When I came across this essay I knew it would be interesting because of the author, Alice Walker. I knew she wrote the book The Color Purple and even though I haven’t personally read it I have heard about it and knew it was appealing. I strongly commend Alice for writing about all of her very personal experiences. Nothing as traumatic as what has happened to Alice has ever happened to me but I still wouldn’t dare write about my personal incidents. Alice is a very strong women for having the courage to do that and I’m sure she has touched many lives.
In this short story Alice wrote she talks about how her brothers got new BB guns. One day while Alice and her two brothers were playing a game of cowboys and Indians her brother accidentally shot her in her eye. From then on her life was never the same. She never looked up and hated the way she looked. On top of that, her brother made her promise to never tell her parents that he shot her. Instead she had to lie and say she stepped on a piece of metal and part of it shot into her eye. In the end Alice begins to accept herself and actually likes the way she looks.
To some people this may not be a big deal and they may think Alice was being a bit melodramatic, but everyone reacts to incidents differently. Even though Alice might have handled this problem the wrong way she ended up being very brave about it and and she has more courage than anyone to write about it. This accident changed her life and is very personal. I think she writes about all of her personal tragedies to help people in the same situations know they aren’t the only ones and to show how she got through them and how giving up is never the answer. Alice is a very powerful and heroic woman and she should be an inspiration to everyone.
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oh my goodness! wow I can't even imagine what it would be like to go through what the author went through. I think that you're definitely right when you say that she should be an inspiration to everyone. I also liked how you mentioned that it would be hard for you to write about your own personal experiences like the author of this story did. I know that I would have a hard time doing that too. So Alice Walker is definitely an amazing author for being able to express and share her life with her readers!
ReplyDeleteYou're definately right when you explain how everyone handles situations differently. I actually think that if something so traumatic occured in my life, then writing might actually help cure. It's sort of like when you have to write down how you're feeling at times just to get everything straight. I love how she can share these amazing stories with everyone though.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think I want to read this essay now, it sounds interesting, a lot better than any of the essays I read! People really do heal in different ways and writing about it must be Ms. Walker's way because she is great at it!
ReplyDeleteI don't think she was being melodramatic at all. As humans we are all very visual people; well those who can see. Since we are so visual we tend to judge things based off of what we see. She saw herself as ugly so she felt things would change for her negativly and they did. I become very self consious when something is flawed about my apprentice; especially if its on my face. I wouldn't have a clue of what to do if I was in her shoes.
ReplyDeleteYou make quite a few good points, but you stop short of really considering the impact of not appearing "normal." The self-consciousness that she writes about colored her view of herself and the world, and I suspect that if you thought about it that way, you'd see ways it impacted even things like her choice to be a writer.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that you wouldn't like to share personal things with an unknown audience is insightful; you could have considered the implications of that (for either her or you) in more detail.
Good summary and overview.