Abstract: Alice Walker is an important female writer in contemporary America. She is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet and author of children’s books. Of particular interest to people are her novels which are full of powerful, strident stories set in America’s rural South. Her works mainly explore the struggle of black women and stress the importance of bonds between women in fighting against racism and sexism. She creates a whole series of images of black women, leading not only black women but all women to a promising future. Meridian is Alice Walker’s second novel Alice Walker. It focuses on the Civil Rights Movement. Meridian commits her life to helping the black people fight for their wholeness. In order to find a new self, different from hers, she survives the struggles and becomes a model for others to take up the Civil Rights cause. This paper can be divided into four parts. At the beginning, I will give a brief introduction to Alice Walker, her novel Meridian with critical reviews. The next part mainly deals with the womanist theory, introducing the definitions of feminism and womanism and their differences. The following part will analyzes the wholeness in Meridian. First, she is a female. She finds her female self-identity. Second, she is also a black. How does she achieve the balance? At last, it is about the solution to black woman’s dilemma. In Alice Walker’s opinion, the only way to solve the problem is the persistence of the blacks’ tradition. The last part is a conclusion. My conclusion is that Meridian is a carefully created womanist novel. Meridian demonstrates the relationship of personal growth and the social movement. But the theory has to develop further to be mature. |
