Elements of an Essay Voice “To be an artist and a black woman, even today lowers our status in many respects, rather than raises it and yet, artists we will be." Alice Walker uses a determined voice, determined to be an artist and prove to the whole world how great black women are. Also, this comes amid knowing that being a black woman and at the same time an artist does not earn one respect in the society. Style “Below this quilt I saw a note that says it was made by "an anonymous Black woman in Alabama, a hundred years ago." If we could locate this "anonymous" black woman from Alabama, she would turn out to be one of our grandmothers-an artist who left her mark in the only materials she could afford, and in the only medium her position in …show more content…
In the above quote, Alice makes use of repetition to emphasize how black women were treated in those days. She uses the word "only" twice to show that black women were not allowed to make progress in what they were doing and so they could not afford quality materials to express their art. Structure: Description “What then are we to make of Phillis Wheatley, a slave, who owned not even herself? This sickly, frail black girl who required a servant of her own at times-her health was so precarious-and who, had she been white, would have been easily considered the intellectual superior of all the women and most of the men in the society of her day”. Alice Walker uses description to win over the hearts of black women. She gives a vivid picture of a frail and sickly woman who despite her health and having to work for a white lady managed to write poems. And because she lived in a world that enslaved black women let alone provide them with primary education, her prowess was never recognized. Ideas “But this is not the end of the story, for all the young women-our mothers and grandmothers, ourselves-have not perished in the wilderness. And if we ask ourselves why, and search for and find the answer, we will know beyond all efforts to erase it from our minds, just exactly who, and of what, we black American women
The black women’s interaction with her oppressive environment during Revolutionary period or the antebellum America was the only way of her survival. Playing her role, and being part of her community that is not always pleasant takes a lot of courage, and optimism for better tomorrow. The autonomy of a slave women still existed even if most of her natural rights were taken. As opposed to her counterparts
This piece of auto biographical works is one of the greatest pieces of literature and will continue to inspire young and old black Americans to this day be cause of her hard and racially tense background is what produced an eloquent piece of work that feels at times more fiction than non fiction
Kara Walker’s piece titled Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b 'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart represents discrimination on basis of race that happened during the period of slavery. The medium Walker specializes in using paper in her artwork. This piece is currently exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art. Even though this artwork depicts slavery, discrimination is still an issue today in America, the country where people are supposedly free and equal. Even though slavery ended in the 19th century, we still see hints of racial discrimination for African Americans in our society. Walker uses color, image composition, and iconography to point out evidence of racial inequality that existed in the
Tera Hunter througly analyzes in To Joy My Freedom the experiences of the working black women after the civil war in the south. She focuses on the hopefulness and positism of the hard working African American women through the termination of the civil war all the way to the strife and struggles they had to go through laboring . She also focused on the demanding and defining of freedom for the african american women.
Walker delves into the subconscious and ever-present spirituality that is found in African-American women and she believes that it is important to identify with this.
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2000. Print.
In her essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens," Alice Walker speaks first about the untouchable faith of the black women of the post-Reconstruction South. She speaks highly of the faith and undying hope of these women and their families. She even comes to recognize them as saints as she describes their faith as "so intense, deep, unconscious, the they themselves were unaware of the richness they held" (Walker 694). In a passage in which she speaks about the treatment and social status of the women of the sixteenth century, Woolf explains that a woman who might have had a truly great gift in this time "would have surely gone crazy, shot herself, or ended up in some lonely cottage on the outside of town, half witch, half wizard, feared and mocked" (Woolf 749). Her use of some of these powerful nominative shows that she feels strongly about what she is writing. Also for her, life growing up and stories she may have heard may have influenced this passage greatly.
Walker’s character Mama gives the readers insight to the thoughts and feelings of a traditional African-American mother of the late 1960's to early 1970's. She has seen her two daughters turn into two very different women as they grew up from adolescence. Mama’s position in the story is that of a strong parental figure, who has taken on the role of both father and mother for her small family, and her character is a perfect example of Walker’s “womanist” views (“Womanist” par 1). As Mama describes herself, she is clearly embarrassed of her outward appearance but takes pride in her own masculine strength. She also regretfully states that she was never educated past the second grade, saying, “After second grade the school was closed down. Don't ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now” (Walker par 13). However, this lack of education did no...
Events in history have influenced writers’ style, and the importance in their stories. Alice Walker wrote a novel which was very much subjective by the time period of the 1940’s. There was a great deal of bigotry and tyranny during that time, particularly for Women of color. Women were mentally and physically abused and belittled by man purely because of their race and femininity. Women were considered as ignorant individuals that simply knew how to handle housework and care for the children.
• AW calls herself “a womanist “, her term for a black feminist. She is one of the female Afro-American writers founding the concept “New Black Renaissance” .
Ryan, Bryan, ed. “Alice Walker.” Major 20th Century Writers. Vol. 4. R-Z. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1991.
In that time, Walker become an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement. She began to fight for the rights of all African Americans. She was also able to stand up for the Black Feminist Movement. Due to her life experiences she put it down all on
Throughout The Color Purple, Alice Walker conveys the importance and the power of female friendship in all forms. It shapes and forms the strong bond of female companionship as means of refuge from oppression, male dominance and a world full of violence perpetrated against woman which the female protagonists wish to break free from. Walker constantly reminds the reader of the gruelling pursuit of identity that all are in search for, both in Africa and America; for females to gain equal recognition as individuals who deserve fair and just treatment in a patriarchal society where as Albert states “Men suppose to wear the pants" in soceity. In conclusion, not only leading Celies personal growth as independent woman but also to the extraordinary establishment of a female solidarity network within the novel. It is this network of female friends that wages a potent challenge to dominate over the patriarchal structure in the text.
Having won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, and also the National Book Award for Fiction, Alice Walker will forever be noted in history for breaking the literary barrier in African American literature. She not only conveyed the importance of blacks, but also distinguished the necessity of African American women in America. “ No one has ever written a novel which so unequivocally posits that the lives and freedom of black women are of crucial importance and concern (insert 111)
In this Alice Walker story, the reader meets a girl named Celie. In this novel, Walker takes the reader on a journey through much of Celie’s life. While taking the reader through this tale, Walker draws attention to a number of social aspects during this time period. Through Cilie’s life, Walker brings to light the abuse and mistreatment of African American women from 1910 through the 1940’s. “Women were also regarded as less important than men – both Black and white Black women double disadvantage.