The Welcome Table Alice Walker

The Welcome Table is a short narrative written by Alice Walker. It is written in 3rd individual point of position. “The all-knowing technique is used in this narrative and is peculiarly effectual in leting the reader to understand the old woman’s quandary and how she. and others. dealt with it” ( Clugston. 2010 ) . In this essay. I will explicate the significance of this narrative every bit good as the worlds to racism and hatred.

The narrative begins by depicting the aged Afro-american adult female.

She was dressed in her Sunday church apparels that was old and falling apart. She had an old bouquet pinned to her frock. The places she wore were high-heeled and polished. A silk scarf was used as a hair-band which was greasy from her greasy pig-tails. Her elderly eyes were blue-brown in colour and were about unsighted. She was thin but old and wrinkled. Her tegument was ash-grey.

The Welcome Table Summary

After walking many stat mis. she came upon a church.

It was a white people’s church. She had walked entirely to the large church. After walking a half a stat mi to the church. she was sweaty and clammy. She stopped on the stairss of the church to rest before traveling interior.

When she went into the church. the clergyman stopped her. She brushed passed him and sat on the back bench. It was cold outside and close approximately merely as cold inside the church. She sat there shuddering from cold as everyone noticed as they went to sit up forepart.

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While everyone stared at her as if she was a piece of refuse. she sat at that place softly. Some people spoke rough words while others remained soundless or felt sorry for her.

Her visual aspect made some of the white people think of cooks. amahs. and kept womans. Other people saw jungle binges or “riotous nihilists plundering and ravishing in the streets” ( Clugston. 2010 ) . Many thought Christian worship and the Holy Church was traveling to stop. They saw an invasion of their privateness to idolize. It made them ferocious as she sat there disregarding them. The Ussher called her “grandma” and told her that she should go forth but she told him courteously to “go away” .

Finally. the white ladies made their hubbies throw her out of the church. “Could their hubbies expect them to sit up in church with that? ” ( Clugston. 2010 ) . They referred to her every bit “that” as if she was an animate being or rubbish. After acquiring her threw out of the church. the married womans felt justified and the fold started holding church as they usually would.

Outside. on the church stairss. the hapless old adult female looked about as if in daze. She went back to vocalizing in her caput as she was before they threw her out. but this clip it was a sad vocal. As she looked down the main road. she saw something astonishing approaching towards her. The frail old lady began to express joy and leap in joy. She saw Jesus walking in her way. She mentions that he looked precisely like a image she had stolen from a white lady’s Bible and hoped that he did non cognize she had stolen it. She waved her weaponries madly. afraid that he might lose her. When Jesus got near to her. he asked her to “follow me” . As they walked. she told him past narratives of her life and how she cooked. cleaned. and nursed the white people. She besides told him of how they threw her from their church. As they were walking. she would sing from clip to clip. It seemed as if they were walking everlastingly.

None of the church people knew what had become of the old lady until subsequently when they heard that an old black lady was found dead on the side of the route. As she had walked along the main road. many people saw her speaking and doing manus motions as if she was speaking to person. But. being that they saw no 1 other than her. they thought she had lost her head. What they did non see was that Jesus was taking one of his soldiers place and she was speaking to him.

This narrative is a perfect illustration of racism and hatred. It shows how many white people treated African-Americans. It is flooring to me that one human-being can handle another human-being with so much disfavor and hatred. We are all God’s animals and we should handle everyone with love as Jesus would.

MentionsClugston. Wayne R. ( 2010 ) . Journey into Literature. San Diego. Calcium: Bridgepoint Education. Inc. Walker. A. ( 2003 ) . THE WELCOME TABLE. Literary Cavalcade. 55 ( 5 ) . 32.