"Brown Girl in the Ring" by Nalo Hopkinson is a fiction and fantasy story driven by the Afro - Caribbean religious practices which are magical, Voodoo
feminist forces. Voodoo is also known as black magic which involves sorcery and
spirit possession. Although this Voodoo maybe fictional and fantasy based but this novel does has some truth to hit regarding feminism. It is introduced by the
hands of female characters as voodoo showcases their feminine power offered by their religion. Feminism is an integral part of today's society as everyone woman
wants to be in control of her own body and life. She as a person does not want
to be suppressed by the traditional ways of how a woman must portray herself.
She does not want to be sexualized and objectified by her culture. She wants to
have her say and do as she pleases without society or her religion judging her.
This novel showcases how powerful a woman is with her religion by her side as
she uses that to guide herself and help her to become stronger day by day.
I can strongly relate to this book as I am also a young
teenage girl that has grown up around the whole feminist society. My greatest
example is my mother as she is an independent woman who strives for success day
in day out at her job, at home, and with her family. Expanding on the religious
part of this book, it shows how women don't need to have wealth and status
to be dominant, even your religion can help you stand up and be powerful.
This is something new that is introduced as I wouldn't think on those terms. We are to attached to the society
norm that money is everything and it will give you everything when there are other ways of being independent and being treated equally. When reading this book, focusing on the female
characters is crucial, analyzing the way they encounter the problems in their
daily life is key in helping one to understand how the world views females. The
setting of this novel takes place in the
heart of Toronto which is close to where I live, it will help me give an
insight on how the actual world is in that area that will influence my
thoughts on how I look at the community I live in. Overall after reading this book it will change the way I view feminism and see the different ways a women can face society and the great roles which are portrayed through females that elaborates on how far we can go with our powers which are bestowed so gracefully upon us,
