After reading “Brooklyn” by Paule Marshall and “One Off the Short List” by Doris Lessing, I discovered the different ways in which someone can be considered a sexual object. The first story, “Brooklyn,” was about the interaction between a Jewish professor and an African-American student. Professor Max Berman was an older white Jewish man who was attracted to a graduate student in his class. Ms. Williams is an African-American woman who is also a graduate student enrolled in Max Berman's class. Both characters have been alienated from their culture. The Story of Brooklyn tells the story of a professor Max Berman who is attracted to a graduate student, Ms. Williams. Mr. Berman was a sixty-three year old cigarette smoker; it's about him smoking them as if he were a chain smoker. Looks like he was smoking them in class. He had married twice. He was fired by the company because he was a communist, he was fired from his old jobs. He wanted to escape his past situations by investing in a relationship with Mrs. Williams. William was a black woman who was taught not to trust white people by her parents. She was also taught not to speak with people darker than her. So, having a conversation with Mr. Berman made her confront her problems. She also had the opportunity to converse with Mr. Berman, as it helped her become a little more open-minded. Berman was interested in his student, Mrs. Williams, because of her loneliness. He asked her to stay after class so he could talk to him about the homework she had given him. He replied, “But I found it so interesting that I wanted to give it to you privately.” It was his way of breaking the unknown between the two of them. He also wanted the opportunity to get to know him...... middle of paper ...... While being with her, he told her about his sexual desires. These were his only desires. When he saw that she was not interested, he continued his sexual acts. Barbara Cole reacted to Graham Spence's attempts to seduce her by showing signs of boredom and lack of interest. He continued to kiss, lick and grind on her even though she showed no signs of appreciating his presence. They both separated. In both stories, the women were disgusted by the way men perceived them. Barbara had sex with him to get over it and move on, while Ms. Williams decided against it and told the teacher how she felt. When women are seen as sexual objects, they then feel like prostitutes and dehumanized. Both relationships ended with the two counterparts separating. The men in these stories seem to respect the women because they are intelligent. I wonder how Graham's wife feels.