The African Legacy: Influence of Myths in Alice Walker’s Novels
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Abstract
Walker positions herself as a writer who boldly acknowledges her African ancestry. Africa with its indigenous practices, rituals, myths and folklore became the raw material for Walker’s narratives. The paper titled “The African Legacy: Myths in Alice Walker “analyses the myths that form a key constituent in Walker’s narratives. The Sacred Serpent Burial Ground described in Meridian echoes the holiness attributed to serpents by African tribes. In Possessing the Secret of Joy, Walker exposes the practice of female genital mutilation that had been validated by the Dogon creation myths which propagate the message that humans become complete and unisexual beings only after circumcision. The African belief that ancestors are responsible for charting lives become the theme of Walker’s novels, The Temple of My Familiar and By the Light of My Father’s Smile.
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References
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