Mama Day (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Gloria Naylor
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: 1799 to the present, primarily the 1980’s
- Setting: Willow Springs, a fictitious island off the coast of South Carolina, and New York City
- Principal Characters: Ophelia (Cocoa) Day, Miranda (Mama) Day, Abigail Day, George Andrews, Sapphira Wade, Ruby, Bernice Duvall, Ambush, Dr. Buzzard, Mrs. Jackson, Dr. Smithfield
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, Folkloric or magical people, Magic or magicians, Power, personal or social, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, New York City, 1980’s, Quilts or quilting, Georgia, Islands, Women, Witches or witchcraft
- Locales: New York, NY, Georgia, Islands, South Carolina
The Novel
Mama Day proceeds, for the most part, in linear fashion and covers the period from Ophelia’s meeting with George in New York to the events occurring prior to and during the storm at the end of the novel. Yet the novel’s present is tied to the past, so much so that Naylor provides her readers with a family tree dating back to 1799, when Sapphira Wade was born. Much of the narration is in the form of a conversation between Ophelia and George, who, although dead, communicates with his wife. Their sections involve their feelings, values, dreams, and responses...
[The entire page is 3277 words long]
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