February 9, 1944 (age 70)
Putnam County, Georgia, United States
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The youngest of eight children, to
Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Lou
Tallulah Grant.
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Her mother enrolled her in first grade when she was four years old. •
Growing up with an oral tradition, listening to stories from her grandfather (who was the model for the character of Mr. in The
Color Purple), Walker began writing, very privately, when she was eight years old.
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In 1952, Walker was accidentally wounded in the right eye by a shot from a BB gun fired by one of her brothers
Early life
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She later became Valedictorian and was voted most-popular girl, as well as queen of her senior class. After high school, Walker went to
Spelman College in Atlanta on a full scholarship in 1961 and later transferred to Sarah Lawrence
College, graduating in 1965. Walker became interested in the U.S. civil rights movement in part due to the influence of activist Howard Zinn, who was one of her professors at
Spelman College.
Writing Career
• Novelist, short story writer, poet, political activist
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•
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The Third Life of Grange
Copeland, was published in 1970.
In 1976 Walker's second novel,
Meridian, was published.
In 1982, Walker published what has become her best-known work, The Color Purple
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Walker has written several other novels, including The Temple of
My Familiar and Possessing the
Secret of Joy.
• You Can't Keep a Good Woman
Down: Stories (1982)
• To Hell With Dying (1988)
• The Temple of My Familiar (1989)
• Finding the Green Stone (1991)
• Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)
• The Complete Stories (1994)
• By The Light of My Father's Smile
(1998)
• The Way Forward Is with a Broken
Heart (2000)
• Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart
(2004) Random House
Alice walker
Personal life
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In 1965, Walker met Melvyn
Rosenman Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer. They were married on March 17, 1967, in
New York City.
Later that year the couple relocated to Jackson, Mississippi, becoming "the first legally married inter-racial couple in
Mississippi
Alice Walker Michael L. Brown Alice Walker, novelist, poet and activist whom had to overcome many obstacles growing up in the south as an African American female. Alice Walker focused on the African American experiences of slavery, race relations. Critics accused Walker of male bashing and being harsh towards men (such as the men in the novel and movie The Color Purple), which was because of her father’s belief’s that she was not recognized as an individual but as a girl, or woman whose place…
Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” gives us an intuitive look at the exemplification of the harmonization, clashes, and struggles surrounding the African-American culture as well as how far some go to reject theirs. Walker was born the child of sharecroppers in rural Georgia. The focus here pertains to an encounter between family members and the role Dee plays in the situation. Dee brings her male companion with her when she returns to visit her mom and sister. Dee’s male mate, for example…
1. The narrator is Alice Walker. She has two daughters and talks about her and her daughter’s lives. She is a large, big-boned women with rough, man-working hands who never had an education. She was born in Georgia and lived in a rural area. By the way they treat each other and the way they act. 2. Maggie and Dee are two sisters born to the same mother but have resulted in a complete difference between the two. The two are different physically because Maggie has a thin body figure, and her arms…
Paola Valencia Professor Alves Eng 102 D13E Oct,18 2013 Myop’s Journey to Adulthood ! In “The Flowers” a short story by Alice Walker, Myop is faced with extreme changes for a ten year old girl. Through out the entire story we see various symbols and drastic changes in scenery. These drastic changes are what pushes our main character into adulthood. Alice Walker uses opposing images to show how Myop is faced with the loss of her innocence. ! Right away we can see the symbolism behind…
September 25, 2014 Asharib Mazhar Essay: The Character of Maggie. Being strong is not always easy but at many points in life one must overcome obstacle that prevent maximum potential growth. In the short story ‘’Everyday Use’’ by Alice Walker, the youngest daughter Maggie proves that despite age, she is strong emotionally. Life up’s and down’s one must have strength to overcome. Maggie is a figure of purity, uncorrupted by selfishness or complex emotional needs. Severely burned in a house fire…
by their colour, culture, language or religion. The identity goes back to generations and it doesn’t start or change within the individual. It is an evolutionary process where each person brings upon some changes. This is best described in Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use”, where three characters, a mother and two daughters, are portrayed differently, each with its different qualities and philosophies on life that are often seen in generations. Heritage is an important…
and embrace everything that’s been given rather then display it elsewhere. Walker addresses that a person who truly has heritage and culture makes use of it every day of their life. "Everyday Use" is a short story of cultural difference in the American society caused by racial issues. One can agree that heritage and culture is taught and learned though generations; you can either embrace what been pass or loose it. Walker shows readers that tension does exist between mama and Dee on how she breaks…
Everyday Use By Alice Walker (1973) T one- This story , in my opinion, does not possess the warm-hearted, jolly, and happy side of a short story, we’d expect from a title, such as Everyday Use. Instead, this story is a more refreshing realistic tone of life and the harshness it may possess. There is a perfectly adequate amount of crudeness in the story, especially within the lifestyle of these individuals. The tone changes as the story continues on. In the beginning the story has a more worrisome…
Understanding the Differences of Dee and Maggie in Alice Walkers “Everyday Use” The comparison of characters is something an author allows us to do while reading a story. They do so by, describing to us the characters appearance, personality, lifestyle, and any other unique qualities that might help illustrate someone. In the story Alice Walkers “Everyday Use”, it is written from a mother’s point of view as she talks about her two daughters, Maggie and Dee, and how different they are. They are both…
An Examination of Identity and Race in the selected works of Alice Walker and Patrice Smith Steven Major December 6, 2013 Instructor: Patrice Glenn ENG 125 Introduction to Literature The representation of race and ethnicity in literature almost always directly mirrors the current idea of race and ethnicity within society. This ability to accurately capture the mindset of a particular society, allows for a greater exploration of the topics broached by the writer on a particular subject. Often…