Mama (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Terry McMillan
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: African Americans, 1960’s, 1970’s, Child rearing or parenting, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, Love or romance, New York City, Friendship, Midwest, 1980’s, California, Los Angeles, West, U.S., Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Single parents or single-parent families, Drug addiction or addicts, Domestic work or workers, Health, Michigan, Personality
- Locales: New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, Michigan, Point Haven, MI, Southern California
Mama, McMillan's first novel, is the story of an uneducated black woman living in the 1960's who possesses the strength to survive and the will to hope. Mildred Peacock, the protagonist of the story, is no saint. She swears, she drinks constantly, and whenever she has a good opportunity, she lets a good-looking man have sex with her. Her capacity for violence is established in the much-quoted first sentence of the book, “Mildred hid the ax beneath the mattress of the cot in the dining room.”
As Mildred recalls the night she has just been through, it is clear that she...
[The entire page is 751 words long]
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