Analysis Of Alice Walker And The Black Power Movement

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the story of a poor black woman living in the south between World War 1 and World War 2. This was at a time when, although slavery had ended,many women were still virtually in bondage, and had to put up with many conditions that was reminiscent of the days of slavery. The problem was that they had to endure being treated like an inferior being by their own families sometimes, as well as from the white people that lived there. It was a life that was filled with misery for many black women, and they felt helpless to do anything about their situations.

In Alice Walker’s, Nineteen Fifty-Five, a young white singer, Traynor, acquires song rights from an African American rhythm and blues singer, Gracie Mae. The song makes Traynor rich and famous. Obsessed with finding out the song’s meaning, Traynor remains in contact with Gracie Mae through letters, gifts, and visits. The conflict of the story is in Traynor’s inability to ascertain the meaning of the song. Traynor eventually passes away, without ever resolving the conflict.

Walkers essay is great of getting her audience to reminisce on the past by describing some childhood memories of life on the farm with the use of her beautiful language to share an image in Walkers memory.

James Baldwin’s novel Sonny’s Blues puts focus on the relationship between the narrator and Sonny whom are siblings. The narrator feels obligated to watch over Sonny as a result of his mother’s dying wish. The story takes place in Harlem as the center of African American culture at that time, a neighborhood deeply affected by poverty and crime, where there was once a culturally enthusiastic community of artists and musicians. The use of symbols such as light and darkness and Sonny’s experiences with music all contribute to the theme of hope, warmth and despair expressed in the relationship between the siblings and the setting of Harlem.

A feather landed in a splatter of yellow paint on the dusty concrete, and was trampled by the passersby as they hurried past in their haste to get to the highlight of the fair: the prized bird judging. Ellie sat in a corner perched on the edge of her stool, cheered by the queue of people waiting for her to paint their portrait. As an Art student, she used the money she earned from selling her paintings at the local markets and fairs to pay her tuition fees, her rent and feed herself.

Sonny’s Blues digs deeply into the “Negro American” during Civil Rights and Jim Crow Era’s. Set in Harlem, New York in the 1950’s. James Baldwin’s stories give insight based on events of his culture and this becomes apparent through the analysis of the characters in Sonny’s Blues. James Baldwin uses his talents to paint a vivid picture of African American life through a fictional story of two brothers who chose very different path’s in life in order to achieve the pinnacle of self-expression and acceptance.

In his short story, Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin picks the motifs music and light and dark to reinforce and reveal that the source of suffering is racism and it must be controlled to be coped with.

“Sonny’s Blues” was written by James Baldwin and it is a story between two brothers with a couple years apart from each other that only had in common their blood. Sonny and his brother, the narrator, have two completely different lives and thoughts about the world around them. They were both affected by the environment where they were raised, but the effects of this world were the opposite in the two brothers. This story is the reflection of how two people from the same family and place can be affected in two totally different ways by the world and have distinct paths. Baldwin’s story is also about how the life choices of one can bring consequences to the other, in this case specifically, how the narrator choices affected his brother’s life

     Alice Walker is an African American essayist, novelist and poet. She is described as a “black feminist.”(Ten on Ten) Alice Walker tries to incorporate the concepts of her heritage that are absent into her essays; such things as how women should be independent and find their special talent or art to make their life better. Throughout Walker’s essay entitled “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” I determined there were three factors that aided Walker gain the concepts of her heritage which are through artistic ability, her foremothers and artistic models.

Alice Walker's short fictional story, "Nineteen Fifty-five", revolves around the encounters among Gracie Mae Still, the narrator, and Traynor, the "Emperor of Rock and Roll." Traynor as a young prospective singer purchases a song from Mrs. Still, which becomes his "first hit record" and makes him rich and famous. Yet, he does not "even understand" the song and spends his entire life trying to figure out "what the song means." The song he sings seems as fictional as certain events in this story, but as historical as Traynor's based character, Elvis Presley.

Diaspora, is the spreading of people from where they originally came from. In many African American literacy texts, there are aspects of Diaspora throughout the story. Some of these Diasporic themes are power, trauma, and family. These themes help the reader to understand how these things can continue to be present after being separated or generations later. In the texts, The Color Purple, Breathe, Eyes, Memory, and Homegoing the authors tell the themes of power, trauma, and family through their characters stories, and shed light on culture and traditions.

“In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” Alice Walker talks about the hardships that black women had to face. She uses different ways to describe how black creativity has survived throughout the harsh times. She explains through the stories of women to tell the readers that African American women did not have the luxury to use their gifts, talents, and their abilities. She incorporates stories from her own family history and some from other people’s family history.They were not allowed to express who they were as individuals and instead were forced in to hard labor. Nonetheless, the women still managed to pass down their gifts to their children. If these are her theoretical statements about the vision of art “Everyday Use” is a story that fits

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use” she creates a conflict between characters. Walker describes a family as they anxiously await the arrival of, Dee, the older sister of the family. When Dee (Wangero) comes home to visit Mrs. Johnson and Maggie, right away the readers see the differences in the family by how they talk, act, and dress. Dee has changed her name to an "African" name and is collecting the objects and materials of her past. Dee thinks that since she is in college she knows mores then the rest of her uneducated family. She is more educated and looks down on the simple life of her mother and sister. When Dee asks for a beautiful family heirloom quilt to hang on her wall, Mrs. Johnson finally denies her of this task. Mrs. Johnson finally sees that Dee does not want the quilt for the same purpose as Maggie does. Instead, Mrs. Johnson will give Maggie the quilt to keep her and her husband warm. The theme of the importance of heritage becomes clear at this point of the story. This theme is shown by Walker's use of conflict, irony, and symbolism. All throughout her short story she incorporates heritage. She describes it as a background feeling between family members, and African heritage to heirlooms that have been in the family line for generations. Dee the older sister takes her heritage for granted by only wanting her heirlooms for her educational purposes.

In our everyday lives whether we notice it or not, disrespect towards gender and racism surrounds us and it begins to affect individuals not only physically but emotionally and socially as well. In Alice Walkers novel, The Color Purple, the topic of racism is strongly emphasized and shown throughout novel. Due to Celie’s race and gender roles played, she resists the urge to speak up for herself resulting in silence. In addition, it is through the love and support of other characters like Shug, in which tempts and inspires Celie to stand up for herself. Lastly, through all the troubles Celie faces, she eventually finds the strength in herself to leave Albert and start her life afresh. In The Color Purple, the author develops the idea that discrimination based on gender or race limits one’s opportunities and results in lack of independence and silence, ultimately suggesting that only through the influence of positive models for change can one develop the strength to change their life for the better.

Black Feminism argues that sexism, class oppression and racism are linked together. Mainstream feminism that more than often benefits white women, strives to overcome class and gender oppression, however they do not recognise that race can discriminate against women also. Activist, Alice Walker states that black women experience a different kind of oppression when compared to their white counterparts. Professor of Sociology and social activist, Patricia Hill Collins summarises that Black feminism is ‘a process of self-conscious struggle that empowers women and men to actualise a humanist vision of community.’ Her quote welcomes individuals of any gender, whom understands black women’s struggle to fight with them. [Collins, 1991:39]