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A essay on alice walker 1 page
African american literature essay
A essay on alice walker 1 page
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Realism is often portrayed by writers such as Alice Walker. Her poems, essays, short stories, and novels portray her views on feminism and civil rights while giving a realist approach that has provoked readers for many years. Her horrific and brutally honest writing style made the world see a different view of minority women and allowed her to receive the Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Color Purple (“Alice Walker”). She lived a life of poverty and racial discrimination, which led her to become an opinionated feminist. Walker’s realistic writing style portrays her obscure upbringing and her feminist opinions; in her work The Color Purple, she shows the aspects of growing up as a minority woman and the frequency of racial discrimination.
The straight forward, honest writings of Walker allow her to be classified as a realist writer. Realism originated in nineteenth century France and extended into the early twentieth century. It is characterized by writing where one “describe[s] life without any idealization or romantic subjectivity“ (Writers History). Instead of romanticizing, as many other authors did, this kind of writing is meant to portray things as they truly are; sometimes this includes: intense images, hurtful speech, and morally unjust topics. Walker used this form of writing to show audiences how life was in the South, which makes many readers remorseful for the nation's unjust past. In her novel, The Color Purple, Walker makes readers question everything in his or her life; she uses incestuous relationships between the protagonist, Celie, and her father to scare readers and open their eyes to what has happened in America's history. Incestuous relationships between father and daughter were common in the early 1900s. In ...
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Bobo, Jacqueline. "JUMP CUTA REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA." Black women's responses to "The Color Purple" by Jacqueline Bobo. N.p., 28 Feb. 1988. Web. 30 Apr.
2014.
Flowers, R. Barri. Sex crimes, predators, perpetrators, prostitutes, and victims: an examination of sexual criminality and victimization. Springfield, Ill.: C.C. Thomas, 2001. Print.
Walker, Alice. The color purple: a novel. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Print.
Whitted, Qiana. "Alice Walker (b. 1944)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 26 November 2013. Web. 02 May .
"Writers History." Writers History. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. .
It is this epistolary form of storytelling that allows the characters introduced to the reader by the character of Celie to reveal themselves their roles and their culture in an authentic sounding way. Celie, writes as she speaks, in a colloquial manner not normally considered 'proper English' For example the word 'us' is substituted for 'we' and there are misspelled and phonetically spelled words throughout. In other novels, when a character's speech is written in colloquial language it usually signals their comedic role in the story. However, in the beginning of The Color Purple, Celie's letters to God, poignantly (sometimes painfully so)reveal the confessional narrative of a young girl whose sex and race excludes her from formal education. She can say plainly what is happening to her but she cannot interpret he actions of the people around her. She must unburden herself somehow and courageously breaks the silence with her letters to God.
Alice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers. Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome arduous lessons of life. Once she managed to transfer the struggles of her life into a book, she instantaneously became a world-renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner. The Color Purple is a riveting novel about the struggle between redemption and revenge according to Dinitia Smith. The novel takes place rural Georgia, starting in the early 1900s over a period of 30 years. Albert, also known as Mr._____, and his son Harpo must prevail over their evil acts towards other people, especially women. Albert and Harpo wrong many people throughout their lives. To be redeemed, they must first learn to love others, then reflect upon their mistakes, and finally become courageous enough to take responsibility for their actions. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker effectively develops Albert and Harpo through redemption using love, reflection, and responsibility.
Lister, Rachel . "Gender and Sexuality in The Color Purple ." Alice Walker: The Color Purple. : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. . Print.
Many authors use the themes oppression and victory to define a struggle. This technique allows readers to relate with characters on a personal level. Alice Walker constantly uses this theme in her short story “Everyday Use” with her character Maggie and in her book The Color Purple with her character Celie. Both tales depict these women as underdogs who overcome obstacles to realize her full potential at the end.
• Alice Walker herself has said: “I believe it is from this period – from my solitary, lonely position, the position of an outcast – that I began really to se people and things, really to notice relationships and to learn to be patient enough to care about how they turned out...”
Alice Walker pours events and conflicts from her life into her works, using her rural roots as settings and Ebonics she brings her stories to life. Everyday Use and The Color Purple reflected the negative views Alice walker took upon herself because of her deformity. While also showing how things were in the Jim Crow era; where African-Americans were not afforded the same opportunities of whites. These two works explore events from her entire family, not just events she faced solely on her own. While also having the same rural setting as Walker’s Georgia upbringing. In this paper, I will go into detail of Alice’s two works Everyday Use and The Color Purple and what events are reflected in these works.
Alice Walker’s writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings around her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walker’s most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns women’s struggle for freedom in a society where they are viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel.
Alice Walker, "The Color Purple." ENGL 3060 Modern and Contemporary Literature, a book of 2003. Web. The Web. The Web.
The novel, The Color Purple, is an epistolary novel. In the letterforms, Alice Walker gives several ideas, such as, friendship, domination, courage & independence. She impacts readers by looking at the story through the eyes of Celie and Nettie. The book describes the fateful life of a young lady. It tells how a 14 year old girl fights through all the steps and finally she is in command for her own life. Celie is the young lady who has been constantly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused.
Ryan, Bryan, ed. “Alice Walker.” Major 20th Century Writers. Vol. 4. R-Z. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1991.
February 9, 1944, Alice Tallulah-Kate Walker was born in a rural county in Eatonton, Georgia, unknown to the world at this time but “she would become a woman of deep sensitivity” (Bates). Alice grew up in an environment full of racism and poverty. These two factors, along with her passion for gender issues, remain a large part of her narratives. Her role in literature took a high position in not only women studies and African American literature but also American literature as well (Bates). Alice Walker is a very well known and respected author. She is an accomplished American poet, novelist, and activist. Beginning her career in writing in 1970, The Color Purple is the third novel she wrote, for
“Everyday use” by Alice Walker, was set in the early 1970s when many African American were struggling to define their social and cultural identity. It was a time when many blacks were looking back to their African roots in an effort to reconnect with their ancestors and struggling to reject their American heritage which was dominated by injustice and painful histories. Alice Walker try to clarify this double consciousness problem in “ Everyday Use” by pointing out that one can be black and still embrace his African heritages without losing his American identity.
The novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the story of a poor, young black girl, growing up in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century. The novel follows the protagonist, Celie, as she experiences such hardships as racism and abuse, all the while attempting to discover her own sense of self-worth. Celie expresses herself through a series of private letters that are initially addressed to God, then later to her sister Nettie. As Celie develops from an adolescent into an adult, her letters possess m...
Klosowski, John E. "The Color Purple and Its True Color." Houston Cronicle. December 14, 1995 : 42-44.
One of the most popular works by Walker was, The Color Purple. 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 doubly disadvantage. Black women of the era were often treated as slaves or as property” (Tavormina page 2...