Sex Addiction in Mama

Throughout the whole book, Mildred suffers with her sexual desires. Not suffering in the sense where she isn’t getting her needs satisfied, but she’s struggling with it as an addiction. I believe Mildred is addicted to sex and affection. Mildred correlates sex and affection to one another. Sex gives her the affection she wants. Specifically, in chapter 16, this is shown. Mildred had drunk so much VO one night however, it was not helping her fall asleep. She decided to go for a swim but after a while that got boring. Mildred stood in front of her bathroom mirror and saw that she was aging and had wrinkles. This made her sad but then she heard a car door slam and it was her neighbor Jimmy, who was married to a woman Mildred never spoke to. Mildred knew Jimmy was married but had sexual intercourse with him. Afterwards, Mildred went to the bathroom to clean herself up and when she looked in the mirror the book says “now her face had some color to it and the wrinkles seemed to have disappeared” (McMillan 264). For Mildred, sex keeps her youthful in a sense. I see this as a sex addiction but also an addiction to married men. 

Unhealthy Relationships in Mama

When the book “Mama” by Terry McMillan begins, the first sentence is “Mildred hid the ax beneath the mattress of the cot in the dining room” (McMillan). Mildred had just killed her husband of ten years. He was abusive, a drunk, and a cheater. What I wanted to discuss is how these drunkard and abusive tendencies can be passed onto the children as they hear their mother get beaten and their father doing the beating. Mentally, I feel as though it takes a huge toll on the children, they are traumatized. I also feel like it teaches unhealthy lessons to the children. If the kids see that Mildred is getting beaten by their father but then continues to stay in the relationship, they may think it is okay for a man or woman to abuse them. Also, the children may feel fear, confusion, and worry. Another topic discussed besides abuse is infidelity. Crook, Mildred’s husband goes out drinking and cheats on Mildred. Mildred puts up with it for the sake of her kids. However, Mildred begins seeing Spook, a married man. This relationship between them reminded me of a movie I watched called “Adulterers” on Netflix. A married woman and a married man are having an affair with each other. Infidelity played a role not only for Crook, but Mildred and Spooky too. Overall, “Mama” so far has shown what unhealthy relationships look like and how the children know what is going on and try to speak up about it, but are silenced because they are just “children.”

Edison, New Jersey

“It passes time, gives us something to look forward to. I close my eyes and put my hand on the map.  So many towns, so many cities to choose from. Some places are sure bets but more than once I’ve gone with the long shot and been right. You can’t imagine how many times I’ve been right. Usually the name will come to me fast, the way the numbered balls pop out during the lottery drawings, but this time nothing comes: no magic, no nothing. It could be anywhere. I open my eyes and see that Wayne is still waiting. Edison, I say, pressing my thumb down. Edison, New Jersey” (Diaz 139-140).

Photot taken from: https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-photo-of-a-light-bulb-powered-by-the-mind--photo-14058

After reading “Edison, New Jersey” by Junot Diaz I still couldn’t figure out why he chose this place out of any other place. In the story, he mentions Lawrenceville, Sayreville, Perth Amboy, and Spotswood. I researched Edison, New Jersey and found out the history about it and that it was named after Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb and the city he invented it in. To me this story showed the narrator’s progress from being in the dark with no direction in his life, stealing from customers and even the store, reminiscing of his girlfriend to having the light turned on and realizing that he needs to do change his life. Edison, New Jersey was the special place because the author Junot Diaz may have known the history of Edison, New Jersey, thus making it symbolic to the narrator’s life.