English Essay on Women of Brewster Place

Characters
Cora Lee

1. Her shadows come and go, shatter her dream of taking care of
her children. Sometimes, their men hurt them and they do not
even know what is going on.
2. Kiswana helps her realize her insufficient role as a mother. She
tries to be a good neighbor and invites her children to watch a
community play. By inviting Cora to the play, she triggers
Coras motherly love towards her children. Kiswana disillusions
Cora as well. She stops dreaming that all her children will
remain in the enfant stage, but they will grow up and become
adults.

Luciella

1. Eugene cannot take care of her. Her dream of a family is

shattered. Eugene abuses her. She tries to hurt her so that he
could feel some satisfactions in his own dominance over Ciel.
2. Mattie comes in and help her sort things out. She disillusions
her and finds her a better way to deal with things. She takes up
a role similar to that of a mentor. Ciels words kept circling in
such a confusing pattern before her that she couldn't seem to
grab even one, but Matties words have the precision of a
diamond drill.

Both Ciels and Coras life is deeply damaged by the irresponsible actions of
men who have had relationships with them. Furthermore, their lives are
disillusioned by Mattie and Kiswana respectively on the Brewster Place.

They hurt Cora Lee by being irresponsible. When Cora Lee has not yet figured out
how to deal with grown-ups, she has already given births to seven children. Their
behaviors befuddle her as they grow up, and she has no love for them.

The irresponsible behaviors of Eugene and men who have had relationships
with Cora both damage the life of both Cora and Ciel. Eugene, Ciels husband, also
damages Ciels life by being irresponsible. He comes to Ciel when he feels like
going back, and he leaves Ciel when he is out of money. Eugene is extremely selfcentered and he tends to blame his own misfortune onto Ciel. When he loses his

job, he tells Ciel in such an attitude as if she is the source of his misfortune. Ciel
tries to maintain a familial relationship with Eugene. However, as Eugene is
irresponsible about his behavior, he does not cherish Ciels efforts to make him
stay at home. She knows it is the new baby that drives Eugene away; therefore,
she aborts her baby with great amount of pain. However, Eugene still leaves Ciel,
turning Ciels efforts into vain. As Ciel is a great mother and cherishes family
relationships, it is unbearable for her to see her family break apart and her baby is
lost for no reason. The men who have had relationships with Cora are similarly
irresponsible. They impregnate Cora when they are not ready to take the
responsibility of a father. After Cora gives births to their children, they disappear
from Coras life. However, Cora does not understand her responsibility as a mother
either. She loves her children only in their infant stage because she has an
enthusiasm for baby dolls, especially new ones. Her enthusiasm is carried from her
childhood. Every year Cora would want a new baby doll from her parents as
Christmas present. When her mother asks her why she still needs new ones even if
she has dozens of dolls in her room, she will respond the new ones dont feel as
good as the old ones. Her adolescent desire for new dolls is shown in her
adulthood. When she thinks of her children, she always welcomes them until [the
children] changed, and then she just didnt understand them(113). Therefore, she
still sees them as her toy dolls instead of real person who is going to grow up.
Thus, as her children grow up, she finds her life confused as she does not know
how to deal with them. They hurt Coras life in that the children they brought to the
world add up to Coras irresponsible . However, it is for Cora to take care of all the
kids who are growing up and. The problem is Cora is not responsible either. They
hurt Cora in the way that their irresponsible behaviors add up to Coras
irresponsible behaviors. Thus, by giving births to Coras kids, they add more
problems to Coras life as Cora does not specifically care about the kids when they
become toddlers. Cora only cares about her infants when they are babies. When
she was young, she used to get baby dolls as Christmas presents from her parents.
She loves the baby dolls; however, each year, she would want another new baby
doll. She explains to her mother: . Cora possesses teenagers naivety in wanting
new dolls as they dont feel as good as the old ones. Unfortunately, her naivety
is carried into her adulthood. After her children are not infants anymore, she starts
to pay less attention to them than her newborn babies. As she does not teach the
kids to behave politely, her children add up to her burden as they do not respect
her. Their wild behaviors turn Cora to the newborn baby to find comforts. But as
the newborn baby grows up again, Cora becomes clueless again to how to deal
with them. Cora never learns how kids need to grow up.. Thus, by giving the births
to the kids for Cora, the men who had relationship with Cora indirectly hurt her.
Now, with seven kids on her back, Cora hardly does anything but watches her

favourite TV series. They also physically hurt her. When Cora recalls all her
husbands, she remembers one with some weird ways: a pot of burned rice would
mean a fractured jaw, and a wet bathroom floor a loose tooth, but that had been
their fault for keeping her so tied up she couldnt keep the house straight(113).
Thus, she gradually stops seeking for a steady relationship with men, but rather
seeks pleasure among shadows, the unknown man or men who visit her every
night. Thus, by physically hurting Cora, the former husbands of Cora force her to
find a more irresponsible way to obtain babies. Like a vortex, Coras life keeps
spinning downwards as she becomes more irresponsible by lending her body to
other men.

Eugene also hurts Ciel by being irresponsible. He comes back to Ciel when he
feels like to and he turns his back to her when he is out of money. His irresponsible
behavior shatters Ciels dream about a stable family.

Eugene hurts Ciel while Cora is hurt by many men who he slept with.
It was all there: the frustration of being left alone, sick, with a month-old baby;
her humiliation reflected in the caseworkers blue eyes for the unanswerable you
can find him to have it, but you cant have him to take care of itsmile(91)
she chose her words with a grinding precision of a diamond cutters drill(91)
You aint gotta convince me, Ciel(92)
No she wasnt talking to Mattie, she was talking to herself, (92)
With two kids and you on my back, I aint never gonna have nothing()
Always welcome until they changed, and then she just didnt understand
them(113)
A pot of burned rice would mean a fractured jaw, and a wet bathroom floor a loose
tooth, but that had been their fault for keeping her so tied up she couldnt keep the
house straight(113)

Both Cora and Ciel are disillusioned by another woman on Brewster Place. In their
case, it is Kiswana and Mattie respectively. Similarly, both Coras and Ciels dreams
about a hopeful future for their families are shattered by men.

Only after Kiswana drops by, Ciel starts to realize that she has neglected her
children for too long. She brings her children to the play, and only by then that she
realizes she has instilled them ideas about