| Throughout her fiction, Alice Walker defines the term "community" through her development of women's relationships, spirituality, and the connection to ancestors. This definition of community will provide the focus of this study which analyzes five primary works: "Everyday Use," The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar, Possessing the Secret of Joy, and Her Blue Body Everything We Know. This study examines how Walker's philosophy regarding spirituality and ancestry contributes to her overall definition of community. In addition, this study covers essays published in Living By the Word and In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens, essays which deal directly with the mother/daughter relationship, female art forms, and maternal wisdom. To define community in Walker's works, the study analyzes female art forms, matriarchal wisdom, and religion which create an alternative to the traditional family structure. |
