Reading Reflection Essays

Reading Reflection Essays Reading Reflection Essay Reading Reflection Essay Reading Reflection Barbara Morales ENG125 – Introduction to Literature Professor Sarah Ross December 5, 2011 What peaked my interest in this story is the title â€Å"The Welcome Table†. In essence it should be titled â€Å"The Unwelcome Table† because of its profound examples of racism, poverty, and unfair judgment and treatment; in short, man’s inhumanity to man. This short story is a prime example of hypocrisy, intolerance, and unchristian like behavior while in God’s house. An old, black woman walked from her home to an all-white church to worship and was turned away with cruel words and physical ousting by two big, burly men. This ill treatment by the â€Å"Christians† did not deter or discourage her from praising the Lord. The entire congregation was guilty of the same crime because they all felt the same way. There was no judgment or correction of each other because they all thought alike. Even the spiritual leader of the church gave a poor, unforgiving example to the congregation and they all followed suit. She was not worthy to be seen past her shabby clothing, her work worn hands, her aged body, her tattered stained clothing, her greasy scarf, and her scuffed shoes. They did not see past her external, soiled trappings to her internal childlike, unconditional love of God’s righteousness, and her right to worship him. After being thrown out of church, she continued on her way until she saw Jesus walking towards her. He looked at her lovingly and said â€Å"follow me†. This proved that Jesus is everywhere not just in church. Alice Walker’s â€Å"The Welcome Table†, is written from an omniscient point of view because Alice Walker is not a character in the book but she did know and understand the feelings of the characters in the story (Clugston, 2010). Walker’s writing contained many examples of Similes and Metaphors. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and he walked with sure even steps in her direction, as if he were walking on the sea†. â€Å" the skin ashen but durable, like the bark of old pines†. â€Å"There was a sad but joyful look to his face, like a candle was glowing behind it†. (Clugston, 2010). The use of irony is visible in the following excerpt from â€Å"The Welcome Table†: â€Å"The protection and promise of God’s impartial love† (Clugston 2010). Through the congregations’ negative behavior toward the old woman, the congregation proved that they did not practice what He preached. Alice Walker uses a biographical/historical approach in her writings. She had firsthand knowledge of the struggles of black people of the South who experienced the lack of basic human rights. They lived racism, segregation, sexism, poverty, and social and economic injustice. In her writings she wrote about her life experiences and the lack of equality and the prevalence of racial injustice. She brought awareness to people of other parts of the country to the plight of the poor and forgotten and stressed the need for radical change in our society. The Civil Rights March of the 60’s, led by Dr. Martin Luther King had a profound, life-changing impact on Alice Walker’s life which is evident in her writings. Her writings reflect her life as an educator, civil rights worker, advocate and mentor. She understood the importance of power in numbers. The organized protests of the people and by the people gave to the people the inalienable rights guaranteed to all under the Constitution of the United States of America. By their actions they strengthened their demands for equality for all in the land. Change was imminent. While collaborating through her efforts in registering and encouraging people to vote, she met and married a Jewish, Civil Rights Lawyer named Melvyn Leventhal. Her writings have surpassed color lines and made us aware that we are all members of the human race. There is no superior color and we are all members of the human race. Interestingly enough, the Alice Walker book â€Å"Color Purple† brought much criticism from many black male scholars. They felt she depicted an unfair image of black men. They took offense at her portrayal of black men who treated their wives as chattel and unworthy, second class citizens. In the end of her stories, women all got their retribution. She experienced negativity from many in society and sadly also within her own race and culture. References Clugston, W. R. , (2010). Journey Into Literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Alice Walkers Love Stories. The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart by Alice Walker. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, No. 31 (Spring, 2001), pp. 132-133.