Luvenia’s True Lewis Heredity (The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers Book Analysis)

📌Category: Books
📌Words: 940
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 26 March 2022

Family traits are vital to discovering our identity and character. Family remains a part of everyone, whether we like it or not, and reflect the past or future generations to come. By way of illustration, family traits passed down from the Lewis family exemplify familial characteristics, and Luvenia Lewis exists as a Lewis member possessing the attributes of ambition and adaptability. Throughout The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers, Luvenia exemplifies characteristics of a “true Lewis” by being ambitious when grappling with doubts others throw at her and exhibiting her adaptable personality; Luvenia experiences her life turning upside down, yet still manages to persist and pursue her dreams.

Luvenia illustrates the idea of being a “true Lewis'' when those around her doubt her ambition of going to college and pursuing her dreams, yet she still perseveres. A young woman named Luvenia Lewis lives in Chicago in the 1920s. Striving to go to college, she struggles due to the fact that she faces discrimination and constantly faces criticism and dissuading feedback. Luvenia speaks to her godmother, Miss Etta, about attending college. Luvenia needs Miss Etta to write a letter to her father, Elijah, to convince him to stay in Chicago rather than move back with her family down to Curry Island. Miss Etta disagrees with Luvenia about going to college because she does not believe Luvenia should go to school because of their circumstances. Miss Etta declares, “‘And the University of Chicago is going to let you just waltz on in the door?’‘I finished high school!’ Luvenia protested. ‘Least I got enough credits to get my diploma, and there's no use of me going on to another year at that school if I can't start in at college.’‘You finished that colored school, and you are smart, but they don't let that many colored people in their college. They don't want us over there, and I'm telling you what God loves, and that's pure D truth!’” (Myers 122). Luvenia argues with Miss Etta about her attending college, as Miss Etta does not believe she would be accepted due to her being ‘colored.’ Luvenia’s persistence and ambition to accomplish her goals proves to be true when her godmother discourages and disagrees with her as the most prominent supporter in her life. Luvenia is ridiculed as a ‘colored person’ and faces much prejudice. However, she continues to endeavor the judgment of others. Luvenia Lewis' adaptable personality corresponds with the rest of the Lewis family when she experiences a few complications throughout her journey yet still challenges herself when circumstances change. Luvenia demonstrates undeniable ambition for what she aspires to achieve. Moreover, Luvenia Lewis’s ambition proves to be “a true Lewis” merely by how avid and resourceful the Lewis family is. In particular, Elijah Lewis and his cousin Abby travel through treacherous conditions by boat in search to find a young boy who has been missing a cash reward to pay off his grandmother's tax debts. Elijah and Abby experience severe prejudice because of their skin color. Nevertheless, the young boys escape the dangerous waters and still rescue the young boy, David. Elijah demonstrates his true character when he risks his life, reputation, and family to pay debts for his family. Similar to Elijah’s ambition, Luvenia aspires to attend school and achieve her goals, just as a ‘true Lewis’ would. Altogether, Luvenia’s ambition, by dedicating herself to achieving her aspirations and adapting, signifies being a ‘true Lewis.’

Miss Etta throws a rent party for Luvenia to collect money to start her hair salon after being fired from her housemaid job. Luvenia’s life and business ventures are beginning to look up now that she has the money to open her sought-after business. Her father, Elijah, assures Luvenia that he understands her passion in a letter. Myers narrates, “Luvenia walked home slowly, realizing for the first time how tired she was. She held the brown paper bag with the rent money tightly as she walked. She was trying to remember how much Madame Walker products were. She had glanced in the bag. There were at least fifteen dollars in bills, and God only knew how much in change. She knew that if she could make as much doing hair and selling as she thought she could, things would be all right.” (Myers 173). Luvenia gains confidence and realizes her triumphing circumstances, and adapts to the situations she faces. Luvenia exemplifies her adaptability to her conditions by dusting herself off after being very distressed because she is fired. Luvenia worked for a white, elitist family and, in turn, got fired trying to win the favor of the family. Instead of giving up on her dreams of opening her own business, she gains her confidence and adjusts to what life throws at her. Starting her very own career off of nothing as a young Black woman in the 1920s will be challenging as ever. However, Luvenia comes to terms with what she is given and adapts to her state of affairs. The Lewis family represents their great adaptability, passed down from generation to generation. A prime example of a “true Lewis” besides Luvenia, who exemplifies their resilience, is Joshua. Joshua Lewis escapes his slave plantation because he believes Mr. Foster, their enslaver, plans to sell Neela. Joshua demonstrates his adaptability by going with his heart rather than his brain to save his wife. Joshua's bravery and adaptability correspond with being a true Lewis” family member, considering its ties back to Luvenia's adaptive personality. Luvenia’s adaptability is shown in her ability to spring right back from any turn of events coinciding with “true Lewis” characteristics.

When Luvenia denotes her traits as a “true Lewis” in Walter Dean Myers’ The Glory Fields, she remains ambitious even after most others doubt her. She exhibits adaptability when fired and not accepted and stays true to herself. Characteristics in families give a hand at exploring connections formed based on hereditary traits. In the final analysis, Luvenia’s ambition and adaptability coincide with the entire Lewis family, proving Luvenia to be a “true Lewis.” The Lewis’s have their distinct charisma, so many families have specific inherited attributes to an extent.

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