Alice Walker

Much of Walker’s fiction is informed by her Southern background. She was born in Eatonton, Georgia, a rural town where most blacks worked as tenant farmers. At the age eight she was blinded in the right eye when an older brother accidentally shot her with a BB gun, after which she fell into somewhat of a depression. She secluded herself from the other children, and as she explained, “I no longer felt like the little girl I was. I felt old, and because I felt I was unpleasant to look at, filled wit

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I retreated into solitude, and read stories and began to write poems. The was the first book I had read by Alice Walker, the novel traces thirty years in the life of Celie, a poor Southern black woman who is victimized physically and emotionally by her step-father and husband. ” In 1961 Walker won a scholarship to Spelman College in Atlanta, where she became involved in the civil rights movement and participated in sit-ins at local business establishments. Her work consistently reflects her concern with racial, sexual, and political issues—particularly with black woman’s struggle for survival. His traits are passed on to his son, Brownsfield, who in time murders his wife. She eventually finds peace with the help of Albert’s mistress, Shug Avery, a blues signer who gives her the courage to leave her marriage. Then she is placed in a loveless marriage to Albert, also beats and torments her continuously.

Walker is one of the most prolific black women writers in America. Not enough credit has been given to the black woman who has been oppressed beyond recognition.

The first novel written by Alice Walker “The Third Life of Grange Copeland” (1970), again carries many of her prevalent themes, particularly the domination of powerless women by equally powerless men. She met her future husband Melvyn Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights attorney, in Mississippi where she was an activist and teacher. Those who praise the book such as Peter S. Since then Walker has focused more on her writing and has taught at various colleges and universities.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 875
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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