Nica’s character has always stayed the same in the sense that is a closeted girl made that way because she has to stay at home taking care of her younger brother. Sonny throughout the novel tries to help her get out of this situation her parents put her through but is obligated to be the parent. From a feminist perspective she would we seen as put into a certain gender role and oppressed by not only her father but as well as her mother. Nica is forced not to go to school, to watch her brother, and iron and make lunches. Her stepfather yells at her if she doesn’t iron correctly. Her stepfather talks down to her saying “Didn’t she know how to put starch with the can? Was she a goat? Was pushing a button too hard?”(176.) The way he talks to her is talking to a person that doesn’t respect or care about. Nica stays at home to help out her family but is put down and verbally beaten into submission by her step dad. She is put into a traditional home where the women takes care of the house and family but it’s a lot of pressure to put onto a little girl. Her mother is said to be tired after work but is never there to stand up for her daughter. Nica is forced to deal with these emotions herself and left alone crying behind the sound of her radio put low because her step dad would have turned it off it was too high.
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