Alice Walker - Living as a Woman of Color in America - Coursework Example

Alice Walker – Living as a Woman of Color in America When Alice Walker was a little girl in asmall town call Eatonton, Georgia, when her life changed before her very eyes. While playing with her brother, Walker was accidentally shot her in the eye with a BB gun by him. With her parents being so poor that they didnt take her to the hospital immediately. By the time they did get her some medical attention, it was too late, she was already blind in that eye. This injury forced her to look at the world in a way that she had never seen it before. With that new vision, we have great works from her as we know it today. Walker is known for works like, Once: Poems, "Goodnight, Willie Lee, Ill See You in the Morning"; "You Cant Keep a Good Woman Down", and The Color Purple. Although these works are all different forms such as short stories, novels and poems, they all have one thing in common: her personal experiences or someone close to her. Walkers style of writing reflects events that happened in her own personal life, as well as in the lives of family members. These experiences are shown in works such as The Color Purple and The Way Forward Is With A Broken Heart. Walker reflects her own personal events throughout her work in many ways; for instance her first book of poetry, Once. She put these poems together acknowledging the hurt of an early pregnancy and abortion, which she considered a social experience shared by others that transcended her individual experience (Winchell 1). This collection of poems started her in the writing business. She wrote these poems during a short, frantic week following a harrowing abortion while at Sarah Lawrence (Davis 2). Another poem that shows her families experiences in her work is in Revolutionary Petunias. " These poems are about those few embattled souls who remain painfully committed to beauty and to love even while facing the firing squad" (Byerman 4). She was referring to members of her own family when she said " embattled souls." These members included her sister, her uncles and her grandmother, Rachel Walker: My grandfather turns his creaking head away from the lavender box. He does not cry. But looks afraid. For years he called her "woman"; shortened over the decades to "Oman." On the cut stone for "Omans" grave he did not notice they had misspelled her name (Tate 7). This example shows how she uses experiences from her family members. In the poem above, Walker was writing about the state her grandfather was in while he was attending the funeral of his deceased wife Rachel. One of her latest works The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart is one of the best examples of her own personal experiences being reflected in her writing. Walton notes that this collection of stories begins as a love letter to her former husband, with whom she raised a daughter, but divorced after ten years together. "She details how the once-vibrant relationship deteriorated into a fragile marriage, damaged by the racial tensions of the time and the slow death of communication." (Howard 8) This is exactly what happened to her relationship with her former husband, who was a white, Jewish civil- rights attorney. So this ties right in with her collection The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart. Walker takes the reader into her personal life filled with things from love to relationships. Writers from near and far have all agreed that Alices work is very personal. Robert Allen, staff writer for The Dallas Morning News wrote that Alice Walkers books are intense and very personal. Author Molly Hite, wrote that when Ms. Walker was involved in the Civil Rights movement that she wrote about the Movement in some of her early poetry and short stories. It was Meridian though that she really put her experiences from the Movement in. According to Hite, Walker used her experiences in the Movement and the experience of others of her generation to deal with the social, political, and philosophical issues raised by the Movement. Walkers work would not have had the personal feeling that it has if she didnt put her related experiences into her work. Its like being a Spanish professor, teaching about the beauties of say, Brazil, but not ever being there to experience those beauties. What good is it, if youve never had first hand experiences there? On the other hand, if youve visited that foreign country and were able to experience the culture and people there, then when it was time to teach, youd be able to add your personal touch on the subject that you were teaching. This is exactly what Alice Walker does. She puts her own personal icing on the cake, and makes it that much better for the reader to read. This is why the majority of her main characters are African American women. I think this is why Alice Walker uses predominately black women in her work because it is whom she knows. Alice walker stated, " The black woman is one of Americas greatest heroes.... Not enough credit has been given to the black woman who has been oppressed beyond recognition." She is a black woman and has lived in the shoes of one for many years. So, its not hard for her to write stories and poems such as "Fame" and "You Cant Keep a Good Woman Down". When it comes to writing about foreign experiences due to the fact that she wasnt alive then, she turns to older family members such as her great- grandmother. Pioneers such as her and others paved the way for Walker and even myself. An example of this is the Pulitzer Prize winning The Color Purple. Robert McHenry wrote that the novel was pretty much based on Alice Walkers great- grandmother. It depicts the life of black woman between 1909 and 1947. With this piece of history, Alice Walker ran and wrote a brilliant piece of work that ended up winning the Pulitzer prize. Once again, without knowing her great-grandmothers history and not having a sense of what went on back then, the novel could have possible failed. You could tell that she did a lot of research from her families past because of the way the characters were written. For instance, Celie came about when thinking about her great-grandmother. This could have easily been her. Celie was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse. She was looked upon as pretty much a sex slave who wasnt worth too much more than that. Walker could of came up with this because maybe as a child her great grandmother could have been taken advantage of by her slave owners. The people of that time were always being verbally abused and physically abused, so this could have came to Walkers mind when she was putting this novel together. Walker knew that a lot of the people who would be reading The Color Purple, would be African American and would be able to relate to the hardships of Celie. I know that when I saw the movie, it touched me because I have suffered the hardships similar to that of Celie, I can relate to how she felt. I think that a lot of women were able to relate to how she felt when it came to how men were treating her. Men mistreat even women of today and some have been in the same shoes as Celie and relate to the story quite well. In The Color Purple, Celie eventually comes into her own by finally leaving Albert, inheriting the farm and home of her real father, starting a sewing business that produced unisex pants, and making a home to welcome her returning sister and grown children (Brooks 6). For a long while Walker isolated herself because of her blindness and when she finally did come out of that period of isolation she began to really observe the world. So when she became successful in the world of writing she could have felt like Celie by not really thinking about her blindness, even though it would always be there. She could also represent Celies struggles. Walker has faced many hardships such as abortions, miscarriages and divorces, but was able to pick up the pieces of her life and be able to live a somewhat normal life. This is just like Celie who overcame obstacles in her life and finally found happiness. So The Color Purple in my opinion shows possibilities of her personal experiences as well as members of her familys personal experiences incorporated in the novel to give it that personal depth. Walker has definitely put her personal history in her work. She has created experiences that readers will not and cannot forget. She creates the feeling of compassion for what she does. Researching on Walker has given me a glance on how she overcame so much but still managed to succeed in life. It has showed me that yes, you may never want to go and visit some of the horrors of your past, but they will never really be forgotten so why not use them for the benefits of others. Walkers work reflects events that happened in her personal life, as well as in the lives of her family members. The Color Purple and The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart are two of her most prominent pieces of work that show these experiences. Along with racism and poverty, Walker also uses the characters in The Color Purple to demonstrate her views on family and self reliance. During Walkers senior year at Sarah Lawrence College she began suffering from extreme depression, likely due to the fact that she was pregnant. She considered committing suicide and at times kept a razor blade under her pillow. She was able to have a safe abortion with a classmates help, not the easiest procedure at the time. When asked about it, Walker described abortion as "...more than an experience of suffering beyond anything most men will ever know, it is an act of mercy, and an act of self-defense." Walkers abortion helped her appreciate life and family more. In her novel, Walker demonstrates her belief in importance of family through Celies character. When she was an adolescent, Celies two children were taken from her right after their births. Celie spent her entire life wondering about the family that was taken from her. Her only other tie to her family is her sister Nettie. Nettie is the first person Celie has ever loved; a love withstands not only time, but also distance. Both Celie and Nettie spend their lives fighting to be together, and neithers lives are complete until they are finally reunited at the end of the novel. While Walker realizes the need of family, she also understands the requirement of self reliance. In the book The Color Purple, Celie writes "Shug write me she coming home. Now. Is this life or not? I be so calm. If she come, I be happy. If she dont, I be content. And then I figure this the lesson I was suppose to learn." Celie, through the death of her mother, and the theft of her sisters letters, has learned to rely on herself. While she cares for Shug very deeply, she knows that her life can go on with out her. Celie has come to realize that she doesnt need Shug to live, that she must also be content with her life. Walker also learned self-reliance at a young age. The youngest daughter of a large, poor family, Walker earned her way into a very prestigious College on a scholarship. Despite a physical disability, she was blind in one eye following a childhood accident, her race, her sex and her social status, Walker managed to overcome all of the things that hold most people like her back. Walker is one of Americas most praised black writers. She has worked hard for her education and her well deserved literary acclaim. Conclusion Women have become a driving force in literature today and one of the most influential and respected of these women that have fought to have their voice heard is Ms. Alice Walker. From humble beginnings, Ms. Walker has made it her lifes work to become a voice for countless women that havent been able to make their own known. Fighting many battles of her own has given Alice the strength and wisdom to share, through her writing, the unseen and often secret battles of women past and present. She expresses, through her many works, the true empowerment of the spirit that comes with self discovery and hardship, making her a true literary genius in my eyes. It comes as no surprise that Alice Walker could produce such a novel with the theme of feminism and equal rights, being that she has been involved in the quest since its beginnings. While a teacher at Wellesley College, Alice started one of the first womens studies courses in the nation, a womens literature course aimed at making the voices of women, African American and others, heard in the long male dominated world of writing. Even in recent years, she has remained active in her role of feminist with her becoming a spokeswoman for women subjected to ritual genital mutilation. Though she came from humble beginnings in Georgia with her poor sharecropper parents, Walker has become a voice that is not to be ignored in the speaking out of women in a male-dominated society. In her writing of The Color Purple, Alice Walker took the plight of the struggling woman and the relationship that helped her to be reborn and turned it into an inspiring and encouraging tale for all of womankind to treasure. She paints the story of one woman, through frustration and hardship, who discovers the proficient and proud woman repressed inside of a young, "hush-mouthed" girl. I believe that "The Color Purple" will always be regarded as a pivotal literary mark in the ongoing struggle of womankind and I commend Ms. Walker for her accomplishment in achieving this. Work Cited Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views Alice Walker. Chelsea House Publishers. 1989. Christian, Barbara. "Alice Walker: The Black Woman Artist as Wayward". Christian ed. Purple 148-218. Edelman, Marian. Dream Me Home Safely:Writers on Growing Up in America. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York. 2003 Harper, Michael and Anthony Walton. Every Shut Eye Aint Sleep. Little, Brown and Company. New York. 1994. Holt, Patricia. Alice Walker: Banned. Aunt Lute Books. San Francisco. 1996. Pinckney, Darryl. "Black Victims, Black Villians." The New York Review of Books. 29 January 1987, 17-20. Tate,Claudia. Black Women Writers at Work. Continuum. New York. 1993. Winnchell, Donna. Alice Walker. Twayne Publishers. New York. 1992. Read More