| Summary: | Gloria Naylor’s The Men of Brewster Place (1994) relates the saga of black men
in the urban environment of the same name. Coming from different horizons, each with a different and
individual story, these men arrive at Brewster Place hoping to cope with their ill-fated past and to build
a better future. Unfortunately, their ambition and dreams turn out as a continuation of their former
experience that precipitated them to the Ghetto of Brewster. Once at Brewster, rather than uniting to
face their common plight, they develop an egocentric attitude that contributes to destroy their
community. However, through her representation of the male community, Naylor recreates the
atmosphere of The Women of Brewster Place (1982) and complements the one-side black female point
of view in the interpretation of the African Americans’ experience. Thus, to the female voice, she
opposes a male one to offer her audience a comprehensive view of the Blacks’ problem. In addition,
through this male/female opposition, Naylor suggests addressing the Blacks’ problem not only as an
interracial issue but also from the gender perspective.
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