Goodbyes

It's the end of a semester. People are making commencement plans, vacation plans, new career plans...

 

I started thinking...

how would our authors from this semester of

American Literature say goodbye?

 

If they were leaving us, what would their parting words of wisdom be?

 

Alice Walker would say something inspirational.

 

Stephen Crane would still be boring.

 

Sylvia Plath would say something morbid, but pithy, so we'd let her get away with it.

 

I think we could all agree that if we could vote for one author

from this semester's readings

to speak at our college graduation...

 

the guy we'd agree on would be...

 

Mark Twain.

 

He'd stir the pot.
And be witty.
We'd laugh.
And think.
And then laugh again.

 

So I decided to end the semester's blog with a quote from him.

One final... "Literary Tweet."

 

 

Not too sleepy of a conscious...
drink responsibly and

don't forget to tip your waitress.

 

Farewell, spring semester 2014.

Alice Walker

When I think about Alice Walker, I have an urge to bow in reverence.  Alice Walker is one of those authors who forces others to emote.  If you've never read The Color Purple, can I please urge you to do so?  It's an incredible piece of literature.  Even if you're the opposite of the characters (poor African American girls), you will find yourself identifying and sympathizing (empathizing?) with them.

The short story we read this pod was published the year I was born.  Everyday Use, from the In Love and Trouble collection, is one of several short stories published together that year.  Even though the piece is forty years old (not that *I* am, of course, just this piece!), there's a timeless element to the characters.  There's still quarrels in many families about who should inherit what.  Everyone knows a family where one kid has decided to chuck their own identity in favor of what he/she thinks is a superior lifestyle. 

I did find this little snippet that I think says a lot about the person of Alice Walker, and I love that it is in her own words...

"One with the whole organism of life."  Wow. Alice Walker writes with her soul.

Here's another clip, where other people speak to those kinds of observations about Alice Walker, concluding in some thoughts about herself and her choices. (It's a trailer for a PBS special.)

Alice Walker has a daughter herself.  Here is her daughter, Rebecca Walker, talking a little about being Alice Walker's daughter.  However, she also seems to give credit to all the women who came before her.

Alice's daughter felt she had a "very rich life" in that clip.  I think that you can see a similar expression, but in a very tragic way, in the fictional character of  Dee (Wangero)...

 

Who really values her heritage?  Dee, or her mama?