Momma Instills In Maya And Bailey example essay topic

At the age of three, Maya and her brother Bailey, who is four, are shipped off to live with their paternal grandmother, Momma Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas, for their parents are getting a divorce. Momma Henderson lives with Uncle Willie in the rear of the Wm. Johnson General Merchandise Store, an establishment which serves cotton pickers and saw men. The store serves as the center of activity in the town.

Maya and Bailey are expected to work in the store. They must get up at dawn to wait on customers who stop on their way to work. Many of the customers will return to the store in the evening after their work is done. For Maya and Bailey, the store is their whole life. It is also their teacher, for they learn some valuable lessons from their encounters and interactions with different people. Two years later Maya and Bailey are studying at the Lafayette County Training School and work hard on their studies.

They are also made to behave at home, being disciplined by Uncle Willie, who usually sits "like a giant black Z". Willie's face is always pulled down on one side from paralysis that has affected him since the age of three. One day Maya observes Uncle Willie in the presence of two schoolteachers from Little Rock who do not know him; she realizes he is pretending not to be crippled. When Willie notices Maya, he sends her outside to play. She realizes that Uncle Willie may be tired of his disabled life. Maya has developed a love of literature, having discovered Shakespeare, Kipling, Poe, Butler, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. du Bois, and other writers.

She and Bailey decide to memorize a passage from The Merchant of Venice but change their minds because Momma will know that Shakespeare is white. Instead, they choose to learn The Creation by James Weldon JohnsonMaya's days are full. She and Bailey must feed corn to the chickens and mash to the hogs. Maya must also work in the store; but she does not mind the routine chores that she performs there during the day. In fact, she feels totally connected to the store and comfortable with the customers, who often praise her. It is her favorite place in Arkansas.

In the evening, Maya and the family often rest, while eating canned sardines and crackers. Because Willie enjoys this time of the day, he does not stutter or shake. Maya describes her passion for canned pineapples, but she never takes a can for herself from the store. She would consider that stealing, to which she is opposed.

She also describes a time when the "used-to-be Sheriff" came to the house. He told them that Willie had better hide because a "nigger" messed with a white lady, and "the boys" would be coming over later. Uncle Willie hid in the vegetable bin to protect himself from the "boys" in the Ku Klux Klan. Maya describes him "like a casserole", covered with onions and potatoes.

Seeking God's protection for Willie and the family, Momma prayed in the darkened store. The young Maya is fascinated by a man named Mr. McElroy, the only Negro in Stamps to wear a suit, except for the school principal. All of the other blacks in town are too poor to own one. Maya is also fascinated by her brother Bailey, whom she believes to be the greatest person in her world, in spite of his stealing pickles. Calling him her "kingdom come", Maya is proud of him for being so good, for praying aloud in church, and for doing more chores than she does. She also thinks that Bailey is extremely handsome, in contrast to her own unattractiveness, and very smart.

Stamps is so well segregated that many black children have never seen a white person. The black people think of the whites with fear, which comes from "the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for and the ragged against the well dressed". Maya talks about "white folks-ville", the segregated portion of town where she and Bailey trespass occasionally to buy fresh meat. She thinks of the crossing over into the white area as "walking without weapons into man-eating animals' territory". Cleanliness and respect are two commandments that Momma instills in Maya and Bailey. As a result, the children are careful about their appearance and speak politely to their elders, saying please, thank you, ma " am, and sir.

They are much better behaved than the "powhitetrash" children, who live on the land behind the school. These children are not clean or respectful. They come to the store and act bossy and rude, calling Momma and Uncle Willie by their first names. When Maya is ten, an incident occurs that proves to be very painful. After sweeping in front of the store, Maya and Momma stop and admire their work. A group of "powhitetrash" girls come up, make fun of Momma, and create a mess in the area that has just been cleaned.

Momma tells Maya to go inside the store. From inside, Maya sees the girls continuing to tease and mock her grandmother. Momma does not let the rudeness of the girls bother her. She stands in front of the girls full of dignity, singing hymns and calling them Miz Ruth, Miz Helen, and Miz Eloise. Maya watches as one of the girls does a handstand. When her dress comes down over her shoulders, Maya is shocked to see that the girl is wearing no underwear.

By the time the girls leave and Momma comes inside the store, Maya is so upset that she is crying. As Momma comforts her, Maya sees that her grandmother's face is shining with beauty and pride. She has refused to feel shamed by the behavior of the girls. Mama knows that Momma has won a silent victory.

Maya goes outside and erases the footprints that the girls have made. She then makes a drawing on the ground. She shapes a large heart with lots of smaller hearts growing inside. Every three months, Reverend Howard Thomas, the presiding elder of the black church, visits Stamps and stays at the Henderson house. When he arrives, normally after dinner on Saturday evening, he eats the leftovers and gossips with Momma and Willie. Maya and Bailey dislike him because he is ugly and fat, laughs like "a hog with colic", and never remembers their names.

Bailey eavesdrops on what the minister is saying to Momma and Willie. He then repeats the news to Maya. He tells her about Mr. Coley Washington, who has a girl staying with him and who is probably "doing it" to her. He also tells Maya about a man whose "things" had been cut off for "doing it" to a white woman. On Sunday morning Maya and Bailey are given heavy breakfasts, including fried fish, biscuits, and tomato slices; Momma wants to fill them up so that they will stay quiet in church. Momma asks the Reverend to say grace before they eat; he takes so much time to bless the food that it gets cold.

In church, Reverend Thomas preaches a long sermon from Deuteronomy, Maya's favorite book in the Bible. During the service, Maya notices Sister Monroe and remembers how she once became hysterical in her religious fervor, shouting "preach it" so loudly that the entire church was thrown into pandemonium. The mischievous Bailey also sees Sister Monroe. He goes up to her and whispers "preach it" in her ear as a joke.

Sister Monroe grows excited at the words and runs to the pulpit. Reverend Thomas, having heard of Sister Monroe's hysterics, backs away from her, but she grabs him with excitement. The Reverend tries to ignore her and continue preaching, but somehow he has lost his dentures in the encounter with Sister Monroe. Maya and Bailey burst into laughter, in spite of trying hard not to. Both children, after being duly punished for their outbursts, try to be on their best behavior in front of Momma; but for weeks, when they are alone, they break into hysterics when one of the utters the phrase, "Preach it".

Momma has had three husbands: Mr. Johnson, who is the children's grandfather; Mr. Henderson; and Mr. Murphy. When Mr. Murphy passes through Stamps, he will usually come and stay with Momma. She, however, does not really trust him. She has Willie watch him closely to make certain that he does not steal anything from the store.

Momma strives to teach Bailey and Maya practical advice about living. She teaches them to be proud of who they are and the color of their skin. She also warns the children that whites should be spoken to with respect, if spoken to at all. Many years before, an incident happened in Stamps that is still talked about. A black man, who was being hunted down for assaulting a white woman, takes shelter in Momma's store. When he is apprehended and taken to court, he tells the judge about taking refuge at Mrs. Henderson's store.

Momma is subpoenaed. When she arrives in court, she introduces herself as Mrs. Henderson. The judge, bailiff, and the audience laugh at her, amazed that a black woman would call herself "Mrs". Amazingly, however, the white people in Stamps still refer to Momma as Mrs. Henderson.

She is the only black woman called "Mrs". by them This chapter begins with a harsh criticism of the whites in Stamps. The blacks, who are poor and have little, judge the white people to be wealthy and decadent, with their fancy cars and glistening white houses. They are also very prejudiced. They will not even allow black people to buy vanilla ice cream except on the Fourth of July. The rest of the year, the blacks in Stamps must be content with chocolate ice cream. Although Maya believes that God is white, she does not think he is prejudiced.

She also believes that Momma has more money than the "powhitetrash", and Momma is much wiser about life and finances. In order to save money, she makes all the clothes that Maya and Bailey wear. In the summer, the children are expected to go barefoot, and their shoes are resoled when they are worn. Momma also encourages the children not to waste or want.

The depression, which hits the white section of Stamps with "cyclonic impact", seeps very slowly into the black area of town. The blacks are not even aware of it for two years. When the owners of the cotton fields, where the blacks work, reduce the payment for a pound of cotton from ten cents to seven and then five cents, the blacks begin to struggle. There is not enough money to buy food for themselves, and they certainly cannot afford the feed for their hogs and cows.

In order to eat, most of the blacks have to go on government relief and accept handouts from welfare agencies. Maya's family is one of the few black families in Stamps that does not depend on the government to exist. Momma manages to keep her business going by devising a trade agreement. She barters the goods in the store for food.

As a result, Maya and Bailey never go hungry; however, they must drink powdered milk and eat powdered eggs received in trade. After several years, the Depression begins to leave Stamps as slowly as it arrived. It is not until the start of World War II that there is any significant change in the economy. Maya never hears from her parents; she thinks they must both be dead. Then one Christmas she and Bailey receive Christmas presents from them, sent from California. Learning that her parents are alive upsets Maya.

She believes she must have done some terribly wrong to be sent away from them. She is so upset that she must take out her frustration. She tears up the white doll with blue eyes that she has received as their gift; but she keeps the tea set, hoping to someday show it to her mother. She again has hope that her mother will come and get her in the future. A year after receiving the Christmas gifts, Maya's eight-year-old world is turned upside down, for her father comes to Stamps.

He is bigger and more handsome than she ever imagined. He also has a good sense of humor. Maya is so proud of him that she wants to show him off to everyone. She has the opportunity. For weeks after his arrival, the store is full of people who went to school with him or have heard about him. When they pay him attention, Maya's father struts around for their benefit.

Father Bailey announces that he will be leaving and taking the children with him. Uncle Willie, who has suffered long enough under his brother's shadow, is happy at the news. Bailey is also excited, for he wants to go to California with his father. Maya is less sure about her change in life.

Although Momma is sad to be losing her grandchildren, she makes them some clothes and reminds the children that they must be good. The day finally arrives for the three of them to depart. The trip is long and monotonous. Maya does not feel very comfortable, but Bailey fits right in with his father. As they near St. Louis, their father surprises them with the news that they are about to meet their mother. This unexpected turn of events frightens Maya, and she says that she wants to return to Stamps.

In reality, she is afraid of being rejected by her mother, Vivian. In her nervousness, Maya asks Bailey in Pig Latin if he is sure that this is really their father. Although Bailey ignores the question, Father Bailey responds. Maya is shocked to learn that Pig Latin is not Bailey's made-up language. Upon seeing her mother, Maya immediately judges her to be gorgeous, and Bailey seems to instantly fall in love with her. Maya reasons that her mother's beauty is the cause of her giving up Bailey and herself; "she was too beautiful to have children".

Maya then sees that Bailey resembles their mother, which makes Maya feel disconnected. Father Bailey soon departs, leaving Maya and Bailey in St. Louis with their mother. Maya thinks that she has been left with a stranger. Maya and Bailey live with their maternal grandparents for about six months before they move in with their mother.

They are given plenty to eat, have their own room, and wear store bought clothes. Before long, Maya's fears about being in St. Louis vanish and are replaced by the fear that she will be sent back to Stamps, away from her mother. She tries to be on her best behavior so she will not irritate anyone, especially not Vivian. Grandmother Baxter is a quadroon, which means she is of mixed race but largely white.

Raised by a German family in Cairo, Illinois, she came to St. Louis to study nursing. While working at the hospital, she met and married Grandfather Baxter. The two of them are opposites. Grandmother Baxter is extremely light skinned and speaks with a throaty German accent; Grandfather Baxter is very dark skinned and has the choppy speech associated with West Indians. Both of them are devoted to the family, which includes their six children and their dog.

Grandmother Baxter is an important figure in the community. She is a precinct captain and has "pull" with the police department. The local numbers runners, gamblers, lottery takers, and whiskey salesmen all come to her for favors. She usually manages to have bails reduced and to take the heat off gambling parlors. In return, she expects those that she has helped to bring in votes during the elections. Maya and Bailey are shocked at the life they see in St. Louis, which is completely different than Stamps.

They witness drinking, gambling, and all manner of Biblical violations, which are practiced so freely it is hard for Maya and Bailey to believe they are watching illegal activities. Maya and Bailey also learn about some of the finer things in life. They are given all kinds of treats to eat, like thin-sliced ham and jellybeans. They are sent to a real school, where they are amazed at its vastness and the formality of its teachers. In their primness, Maya thinks the teachers are talking down to her and the other students. Since both Maya and Bailey read well and are very good at arithmetic, they are moved up one grade.

Acting like his father, Bailey shows off his intelligence and makes the other children feel inferior. He and Maya both lose the habit of saying "Yes ma " am" and "No ma " am" to their elders and learn to say "Yes" and "No" instead. Vivian, whom they call "Mother Dear", is a free-spirited woman. Maya and Bailey sometimes find her at Touie's, a tavern owned by two Syrian brothers. The children are allowed into the tavern and are given soft drinks and boiled shrimp. They learn to dance and are known as "Bibbie's darling babies".

Vivian's brothers, Tom, Tutti, and Ira, are also well-known around town. Maya remarks that Grandfather Baxter raised the boys to know that if they were ever arrested for stealing, he would let them rot in jail; however, if they were ever jailed for fighting, he would sell everything he owned to get them out. Brought up with this kind of encouragement, the brothers have become fearsome characters; only the youngest, Billy, has not joined them in their misadventures Maya loves her uncles and is thrilled by their meanness. Her favorite is Uncle Tommy, who often tells Maya that even though she is not pretty, she is very smart, which is preferable to beauty. Although he can be gruff, Tommy chews his words so that even his ordinary sentences sound like poetry. He is also a natural comedian.

Maya feels the binding quality of Baxter blood. The closeness comes naturally without being taught. Bailey, at the age of three, was displeased at Maya's inability to walk and took it upon himself to teach her. He announced, "This is my sister. I have to teach her to walk". Bailey was also the one who gave her the nickname of Maya.

He refused to call her Marguerite; instead he named her "My a Sister", which later became Maya..