Alice Walker

Term Paper # 115795

African-American Studies > Historical Figures
Literature > American
Women Studies > Historical Figures

Alice Walker

This paper examines the influences on the works of Alice Walker.

904 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper attempts to show how Alice Walker's works were shaped by her personal childhood as well as the civil rights and feminist movements during the 1960s. The paper asserts that although Walker's literary success came when the sixties were long over, she can be seen as a product of the values she absorbed during that time. The paper examines how Walker's stories contain themes of social injustice, racial bigotry and female abuse.

From the Paper:

"In the 1960s, social pressures in the United States came to a head, sparking several transformative cultural movements. Among the most prominent among these were the U.S. civil rights movement and the feminist movement. These tumultuous times had a particularly profound effect on a young black woman named Alice Walker who would go on to become one of the most important literary voices of her generation. Her stories have taken on themes of social injustice, racial bigotry, and female abuse. Although Walker's literary success came when the sixties were long over, she can be seen as a product of the values she learned during that time. Furthermore, the impact that she has had on the literary word is a direct result of having lived through the times that she did. In fact, Walker is a writer whose voice has been shaped by small personal incidents as well as seismic cultural shifts that took place during the 1960 when she was young."

Sample of Sources Used:

Alice Walker. The New Georgia Encyclopedia. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-998
Simcikova, Karla. To Live Fully, Here and Now: The Healing Vision in the Works of Alice Walker. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006
White, Evelyn C. Alice Walker: A Life. New York, NY: Norton, 2006.