Working with the Past
No one knows with certainty what really happen to African-Americans during , in my opinion, the worst historical moments of our American culture. The deliberated effort to intentionally destroy the African culture was insidious, yet only through the "creative spirit" of many of them, we can now have a small glimpse of what happen, how did women survive, where do they get their strength, and what message they impart with their children. Working with Past is itself a creative work of art, an effort to recapitulate the experiences faced by African-American women, their creative spirit, and how they have been able to passed down this spirit through generation , as Walker states, " in spite of societal barriers (p.902). I have, for the many years I lived in this country, read and study about the history of Blacks1 in this country, despite my own sense of rage, and disbelief, I still can not been begin to image how as group Blacks in this country survived. Personally I was touch by Walker's essay because she is able to convey, with elegant pros
Yet, mothers and grandmothers, created history and transferred their values, feelings, efforts, creatively through music, dance, storytelling, and their ability to endured the duress of the times. Knowing and discovering the many facets of the mothers, grandmothers, experiences, even those, which seemed to be insignificant, Walkers found the inspiration to become a writer, as her mother express her art in the garden. e and intellectual finesse, how at that period of time, despite the limited freedom they have, history was transferred, mostly through mother and grandmothers, and as such Black history is a family matter (p. Using the work of Virginia Wolf from her book A Room of One's Own as a background to illustrate, her point, that African-American women, they neither had the privileged to have " a room of her own, or enough money to support herself" nor they had the freedom to express herself. Walker portraits Phillis Weathey experience as one faced by many Black women, 'snatched from their home and country, and deprived of the very essence of her roots, self-expression, and this "notion of song" Black women kept alive the history of their ancestors (p. 742) This passage illustrates what Walker called " contrary instincts" the African American writers of that time, Phillis Wheatley, Zora Hurston, write about their experiences within the context of their life, with loyalties divided. Certainly, the privacy, and the money, described by Virginia Wolf, was only a privileged that much later, perhaps in our times, is the privileged of some African-American writers. The creative spirit of Black women is alive today, ' it pops out in wild and unlikely places.
Common topics in this essay:
Phillis Weathey,
,
Virginia Wolf,
African- American,
Eaton Georgia,
One's Own,
Zora Hurston,
black women,
African American,
virginia wolf,
mothers grandmothers,
creative spirit,
women creative spirit,
history transferred,
women creative,
african-american women,
gift poetry,
phillis weathey,
contrary instincts,
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Acceptance Essays
