The majority of her earlier work in poetry and novels deal with the struggles of her adolescents. This is important because many young women who read her work gain so much from her perspective yet she is relatable to older people. This equality of appealing to both young and old is what has kept her words alive. One of Maya Angelou’s most famous poems, “Still I Rise” written in 1978 is an example. In the poem Angelou uses repetition and metaphors to convey to readers how she overcame racism.
She really emphasizes how tough times were for Celie through living in the racist south, having men that beat her and abused her, and how the power of female relationships especially family saved her from the terrible life she lived. Works Cited Sova, Dawn B. "The Color Purple." Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.
Living a life in middle of the age of racism and misogynists Through various genres of poetry, fiction and non-fiction Alice Walker exposes readers to the struggle of African- American women in the racist and misogynistic society of U.S. from 1960s to the 1990s. She faced many obstacles in her life time. Since young age she had to face the racist and misogynic world ,not jusr outside, but also inside her family there in where people hurt her both emotionally and physically. She lived under Jim Crow laws which banned black people from studying.. Alice became a writer after listening to her grandfather’s stories. In the age of 8 she started to wrote secretly.
This piece of autobiographical 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 In 1970, a child with skinny legs and muddy skin was introduced into African American literature. Born marguerite Johnson she became known as Maya Angelou (Lupton 51). Her critically acclaimed works have changed the way of the African American autobiography is written. Angelou well known as an entertainer was urged by James Baldwin and by the cartoonist Jules fifer and his wife Judy to try her hand at writing an autobiography. After several refuels she agreed the results was a unique series of autobiographical narratives.
Walker demonstrates through her writings that the oppression of Black women is both internal and external. Like most of the characters in her novels, Walker is a product of her racist, rural, Southern environment in which the rural Black woman faces oppression at every turn. Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1944 at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era (Whitted). Walker faced segregation and discrimination while growing up in one of the most notoriously racist Southern states of the 19th and 20th centuries. She ... ... middle of paper ... ...27 Aug. 2013.
The Diary of a Black Woman Introduction We live in a patriarchal society were inequalities amongst men and women are still very prevalent. We are improving, but every day we are striving to fight for more equality amongst the sexes, especially when it comes to voicing opinions. Women are often shunned from the thought of being outspoken, still based on the old beliefs that women should be “seen, not heard”. This collection of poetry is dedicated to giving a voice to one of the most silenced demographics in America, black women. All of these poems are written by African American women throughout various stages of their life.
She is raped repeatedly by her stepfather and is told to keep quiet about it (Walker 1). This is very demeaning to Celie and it causes her to fear men for a good portion of her life (Walker 6). Celie gets pregnant twice with her stepfather. He takes the first baby and “ kilt it out there in the woods.” The other he sells to a family in a nearby town (Walker 3-4). Celie is oppressed all throughout her life, but she learns to overcome it and support herself (Ryan 3062).
This poem has earned this title because the speaker is explaining the origins of her strength, and how she can push forward through tough times. This poem could emulate the diary of a black woman describing how she has to endure so much in life, and often time more than her peers. Not only does this black woman have to face racism and injustice due to the color of her skin, but she also has to deal with sexism and unfair treatment due to her gender. Some may see it impossible for someone to function while dealing with such a doubled head sword, but this black woman still manages to continue on her path in life despite it all. This diary entry represents the black woman’s strength.
Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston are similar in the way they portray black women. Both are political, controversial, and talented experiencing negative and positive reviews in their own communities. These two influential African-American female authors describe the southern hospitality roots. Hurston was an influential writer of the Harlem Renaissance, who died from mysterious death in the sixties. Walker who is an activist and author in the early seventies confronts sexually progression in the south through the Great Depression period (Howard 200).
Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Paule Marshall Alice Walker, through her essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens", and Paule Marshall, in "Poets In The Kitchen", both write about the African-American women of the past and how these women have had an impact on their writing. Walker and Marshall write about an identity they have found with these women because of their exposure to the African culture. These women were searching for independence and freedom. Walker expresses independence as found in the creative spirit, and Marshall finds it through the spoken word. Walker and Marshall celebrate these women's lives and they see them as inspirations to become black women writers.