Tell him Sista!

Lena, after reading Chapter 9 is, for obvious reasons, an intriguing character who I have numerous questions about. Prior to chapter 9 she's only occassionally mentioned in descriptions of the Dead family, usually being paired with Corinthians and the two being described as a pair. In chapter 9 her character as well as her strength is revealed to the reader.
What makes Lena intriguing is the fact that she is able to talk to Milkman the way that she does. By that point, Milkman had exerted his power as one of, if not the most, dominant member of the household. When Lena gets upset with him, she attacks the aspects of his life which Milkman prides himself on. She exposes his perpetual self-interest and his lack of empathy for anyone else in the household. Prior to this chapter, we see the situation that Corinthians has found herself in: as an adult she has a college education, works as a maid, and lives in fear of her father. Lena, growing up in the same conditions lives in a similar predicament. She is also an adult and has no credibility in her household, yet in this particular instance, she possesses the strength and will to tell Milkman everything which he chooses to ignore or is simply unable to see.
At this point in Song of Solomon almost every woman is in some way weakened or driven by the actions of the males. Corinthians lives in fear of the men in her household, Hagar has been driven to insanity by Milkman, and Ruth is left with questionable sanity herself as a result of pain inflicted by Macon Dead. Contrasted with all the women oppressed by the men in their lives, this particular chapter sparked my interest in Lena in general. Unfortunately the reader doesn't see much more of her but she still gets props for tellin Milkman like it is

Actually Shaun Bussert, Love DOES Have Meaning...

Love has become an industry. Anyone can buy a beautiful sentiment for their significant other, whether it's genuine or not and as a result, everything related to love is kind of cliche. I believe that the only way to really describe one's personal meaning of love is to relate it to personal experiences and people. I won't pretend that I've ever been IN love or anything close to it but I certainly have much love for my family and my friends. In my short life I've come to know that love certainly isn't something that a person inherently possesses for another person. When each of my parents remarried, I ended up with an extra mom and dad, two more sisters, and another brother. While I could easily have decided that they were not blood family members, I was young enough that I let them in. Now with my family members, we've dropped the "step" in step-brother or or step-father and those boundaries have blurred. They are just as much my family as any blood member of my family.
While the closeness and love that I have with family and friends is something which makes each day better, it can also be a curse. People have the illusion that they have control which is comforting but really, things happen everyday that no one can control. Loving the people around you so much intensifies any kind of pain for someone or something that has happened. Not long ago, my father divorced my stepmother. The bonds I had formed years ago with my new, bigger family were instantly altered. I continued to love them and care and worry, but it was made more difficult by the fact that I was unable to see them. They still feel like family, but technically, we are no longer a family and I don't see them regularly as I once had.
Loving everyone around you can be painful as there will always be things out of your control. I've yet to lose anyone very close to me but when it inevitably happens, it will be worsened by the fact that I love them so much; however, undeniably, love is worth it