Alice Walker - Possessing the Secret of Joy
Alice Walker’s Novel: Possessing the Secret of Joy
This research paper is about Alice Walker’s fifth novel titled Possessing the Secret of Joy. While completing this paper, films titled Warrior Marks and Alice Walker: Possessing the Secret of Joy were used along with book sources, Internet source documents and a personal email interview. In the novel, Alice Walker strives to make people aware of the horrific effects that female circumcision (genital mutilation) has on the African community and others throughout the world. If there is a single novel that could convince anyone of Alice Walker’s place as one of the most important writers and thinkers, it has to be Possessing the Secret of Joy. The book is certainly a descriptive example of the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” One may sway away from this book because of the subject matter – ritual female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision. It is important to look into the “whys” of the custom. This novel speaks for all women who have wrongly submitted either “freely” or through force to physical, psychological, and /or emotional violence (Schaller). Alice Walker makes a strong statement against female circumcision with the hope of bringing a worldwide end to the procedure. Her voice sets an example of trying to help so many young girls protect themselves from a harmful tradition. Female circumcision is not about a bond between women or an empowering ceremony- it is based on fear and social pressure (Alice Walker: Video). This procedure has raised a world outcry against females as a form of torture and violence. Perhaps more than anything else in Possessing the Secret of Joy novel, this breaks my heart. At one time or another, everyone has experienced some degree of frustration at failing to connect sexually to a loved one, but imagine the horror of having that intimate connection cut off by an intentional, brutal procedure. A portion of the proceeds from this novel was
This research paper is about Alice Walker’s fifth novel titled Possessing the Secret of Joy. While completing this paper, films titled Warrior Marks and Alice Walker: Possessing the Secret of Joy were used along with book sources, Internet source documents and a personal email interview. In the novel, Alice Walker strives to make people aware of the horrific effects that female circumcision (genital mutilation) has on the African community and others throughout the world. If there is a single novel that could convince anyone of Alice Walker’s place as one of the most important writers and thinkers, it has to be Possessing the Secret of Joy. The book is certainly a descriptive example of the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” One may sway away from this book because of the subject matter – ritual female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision. It is important to look into the “whys” of the custom. This novel speaks for all women who have wrongly submitted either “freely” or through force to physical, psychological, and /or emotional violence (Schaller). Alice Walker makes a strong statement against female circumcision with the hope of bringing a worldwide end to the procedure. Her voice sets an example of trying to help so many young girls protect themselves from a harmful tradition. Female circumcision is not about a bond between women or an empowering ceremony- it is based on fear and social pressure (Alice Walker: Video). This procedure has raised a world outcry against females as a form of torture and violence. Perhaps more than anything else in Possessing the Secret of Joy novel, this breaks my heart. At one time or another, everyone has experienced some degree of frustration at failing to connect sexually to a loved one, but imagine the horror of having that intimate connection cut off by an intentional, brutal procedure. A portion of the proceeds from this novel was