Analysis Of Alice Walker's Images Of Black Masculinity

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Brandon Woody ENGL-3326-101 Dr. Terrence Tucker 6/17/2015 Alice Walker?s Images of Black Masculinity ?The Third Life of Grange Copeland?, the debut novel of Alice Walker, was published during a pivotal time in literature. Along with Walker, women writers such as Toni Morrison, Germaine Greer, and Kate Millet, were offering their unfiltered views on femininity to a literary world that had long held narrow-minded standards in regard to women discussing subjects such as gender, race, and sexuality; Alice Walker?s aforementioned 1970 novel touched on all of these topics. Walker, like writers such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin, wrote of the struggles African Americans experienced as the endured …show more content…

narrative focuses on a father and son, Grange and Brownfield Copeland, and illustrates how their respective demons and destructive tendencies affect the people around them. In the opening chapter of the novel, the reader is introduced to Grange as he exhibits abusive tendencies towards his wife, Margaret, while he is in a drunken state. ?Late Saturday night Grange would come home lurching drunk, threatening to kill his wife and Brownfield, he threatened Margaret and she ran and hid in the woods with Brownfield huddled at her feet? (Walker 14). Grange?s prolific consumption of alcohol seems to be a conscious effort to blunt the feeling inferiority he feels as marginalized citizen in southern society. Grange Copeland?s fits of violent anger seems to be misdirected at his family instead of the person whom he truly hates: Shipley. Shipley?s intimidating presence presents a plethora of problems for Grange Copeland and his family. Walker illustrates that the mere sight of Shipley strikes fear into the very soul of Grange, a feeling that his young son experiences as well, ?Brownfield was afraid of his father?s silence? his father?s face froze into an unnaturally bland mask, curious and unsettling to see? …show more content…

Brownfield seeing his father paralyzed by fear when in the presence of another man causes him to lose respect for the patriarchal figure and his reverence for the Caucasian landowner to grow, ?Brownfield, trembling?filled with terror of this man who could, by his presence alone, turn his father might as well been a pebble? (Walker 10). Brownfield?s mental image of his father being a masculine figure to be respected and feared is forever ruined. Not only does Shipley cause Brownfield to become disillusioned with his father, he also creates a chasm between Grange and the most important person in his life: Margaret. The author presents a scenario towards the end of the book where Grange reminisces on a bygone time in which he failed to protect his wife from being dishonored by the man whose land he sharecrops on, ??Grange, save me! Grange, help me!? He had plugged his ears with whiskey, telling himself as he was not to blame for his wife?s unforgivable sin?he had blames Margaret he blamed Shipley, all the Shipleys in the world?

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