Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 537 Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Language, Communication and Culture Studies (ICLCCS 2020) Study on Black Woman Spirituality in Alice Walker's Everyday Use Xinyu Yang1,* 1School of Foreign Languages, Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Alice Walker, a famous American black woman poet, novelist and prose writer in the 20th century, introduces "womanism", a different concept from "feminism" to literature and sociology. Everyday Use is one of her short stories collected in In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women published in 1973. It narrates the conflicts between the mother and two daughters caused by the "quilts". This thesis exposes the black woman's living condition and the triple oppression inflicted on them, aiming to explore the black woman's spiritual world and to show Walker's identification with the black woman cultures via the analysis of the characterization of the three heroines and the metaphoric meaning of "quilts". Keywords: black woman culture, spirituality, Alice Walker the bottom of American society for long. Black I. INTRODUCTION people suffered from inhumane slavery, plunder Alice Walker is recognized as one of the leading and oppression. Walker witnessed the harshness voices among American black women writers. Born and humiliation inflicted on her mother. Except that, into a large family of sharecroppers in Eatonton, she also cares about the problem of how to inherit Georgia on 9 February 1944, Alice Walker was the and develop the black traditional culture. Walker youngest of eight children. When she was eight takes great interest in the preservation of black years old, her brother shot her with his HB gun, culture originated from Africa, especially the leaving her scarred and blind in one eye. The everyday work or traditions of generations of black disfigurement made Walker shy and self-conscious. women, such as gardening, quilting, root-working She then isolated herself from all the other kids, as and so on, which are the embodiment of their she says in an essay: spirituality and creativity in their lives. Walker admires the struggle of black women throughout "I am no longer felt like the little girl I was. I history to maintain this creativity that serves as felt old, and because I felt I was unpleasant to look inspiration and friendship to each other. at, filled with shame. I retreated into solitude."[1] Readers and critics favor her penetrating In spite of poverty, Alice Walker managed to observations and the vivid images she created in obtain a good education. She also participated in her novels enthusiastically. Everyday Use in Alice progressive social activities: she worked for the Walker's collection of short stories, In Love and Civil Rights Movement in 1960s, the Second Black Trouble: Stories of Black Women, published in Renaissance in 1970s. She also devoted herself to 1973, is commonly accepted her best short story by exploring the works of neglected black women critics. Particularly, it represents Walker's response writers and she rescued from oblivion the writing of to the concept of heritage expressed by the Black Zora Neale Hurston, an outstanding black literary political movements of the 60s. Everyday Use is a woman in the Harlem Renaissance. story about a poor, African-American family and Most of Walker's works are mainly concerned the conflicting ideas about their identities and about black woman's life in the US and their ancestry, which is told in first-person by Mrs. struggle for freedom, equality and liberation in the Johnson, an uneducated rural black woman. In this society full of discrimination. Born in poor short story, there are three women: two sisters and sharecroppers in Eatonton, Georgia, Walker sensed their mother. One of the sisters is Maggie, a docile, the misery of black people, especially black women, weak girl, "walking with chin on chest, eyes on many of whom have lived the most miserable life at ground, and feet in shuffle" and the other is Dee, Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL. This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 363 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 537 who is a well-educated and experienced woman. broke the silence and spoke out their own The story narrates that Dee returns to her Afro- experience as black women in their works. Walker's American family for reunion. There, she claims that family background and personal experience also a pair of quilts from her passed-away grandmother play an important role. Because of her childhood should be given to her and hung on a wall, not to experience, Walker witnessed the harshness and her sister, Maggie. Dee declares that her sister humiliation inflicted on black women. All these would ruin them through "everyday use." She conditions and experiences Walker encountered charges that her mother does not understand her throughout her life made her a strong black woman heritage and therefore should give the quilts to her and this aspect of her personality is conveyed since she will preserve them. The conflict occurs through the characters in this story. In addition, among Dee, mother, and Maggie over culture and from black women, she learned their traditional heritage. Maggie and her mother believe that culture and great enthusiasm, which established her "heritage" deals with their family's traditions. These determination to preserve and inherit black tradition traditions are the only ones they have ever known culture in her works. As a womanism literature and cared about. Dee, on the other hand, believes creator, enriched by her culture and roots, she took that "heritage" is about African culture, and she a keen observation on racial and sexual problems. wants nothing to do with her family's heritage. Particularly, black woman's social interrelationship, When Mrs. Johnson snatches her ancestors' quilts living condition, value and spiritual pursuit are the from Dee and gives them to Maggie, Walker most concern in her works, which are reflected on illuminates her life-long celebration of rural the three heroines. Southern black womanhood. Thus, the quilts have become the center to Walker's concerns, because A. The Characterization of Mother they suggest the strength to be found in connecting Mrs. Johnson, mother of Maggie and Dee, as with one's roots and past. Without any exception, well as the narrator, represents a content, simple, black woman's living condition is deeply concerned and bravery black woman. She describes herself: here by Alice Walker as she does in her other works. By the family conflict, Walker has enclosed "In real life I am a large, big-boned woman the internal family relationship, living condition with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I and spiritual value of black women with a purpose wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during of exploring their spirituality. Besides, she has also the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as praised greatly their efforts to quest for spiritual man."[4] home as well as expressed fully her identification Through Mama's tone, we can see she is proud with black culture. of her ability to do these things, and she thinks her ability to do these things makes her better than II. CHARACTERIZATION IN THE STORY others. In this novel, Walker never mentioned her "The creation of the authors originates in their husband. It is she who is "always better at man's historical condition, social environment and is work" and "never had any education myself", closely related to their national cultural tradition, fostered her two daughters independently which family background and living experience"[2]. highlights her bravery, independence and diligence. Meanwhile, Mrs. Johnson is obedient and humble. To Walker, writing is a means of showing She seems to content with her surroundings very realistic life from a spiritual perspective, although much and takes pride of her home. She does not she regards her early writing as a means of survival, dare to see man in her eyes. an alternative to despair. She told David Bradley in an interview in 1984. Who can imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to "I think writing really helps you cure yourself. I them always with one foot raised in flight, with my think if you write long enough, you'll be a healthy head turned in whichever way is farthest from person. That is, if you write what you need to write, them.[5] as opposed to what will make money or what will make fame."[3] She admires her older daughter. She wants to be that kind of person her daughter Dee wants to her to Everyday Use reflects Walker's own spiritual be. value as a black woman writer. This story is closely connected with the social environment, family A hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an background and living experiences where Walker is uncooked barely pancake. My hair glistens in the raised up. Walker lived in the time when the two hot bright lights. Johnny Carson has much to do to movements — the Civil Rights Movement and keep up with my quick and witty tongue.[6] Women's Liberation Movement were developing In effect, it is the mother's dream to become that with vigor and enthusiasm. Under the influence of kind of woman, but she knows this dream will the two movements, many black women writers 364 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 537 never come true.