Symbolism of “Quilts†in Alice Walker’s Fictions

Abstract

This article uses Alice Walker’s Everyday Use and The Color Purple to demonstrate how African-American women have redefined religion to empower themselves beyond their double minority status in America. With Alice walker's two representative fictions as examples, the article analyzes the "quilts", this ordinary household, the symbolic significance of which in her works. On one hand, "quilt" acts as the carrier of black family history and tradition; on the other hand, "quilt" contains black women's enormous creativity, their mutual unity, and the fate of the strength and courage. In Walker’s opinion, during the process of reassembling the old cloth to sew a beautiful quilt; black women can vent anger, gain confidence and survival.