Deyanna Johnson

The effects of Alice Walker’s life on her writings
Alice Walker is a short story writer, poet, and author of children’s books. Her writings have become a favorite and popular read in the literary community. Some of her writings have transcended from the written version into screen writings. Drawing from her emotions, Walker’s writings range stem from personal pain, abortion and suicide. er HerAlice Walker writings were influenced by her unusual childhood, her literary mentors, and struggle with self- esteem.
Initially, Alice Walker’s writings were influenced by her unusual childhood. Alice Malsenior Walker was born February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia, to Willie Lee and Minnie Tallulah (Grant) Walker. Walker’s family included five boys and three girls. She was the youngest of her eight siblings (Alice Walker para1). By the time she was eight years old, her family knew she would rather play more exciting games with two of her brothers than spend time playing with her dolls. The children sometimes acted out stories from the westerns. As a little girl, Alice Walker also went through hardships in life. At the age of eight, Walker was accidentally injured by a BB gun shot in her eye by her brother. Her partial blindness caused her to withdraw from normal childhood activities and begin to write poetry to ease her loneliness. She found that writing demanded peace and quiet, but these were difficult things to come by when ten people lived in four rooms. She spent a great deal of time working outdoors sitting under a tree (Alice Walker para2). Walker’s childhood influence can be seen in the poem, Expect Nothing, where she wrote “Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. become a stranger To need of pity Or, if compassion be freely Given out Take only enough Stop short of urge to plead Then purge away the need” (Bloom 127 ).
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