Sometimes, we have to wait until the end before we judge something. The war of the wall by Tony Cade Bambara talked about some neighborhood kids who did not like that a painter lady was working on a wall that they had been using ever since their childhoods. The narrator and his friend Lou were telling the painter lady at the beginning that she was not welcome there and that this wall belonged to them. This neighborhood even had the name of a guy who died fighting in Vietnam engraved on the wall. They were very disappointed when the painted lady did not even flinch when they talked to her. When some other neighborhood kids went to bring the painter lady lunch, she just declined it and said she already brought her own lunch. However, the painter lady went to the narrator's mother's restaurant and said that she was starving. After asking a lot about the food and taking a long time to pick, the narrator realized that his mother was getting very aggravated. However, to him and Lou’s disappointment, his mother just ended up being polite and kind. One day, the narrator, and Lou, decided to graffiti the wall so that the painter lady could go away. However, when they went to see the wall after buying the graffiti, it was too late. The mural was finished, and the painter lady had already left. They were stunned to realize that there were multiple drawings of activists and other people from the community, including the narrator and Lou. At one of the spots on the mural, they realized that this whole entire thing was dedicated to the guy who died fighting in Vietnam, who was apparently the painter lady’s cousin.
This story focuses entirely on the fact that we should not judge someone just by seeing them and not getting to know them first. This is an important theme in many stories, but this short story represents it especially well. The entire neighborhood had their hearts set out on judging this lady and making her leave without entirely knowing her intention at all. This is shown when many people from the community were trying to get the Painter lady to leave, all in their different ways. It's not always easy to accept change in our community, but sometimes, that's what we have to do. The fact that nobody trusted the process and let the painter lady do their job shows that this community is very narrow-minded and also extremely prejudiced. When they realized that at the end the painter lady was actually doing them a favor and the mural was beautiful, she had already left and had most likely felt very victimized and alone. Being prejudiced comes in many forms, and although the painter lady may not have been the nicest person, it would have been nice if she could have received some support from the community, especially since at the end they realized that what she had given them was more than just a drawing. It was a representation of the community that no one could have probably done better. They thought that she was painting over the wall and disrespecting the guy who died in Vietnam, without basing this thought on actual fact. They never thought to ask her. Not the narrator, not Lou, not the neighborhood kids, not even the parents. However, at the end, they realized that she was his cousin the entire time.
The painter lady never ever gave up because she was determined and because she had a goal to accomplish. This shows us to always stay determined and never change because of others, and the painter lady is an amazing representation of this message. We have all been told at some point in our lives to never give up, even when people are trying to push us down with their negative messages and mindsets. Even though everyone went against this lady, she persevered and continued her mural until it had become what she was expecting. Even though no one could have known that it was in fact a beautiful drawing, the painter lady did not receive any support whatsoever and had to do everything on her own despite the prejudice against her. If she had given up, then no one would have been able to see the remarkable mural that she had made dedicated to the one person the neighborhood valued very much. This teaches us that just because we are facing hard times and no one is there for us, we have to stay determined and work until we achieve what we set out to do. Although many people think that the painter lady was wrong to not talk or accept defeat, no one thought to consider that she was from somewhere else and that she might have felt like a complete stranger, and without anyone being there to tell her that her mural was doing fine and that she should keep going, it would have been very possible that she had just given up. However, she didn't, and the result came out as good as ever.
The wall throughout the entire story had been viewed differently from different perspectives, but to every single character in the story, this specific wall is symbolic and important to them. This wall symbolizes many things, but is mainly viewed as supportive, representative, and unchangeable. The whole entire neighborhood viewed this wall as supportive because they were using it for a very long time doing very different things. It was there for them through everything, and they didn't want it to change whatsoever. For the painter lady, it is representative because it represents her cousin who fought hard and passed away unfortunately in Vietnam. The painter lady had drawn so many people, but who were all connected together through diversity. The neighborhood kids viewed this wall as something that was unchangeable and had to stay what it was or else it would completely corrupt the neighborhood or something, but the painter lady proved them wrong. She proved that something can change for the better and that even though it may have been important in one way, it can change to become something more important in another way. Although no one knows what will happen to the wall in the future, if the mural ends up being destroyed or if the neighborhood ends up accepting it and seeing it as a very significant dedication, we can be assured that no one will forget the painter lady because of her determination and how she proved everyone wrong.
In conclusion, this story teaches us many things including perseverance, determination, and change. The message that the author was trying to tell us is that sometimes things can change for the better, and we should try to embrace that instead of completely being prejudiced against it and before even knowing what it is, already rejecting the thought of it. Many times, people can surprise us in the weirdest ways, and it's unfair for them that we immediately assume something about what they are capable of and how it will influence us. My opinion on this story is that it is very clear about what it wants to tell, but we have to read it multiple times to completely understand the message and the whole entire thought process behind it. I believe that the painter lady might have been unclear about what she wanted to do and a little untrustworthy, but if she received more support, this whole process might have been less agitating and much more pleasant. The painter ladies cousin was respected at the end and all is well, but we cannot help imagining what might have happened if everyone just tried to understand the painter lady or if she had just given up as a whole.
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