Waiting To Exhale
In Terry McMillan's, "Waiting to Exhale", we are, as a reader, involved in the world of four middle-aged women. These women experience all the highs and lows of any person. From the beautiful cars, to the depression that can come from not finding the person who is 'the one' for you, the characters really reflect the common person perfectly. But, like anything good or bad, these women make some key mistakes. The mistakes they make will be addressed in the following paragraphs. I will also attempt to fully explain my thoughts on the book and why the main four characters feel the way they do and do the things they do. I shall start with Robin. Just at it is undeniable that the church has done wrong, it is also undeniable that each of the main characters did wrong. I shall begin with Robin, who is by far the most obvious. I call her the most obvious not because of her naivete when it comes to men (though naivete is a kind way to put it mildly) but because her spiritual foundation (as indicated on page 39) is the least established of the four women. On page 41 she establishes herself as placing her faith in psychics, numerologists, and other New Age phenomena. Unfortunately for her, the most harmless of these characters are simply
On page 160, she thanks God for "sending [her] a desirable man tonight. Given that this is a man she was attracted to, she very specifically wanted to have sex with him. Those with actual powers are demonic. Robin has abandoned astrology and is finally letting Russell go along his doggish ways. Page 318 shows an inherent problem in Bernadine's mind. Isn't that enough?" A sad reality in Bernadine's life is that she is raising two children who will be no better equipped than she. the four women will still be "waiting to exhale" and in serious danger of unfulfilling, potentially harmful relationships. To get to the root of her problems, we have to go back to her college days as recorded on pages 67-80. This is stupid for a Christian to do, almost approaching the intellectual brilliance that Robin has when it comes to men. Why can't we ever feel like the record?" It is no wonder that their promises fall short of reality. Scripture is careful to warn us to avoid psychics, witches, fortune-tellers and the like. On the second and third pages of the novel, she prays for a man. Until a philosophy change takes place that puts Christ at the center of their romantic thoughts/actions/etc. As a Christian, though, Savannah is lukewarm, trying to "get over.
Common topics in this essay:
Waiting Exhale,
Christian Savannah,
Secondly Gloria,
John John,
That's God,
God David,
I've Phoenix,
Terry McMillan,
Bernadine Gloria's,
God Bible,
shown pages,
main characters,
david pity,
women women,
page 318,
waiting exhale,
god sending,
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Acceptance Essays
