文章基本信息

标题：STRIVING FOR DEMOCRACY: A STUDY OF ALICE WALKER’S MERIDIAN
本地全文：下载
作者：Dr. Santosh Kumari
期刊名称：NEW ACADEMIA: An International Journal of English Language, Literature and Literary Theory
印刷版ISSN：2277-3967
电子版ISSN：2347-2073
出版年度：2013
期号：2366
页码：5
出版社：Barloni Books Pune
摘要：Walker's fiction strongly affirms that true revolution enlightens the inner self and it is through respect for life and generous way of living that freedom is attained. An individual has to confront egocentric self concerns to establish democratic pattern in society. Her novel Meridian gravely ponders over a series of barbaric acts and violent lynching of blacks. The painful picture of social and cultural degeneration and hypocrisy is indeed stirring and thought provoking. Mutual hatred often darkens social scenario resulting in hair raising incidents of bloodshed, rape, robbery, and merciless killing. Celie's father in The Color Purple is brutally killed simply because the white master's soul could not compromise with his hardworking spirit and prosperity. A confrontation between individual and society with a vigorous demand for justice and integrity has been well crystallized by Walker's pen. Most of Walker's protagonists are equipped with intelligence, acute sensitivity and cosmic vision of life. With an unyielding courage and confidence, Walker calls to counter the ruthless forces which deem to pressurize and lower down common men's lot. Walker's strong conviction is that "man only truly lives by knowing." Walker rejects cowardly submission of a man "who simply performs, coping the daily habits of others, but conceiving nothing of his creative possibilities as a man and accepting someone else's superiority and his own misery"(Gardens 121-122). Walker's commitment to support the principle of democratic set up is highlighted through her protagonist Meridian who is dedicated to the values of humanity, equality and dignity. Walker is firmly resolved to discard all those circumscriptive and stilling precepts which may impede the growth of one's autonomy and identity. Walker rejects the conventional religion that encourages passive acceptance of the overlapping constraints with an escapist and conformist coincidence. Meridian, the protagonist in the novel, challenges the rationality of her mother's Christian belief of relinquishing all her responsibilities to God. Meridian defies by keeping silence and refuses to submit to the strangulating hold of traditional adherence to hypocrisy and self-deceptive codes that may only add to one's surrender and failure. Silence is a legitimate mode of protest and it empowers Meridian to defiantly challenge the system that denies her individuality. Her self determination, elevation and transformation, strongly stir the human beings around her.