Brewster Place. Naylor stated in her reading that the wall that blocked off Brewster Place

from the rest of the world and symbolized the racism and sexism that the women in the

story had to deal with. Lucielia Louise Turner, or Ceil, was one of the characters featured

prominently in her reading. Ceil was important to the story of The Women of Brewster

Place, because she experienced the racism and sexism symbolized by the wall.

Ceil valued traditions in family and she tries to hold on her sense of self. Her life

revolved around trying to keep her small family together. She wanted her daughter

Serena, to have a father in her life. Her man, Eugene, was in and out of her life. He left

her alone for eleven months, sick, with a one-month-old baby. He did not have a steady

job, and when Ceil told him that she was pregnant he seemed very unexcited about the

thought of another child. She felt pressured by Eugene to have an abortion. He didn't

want to have another mouth to feed. Although he never came out and told her to

terminate her pregnancy, Ceil did it to please him. She would have turned herself inside

the pain she felt and had saved her life in doing so. Ceil had dealt with the issues of

passed on to their children. The wall represented the frustrations that the women felt.

she had found a man and started a family. This is an example of the sexism symbolized

with little money and a man that is coming and going as he pleases. Because Ceil was a

the women were to the wall, the fewer choices they had in life. Mattie, who was the

building, and most of them were poor. Gloria Naylor stated in her reading that the closer

daughter alone. Life was hard for Ceil because although she wanted to be able to

now he had a new job at the docks and had bought paint to fix up the apartment. Mattie

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 886
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)