Possessing the Secret of Joy (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Alice Walker
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1930’s to the 1980’s
- Setting: Africa, the United States, and Europe
- Principal Characters: Tashi (Evelyn Johnson), Olivia, Adam, M’Lissa, Lisette, Pierre, Mzee, Benny (Bentu) Moraga, Raye, Amy Maxwell
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: African Americans, North America or North Americans, Suffering, United States or Americans, Africa or Africans, Tradition, Sexism, Blacks, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, Gender roles, California, West, U.S., Pain, Women’s issues, Adultery, Multiculturalism, Women, Revenge, Rites or ceremonies
- Locales: Africa, California
The Novel
When their missionary family arrives at the tribal village of the Olinka, young African Americans Adam and Olivia Johnson see Tashi, the main character of Possessing the Secret of Joy. They observe the six-year-old girl weeping silently alongside her mother; readers later learn that Tashi’s favorite sister, Dura, has just died from complications of a ritual clitoridectomy, performed on all village girls as they approach puberty. The novel weaves back and forth between the early memories of Tashi, Adam, and Olivia, cycling forward as Walker chronicles...
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See Also:
- - Possessing the Secret of Joy summary and study guide in the quickNotes.
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