This research report compares these two stores by African American female authors. Various issues are discussed inclusive of race.This five page paper has four sources listed in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_BWwalkeu.doc
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Alice Walkers quilters continue to make their quilts for "everyday use." In both short stories, African American women are seen in the daily activities of life that, while seemingly
commonplace, reflect the complexities of getting up and getting on. Although Walkers story centers around two sisters in the "prime" of life and Weltys focuses on a
woman near the end of life, both stories offer insight to the experiences of women of great dignity and their interactions with other people who have no idea of what
they are about. The Metaphor of Quilting The story Welty tells of the old womans walk into town is pieced together in ways that seem as different from one another
as the pieces of a "crazy-work" quilt. Bits and pieces that seem to have no connection to one another are stitched together without an obvious pattern. But just
as Phoenix Jacksons cane moves on the frozen ground in front of her making a "grave and persistent noise in the still air, that seemed meditative like the chirping of
a solitary little bird" (pp. 739) the pieces of the quilts Maggie makes fit together in a constant and clear pattern that form their own patterns for meditation. Unfortunately,
Wangero Leewanika (formerly known as "Dee") cannot see them as such anymore than the people "Aunt Phoenix" encounters on her walk can see her for who she truly is. Walker
makes the point of accentuating the significance of the quilt and the quilting process by comparing the two sisters: the supposedly unlearned Maggie who has not had a formal education
but is an expert at quilting, and the accomplished Wangero who primarily sees quilts as artworks to be collected and displayed in order to intensify her own sense of personal