Critical Analysis
I have chosen to use my knowledge of New Criticism to analyze Alice Walker's short story "Roselily". Her short story has many meanings. We will specify on the work itself, as well as how benightedness can affect the outcome of a person's life, and how they perceive life, along with it's consequences. "Roselily" is two stories in one. The first story is about an African American woman, Roselily, who stands before the altar just about to marry an African American Muslim man. She thinks about her past, wonders about the future and is asking herself whether she is making the right decision. It describes how she indecisively stands while pondering if she will live the life she has always dreamed of. The ambiguity here is why Roselily still considers these questions at a moment when she should already have the answers to. The other overall message is about African American women in general, their history and their ongoing search for something better, for fulfillment, because at this time, African Americans are free Americans with equal rights as other Americans. Blacks are no longer slaves, however, are paid slaves in the refinement industry."Roselily" is presented to the reader through her thoughts as she lives the middle of her we
At the same time that Roselily wants to start a new life, she is afraid of losing her roots of African American Christianity. As Roselily is about to marry and go to Chicago to start a new life with her husband, she begins to regret her decision and begins to face the truth revealing her insecurity upon life and changes. One has to make sacrifices in life and begin to think more openly about other races, religions, and cultures in order to understand the world better. They all agreed that their current situation was not acceptable and should not be acceptable, but they did not know how to improve it. One might think that the world is the problem, however, not realizing that one's self is the problem. " Alice Walker has now described black American's search for identity and probably her own. She certainly doubts if what she has chosen will be better than what she has experienced in her past. Just like black Americans went from the slavery in the cotton fields to paid slavery in the sewing plants, "Roselily believes that in marrying a Muslim, she is now moving into the slavery of Islam. Which heritage is the right one; the one from their black American ancestors, or the one from the African ancestors? By not attempting to make changes or incorporate other cultures in her life, Roselily misses out on many opportunities when she beings going into detail about her life and what path she wishes to follow. Roselily also comes to realize that if she marries, her role as an independent woman changes in that "Roselily will now have to keep up with her husband as well as her four children and she will now be dependent upon her husband. " However, none have yet given her a new life. In relation to the story, it is seen that unintentional ignorance can lead to insecurity about one's self. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. Roselily is willing to leave her past and start a new life with a new man. She knows that she wants to move on to something better, yet she does not know what better is.
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