Evaluating in Context

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1		This detailed site includes an extremely informative timeline of Alice Walker's life, and it discusses an injury Walker experienced as a result of an interaction with her brother. How does Walker's experience and relationship with her brother differ from the relationship between Dee and Maggie depicted in "Everyday Use"? Do you think a childhood injury in Walker's past might enable her to write convincingly of such an experience in "Everyday Use"?
2		The Academy of American Poets has a very informative page about Alice Walker's career as a poet. When you've read the information about her poetic work, read three of her poems, by clicking this link. What do you think of her poetry? Do the themes in these poems remind you of any of the concerns in "Everyday Use"? Which ones?
3		Read this chapter of a dissertation by Elena Shakhovtseva, in which she develops womanist theories of The Color Purple by Alice Walker. After you have read the essay, discuss in a few paragraphs how "Everyday Use" might be interpreted using some of the womanist theory Shakhovtseva applies to The Color Purple.