residents who have compromised themselves in one way or another in order to belong to Linden Hills. The only way to make it into this coveted neighborhood is to be hand picked by Luther Nedeed. Naylor's description of Nedeed with his "short squat body" and protruding eyes,""(3) conjures up an evil and almost satanic picture in the reader's mind. The original Luther Nedeed passed down not only his name to all the subsequent generations of males, but also his disturbing physical characteristics. The foundation of Linden Hills itself was formed by the original Nedeed who "sold his octoroon wife and 6 children" (Naylor 2) for the money to buy the land. Over the years the subsequent Nedeeds built on this foundation by carefully choosing the residents.
