The Temple of My Familiar Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 11 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Temple of My Familiar.

The Temple of My Familiar Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 11 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Temple of My Familiar.
This section contains 696 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Temple of My Familiar Short Guide

The Temple of My Familiar Summary & Study Guide Description

The Temple of My Familiar Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Related Titles on The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker.

Preview of The Temple of My Familiar Summary:

A central theme in the novel is the challenge marginalized people face everywhere in creating an identity.

Fanny, for example, faces two unacceptable roles — either as a victim of racism and sexism or as a possible perpetrator of retaliatory violence. She, like many characters in the novel, seeks a new role. The source of new ideas does not seem to be from traditional books. Witness Suwelo, the college history teacher, and Carlotta and Fanny, college literature teachers who are spiritually lost. The sources seem to come from other places, principally women's lives — specifically from women with past lives in the case of Lissie and Zede, or from dreams which hold archetypal memories as Franny's dreams do. These sources are better guides to achieving a viable identity.

Walker puts the importance of these sources of knowledge this way: "a people's dreams, imaginings, rituals, legends . . . are known to...

This section contains 696 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Temple of My Familiar Short Guide
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The Temple of My Familiar from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.