Historical Criticism In Alice Walker's In Love And Trouble

“Everyday Use” Historical Criticism “Everyday Use” a broadly and regularly exploited story section contained within Alice Walker 's 1973 collections “In Love and Trouble” addresses the journey of African Americans struggle to freedom, equal opportunity, and attainment control of their societal, cultural, and political distinctiveness in the white dominated world. African Americans have been suffering from chauvinism, poverty, and been considered as a menace for the rotten white dominated government system. In “everyday use” the story teller is Mr. Johnson, a mother of two young daughters, enlightening the existence difficult circumstance that represent the entire embarrassment and challenge on that definite historical period and

During that time Malcolm X (1925–1965), was another icon of the civil right movement and African-American minister. Malcolm is one of the greatest and most influential African Americans towards black people right. Following his assassination on 1965, Black art movement was officially started by a writer LeRoi Jones or Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) to fight against the traumatic treatment of black people (Collins 717-52). Activists and writer like Larry Neal (1937- 1981) also described Black Art Movement as “a Black Fire and synthesis of all of the nationalistic ideas embedded within the double-consciousness of Black America” and played an important role in the revolution “Black people you are Black art” (Larry Neal 58). That is why, Walker showed in her “everyday use”, the handmade quilts as the most important and desired African arts by both urban and rural society. The quilts are unique pieces of history and represents to a whole trajectory of tradition and heritage taken place in African Americans struggles during slavery, war, and poverty. The quilts are the tribute and proof of the contribution

A religious and political organization, headed by Elijah Muhammad, established in 1930s started to get acceptance around the end of 1960s as the famous Malcom X. started to lead and manage the organization as a social protest movement to promote race, culture and political conscious of African Americans (Turner 1226). The organization was struggling to provide a better opportunity for all African American Society by promoting Islamism freedom and Black Nationalism. One of the issues which has attention was the spread of warning against the consumption of pork by promoting the message that African-Americans should “eat to live” rather than “live to eat.” (Semmes 537-44). In addition, in history Muslim communities used to confront hard labor work life to support their family. Walker presented Hakim a Barber as an example of this resistance force against eating pork and hard labor work. In Walker’s “everyday Use” Hakim a Barber is explained as someone who don’t eat pork and don’t practice and unwillingness to the difficult task which is given to Muslim community at that time as a representation of the movement “Nation of Islam”.

Novelist, writer, and women’s campaigner Walker, in her work of “everyday use”, examined and emphasized the historical struggle taken place during 1960s