Evelina Corcos 711
"Building Bridges" Essay
At any certain point in someones life, they have family problems or have to make tough family decisions. Throughout the short story “Building Bridges”, by Andrea Pinkey, the relationship change between a teenaged girl named Bebe and her grandmother who she lives with named Mama Lil is shown, and how Mama Lil develops a stronger and deeper relationship with Bebe over time. In this short sort, the author shows that family relationships can get difficult, but in the end your family will always be there for you. Andrea Pinkey does this by progressively showing how Bebe’s relationship with her grandmother is becoming stronger, and how towards the end of the story Mama Lil finally feels like she understands Bebe.
The author wants the reader to think and understand how Mama Lil feels about Bebe working on the Brooklyn Bridge and how Mama Lil’s actions have an impact on Bebe. “Bebe, get that backward idea out of your head. That grit-work ain’t no place for you. And besides, I ain’t never heard of no girls be doing that. You need to be getting yourself a real summer job, something civilized.” This shows that Mama Lil clearly doesn’t want Bebe working on the bridge, and that she’s very apposed to the idea of Bebe working on the bridge. “I never got tired of looking at its steel girders and iron cables- and its beautiful crisscross rafters that had started out in somebody’s imagination, had been put to paper, formalized in an engineer’s plans, than woven together, bolt by bolt. Now Belle (the name she calls the bridge by) was a powerful giant who carried all kinds of people to all kinds of places.” To Bebe, working on the Brooklyn Bridge has been her dream for a long time and she has a passion for it.
Through the middle of the story, Bebe keeps trying to explain to Mama Lil how important this job is to her but Mama Lil doesn’t think its a civilized job, and that Bebe should get a job at a more sophisticated working facility. “I ain’t gonna be the one who allows you to take part in such foolishness.” She wants to make sure Bebe is aware that she doesn’t approve. The bridge is all she wants and she wants Mama Lil to expect that. Mama Lil is starting to open her eyes to this idea of Bebe being an engineer but she isn’t going to let Bebe see that. “Blow me away, try to make me disappear, like your puffs of smoke.” By Bebe saying it lets the reader understand that Bebe feels very rejected by Mama Lil and she’s hurt that Mama Lil doesn’t want, and isn’t going to let, her do what she wants. “She sat back on her sofa, blowing her smoke straight ahead, her eyes avoiding mine.” You can tell that Mama Lil’s coming to realize that maybe Bebe’s dream isn’t so silly after all and that Bebe is going to keep asking for this until she agrees to sign the form or give her a straight answer. But Mama Lil isn’t intending to show it.
Towards the end of the text, Mama Lil starts being more open about the whole bridge situation with Bebe, but she still does not think that its the right decision for her to make. “Bebe, if you put your mind to it,you could be awfully good at doing hair. Give it a chance child.” Mama Lil says to Bebe after she brings up the bridge again. “Mama Lil, look at me.” Bebe says as Mama Lil is smoking a cigarette. “Im enjoying my cig Bebe, it tastes better with my eyes closed.” Bebe then says “Mama Lil your eyes are always closed, closed to seeing me.” Now, Bebe realizes something. That in order for her to live her dream, she needs to let Mama Lil let her go. “Let me go Mama Lil, let me dream.”
In this story, it is shown that family relationships can be difficult at times. But after all, your family will always be there to support and love you. Most people have family problems, or things can get rough sometimes, but family will always help you get though things. So in the end, Bebe and Mama Lil did resolve their problems, and Bebe did end up working on the Brooklyn Bridge. Their relationship can be used as an example for many relationships between kids and their guardians at any certain time period in their life.
