Alice Walker

Alice WalkerVirginia DeBolt (Alice Walker speaks) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons 

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.”―Alice Walker. Alice Walker had to find power and strength in herself when nobody else supported her except herself. Walker was the youngest of eight children in her family, born in Eatonton, Georgia. Walker's brother shot her in the face with a BB gun, costing her the use of her right eye and leaving an obvious scar. Her most known novel is “The Color Purple,” written about racism and women's sexual assault. She also taught at multiple college and universities. She never would have made it without her bravery in defending what’s right and her courage to stay with it for most of her life. A hero is seen as having bravery and courage, something Alice Walker possesses; therefore, she is a hero.

”Growing up in the small town of Eatonton, Walker was surrounded by the violence and racism that pervaded the South, where black people like her parents worked for a pittance in the fields while whites controlled virtually everything” (Student Resources in context). This shows she grew up in a very difficult environment, and shows her bravery and courage to share her idea of racism. It isn’t easy writing about these topics when you also have to go through so much. Lots of hatred and negativity come with the topics Walker writes about, yet she is so passionate in her writing. After "The Color Purple," she confronted the practice of female genital mutilation in the 1992 novel "Possessing the Secret of Joy," and in 1998 she expanded on the subject of female sexual repression in "By the Light of My Father's Smile” (Newsmakers). This shows her bravery in writing about difficult, heartfelt subjects. Especially as a woman, she was very brave to write books and short stories with subjects she wasn't sure people would like.

“Although Walker had an operation at the age of fourteen that successfully removed the scar tissue, the experience left a permanent mark on her character” (Student Resources in Context). This shows her courage in believing in herself, when she was knocked down and got back up. This courage couldn't come from anyone else but herself. As a young girl Walker was constantly judged for her eye and how she looked different than others. “Her works have mainly centered on experiences of female African Americans from the rural South and show a distinctly feminist approach, but they have a wide appeal across racial, cultural, and gender lines.”(Newsmakers) This shows her courage in herself and others, how she has no problem standing for what’s right and what’s important to focus on. She had courage people would listen to such a loud topic, with hope that they would take her words and statements with emotions to help people realize.

Alice Walker’s bravery and courage should be considered as an heroic act because she believes in equality in all colors and genders. Walker is inspiring because she didn’t give what her readers wanted to read, she gave them what they needed to read because of what she believed in. Walker wrote about racism in almost all of her novels, knowing that people need to know how people are treating others. She had passion in writing and she turned her passion into something that isn’t common, more original. Which inspires other writers to grow and achieve their goals like Walker has. Just like in one one Walker’s famous quotes, “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.”

Works Cited

"Alice Walker." UXL Biographies, UXL, 2011. Student Resources In Context,    https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ2108102345/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=5  2644491. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

"Alice Walker." Newsmakers, Gale, 1999. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618002611/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=9348539e. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.