Reading Reflection of Alice Walker's "the Welcome Table"

Reading Reflection of Alice Walker's "The Welcome Table"

"The Welcome Table," by Alice Walker is about how an old black woman was treated by a group of white Christians at their church. The old woman was "looked down upon" by the white people for a few different reasons that will be discussed later. The unkind actions of the white people let to a dramatic ending which was ironically relieving. I chose this story because this genre is dear to my heart and the tone and satire were captivating and kept me thinking about my own Christianity.

The genre, image, tone and satire captured my attention in Alice Walker's "The Welcome Table." The specific type of literature is known as the genre and was found intriguing because I am an avid Christian and this short story about a woman who was not accepted by other so called Christians, was a faithful woman of God and believed in Jesus despite the fact that the other church people had thrown her out of the church into the cold. The tone set in this story was a sort of smugness on the part of the white people of the church however the old black woman's tone was somewhat carefree in some aspects but reliving in another. The religious satire that took place against the old colored woman caught my attention because it was a despicable act by the people of the church. In the New Living Translation Bible, the book of Hebrews, 13:2 says, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some people have entertained angels without knowing it." I personally have always loved that Bible verse and noticed in the story, how the white people of the church obviously did not fully adhere to God's Word for they had no idea if she was one of God's angels or not. They were anything but hospitable to the old woman.

I went with the formalist approach while analyzing Walker's short story. As specified in the text, I asked my self a series of questions that focused more on the form and development of the literary work itself (Clugston, 2010). "The literary tools and techniques that Alice Walker chose to make her intent evident and the significance of the literary work evident by asking such questions as(Clugston, 2010):"

"What makes the setting so memorable? Why was the plot intriguing? Did surprise occur? How were the characters described, contrasted and developed? Was figurative language used to create a mood, to reveal theme? What point of view was used? And In what ways do literary conventions and forms contribute to its appeal? (Clugston, 2010)"

By asking these questions about Alice Walker's "The Welcome Table," I was able to identify her intent and the significance of the literary work (Clugston, 2010).

The setting of "The Welcome Table" was memorable because, it took place in a church