Alice Walker Talk About Her General Life From Childhood - 1925 Words

Alice Walker: Talk About Her General Life From Childhood (Annotated Bibliography Sample) Content: NameProfessorCourseAlice WalkerAlice walker and African American was born on 9th Feb 1944 in Eatonton. She is the youngest in family of eight. Alice is a novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and activist for racial civil rights. Her work is based on economic hardship, racial terror and subject of African American life and culture. Walker brought to light to equality, peace and recognition of black women and children in the society. Suffering changed her life to activism and resistance to patriarchy which later wounded to writing (Lauret, 7)Walker early life was characterized with poverty and discrimination but her parents were hardworking (Donnelly, 11). Her father Willie Walker was a sharecropper in farm owned by a white man. Minnie Tallulah her mother worked on cotton fields but later changed to maid. Her parents were against white men who allowed young children to work in plantations denied them chance for education. Her mother worked for over 11 hours to ensure her daughter gets education.She enrolled first grade when she was 4 years old. Growing in old tradition, Walker used to listen to stories from her grandfather (Walker Shiloh, 45). This led her start in writing stories privately at the age of 8. She started writing in secret without the knowledge of her parents. In 1952, Alice was wounded on the right eye by BB gun shot by her brother. Alice started to become self-conscious and shy when a scar tissue layer formed on her eye. She totally lost self-esteem and only found solace in reading and writing poetry. Though she lost her sight permanently, the scar was later removed and she regained confidence. She recorded improvement in her academics, social life and self-esteem (Chirhart, Ann S, Betty Wood Kathleen, 399). She was then awarded the queen prize.After high school, Alice joined Spelman College on full scholarship. Later on 1961 she was transferred to Sarah Lawrence College due to the efforts of Staughton Lynd. While in Sp elman, Alice gained interest in civil rights movement due to the influence of Howard Zinn professor in the college and Staughton Lynd. Her parents fight for better living wages, building schools and their take on white landlords misusing young children in plantation and positivity in education drove her further to activism. She became active in feminist, environmental, and animal rights causes and was against female genital mutilation. She took part in activist movement in March 1963 at Washington. After transferring, she continued in activism. After interacting with poets Jane Cooper and Murier while in Sarah College, Alice urge of becoming a writer grew bigger. Her first writings in college was received positively. It surprised the entire faculty. Finally she graduated in 1965 with honors. Activism shaped her interest on Africa where she stimulated Africans Americans to look for their roots in Africa.Alice Walker visited Martin Luther king Junior after Luther recognized her atten dance of Youth World Peace Festival in Finland. On credit of Martin Luther junior, Walker volunteered to return to Mississippi to establish civil rights for the illiterate poor blacks. She conducted campaigns for welfare rights, children programs and voter registration drives. During this period, Alice muted a bit from writing. She purely engaged in activism majorly focusing on women struggle against racist, sexist and violence. While working in South, she met Melvyn Levental a white Jewish civil rights lawyer whom they fell in love. They married in 1967 despite her mother going against their union due to fears of safety for family and friends. This was due to the so called illegal biracial marriage condemnation by colonial whites. They were harassed and threatened by whites including Ku Klan who were against the inter-racial marriages. The couple later divorced in 1976 after getting one child called Rebecca.Alice Walker resumed writing when she joined Ms Magazine (Gale, section 1). She majored on short stories and poetry. An article she did in 1975 on Ms Magazine showed renewal of her passion in writing. Her first published fiction book is The Third Life of Grange Copeland published in 1970 and the 2nd she published 6years later. Generally, her writing focused on role of African American women in culture and history. The novel The color purple worn Pulitzer Prize for fiction and American book award in 1983. The short story The Kindred Spirit in 1986 worn the O. Henry award. In mid 1990s Alice Walker was involved in a romans with Tracy Chapman a singer and a song-writer. In 2011, she began shooting documentary film on Beauty in Truth which is about her life.Walkers writings in novels, short stories, essays and poets revolve around peace, spirituality, care for planet and devastating effects of genital mutilation. She learns from her parents demanding for living wages, building schools and defied white landlords misusing children.In the poet Once walker illustr ates experiences she underwent during Civil Right Movement and her travels to Africa. She also introduces mediation on love and suicide when she returns to US and racism still persisted (Gale, section 1). Walker used craft moves such as poor grammar and colloquial language with short sentences to express poor black Americans back then in the collection of these poems. She describe inhuman white southerners that were confronted by courageous black and white activists. From her past, she remembers her marriage that was condemned by racist.In the poem Good Night, Willie Lee, Ill see you in the Morning explore themes on earlier poems and exploits her family and personal life. Walker explains forgiveness as a lesson from her mother who endured a lot from forgiveness. All rotating along her father death. She reveals her mothers emotions above the casket of her father. Look down into my fathers dead face for the last time my mother said without tears, without smiles without regrets (Lazo, 77). Here she returns to the realm of personal using her grandfathers long solid relationship to celebrate family bond and friendship.The poem Absolute trust in the Goodness of the earth Walker depicts emotions through her life. She feels she has accomplished her career with peace after all the past experience. It was inspired by terrorist attack in September 2001. It is more of thanks she seem to express. Walker explores how to live life as an individual and as a spiritual community. She continuously challenges readers on how they see race relations and how to improve it. She sees herself as someone who appreciates womans culture, emotions and character. Apart from her writings, Walker publicly talks of oppressions and advices people to contribute in eradicating it. The collection of poems under this title reaffirms her as the best American writers. She opens up the feeling of broad spectrum of understanding emotions. She illustrates her experience in life and beauty of existence. In the novel The Color purple Walker unfolds untold stories of black women who withstood gaudiest racist, sexist and any abuse against feminism society could offer. She also includes their triumphant entry to sexual awakening and self-realization. Generally, the novel is an amalgam of all women reflecting slavery and oppression and how they extricate.For real fans of Walker novels, The Color Purple is one of best novel pampered with colorful characters. Celie is the main character in this novel. Celie writes misery of childhood starting from incest, physical abuse and loneliness in her letter to God. Wal...