The Third Life Of Grange Copeland Analysis

(title)

Chiang, Chi-Hsuan

History of US South

Class: MW at 1600-1715

(title) – 4-5 pages

The Third Life of Grange Copeland is a novel by Alice Walker about a black sharecropper’s life in rural Georgia. Grange’s life begins his married life with Margaret as an optimistic sharecropper. By the time Brownfield is born, however, the white landowner's exploitation of Grange's labor, resulting in irreversible indebtedness, and spawned hopeless frustration. Therefore, Grange's rage is misdirected to his wife and son. On the other hand, Brownfield determines not to work for the same white man who controlled his father. Even as he tries to break from Grange's behavior patter, he unknowingly becomes involved with Josie. Though, when Brownfield falls in love with and marries Mem, the same cycle begins again. I argue that as life constantly change, Grange and Brownfield are forced to change as well, despite the difficult and often painful choices.

Evidences of Grange’s change are throughout the novel. For example, Grange in the beginning is an angry, mean man. He rules his home with “no smiles about him” and he takes “every action as a personal affront” (Walker, 9-10). Grange is so fed up with his life that he decided to simply walk away. Before he does, he looks in on his son, Brownfield, as the child feigns sleep: "He saw him reach down to touch him. He saw his hand stop; just before it reached his cheek -- He saw his father's hand drawback, without touching him. He saw him turn sharply and leave the room" (Walker, 25). This showed how distant Grange had gotten from his family. He wasn’t even able to touch his son. Grange had gone up north at this point. However, when Grange returns from the North, he fi...

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...ilty, Brownfield, and neither one of us is going to move a step in the right direction until we admit it,” Grange told Brownfield (Walker, 265). By taking responsibility, instead of blaming someone else, Grange has changed into a man.

Grange does question himself if he actually has to power to change, even after taking the responsibility the troubles he caused. He explains his dilemma to Ruth: “The trouble with numbness is that it spreads to all your organs, mainly at heart. Pretty soon after I don't hear the white folks crying for help I don't hear the black. Maybe I don't even hear you” (Walker, 268). Although he wants to change and knows that he has in some ways, he wonders if it’s too late. Ruth is there to assure him that he has. She tells him, "You'd hear me all right!” (Walker, 268). Ruth is there to provide love and reassurance that Grange needs.