In this compelling novel by Alice Walker, Meridian, the main character, grows up through the eyes of the reader. The author shows us the emotional, physical, and psychological stages of resistance that Meridian goes through during the height of the civil rights movement. In fact, if one looks at the life of Alice Walker, the author of the novel, similarities undeniably exist between the two women.

First let us examine the early signs of resistance in Meridian. One of the first obvious examples of Meridian's individuality is when she rejects religion at a very young age despite her mother's devout Christian beliefs.

In school, she is unable to finish a speech because she knows that there is no truth in the words she speaks. "Meridian was trying to explain to her mother that for the first time she really listened to what she was saying, knew she didn't believe it, and was so distracted by this revelation that she could not make the rest of her speech." (Walker, 121) This passage reveals the intellect that overpowers her emotion developing in Meridian. Yet another example is how Meridian is able to be a nonconformist when she gives up family life and motherhood when sh

she had saved a small person's life."

e has the opportunity to attend college. Her feelings are well explained in this passage.

light heart. She did not look back, believing

Meridian is alone. Truman has married Lynne, a white woman, Anne-Marion has forsaken her, and Meridian is just beginning to think about her views and beliefs from her perspective. She lives and works in the South, but she is frail and often suffers from paralysis. Although struggling with her own identity, she still acts as a servant and a saint among her people.

For example, when black people were not allowed to swim in the public swimming pool, the mayor refused to build them one of their own. After several children drowned in floods while swimming in ditches that served as makeshift pools, the city officials were taught a lesson by Meridian. "It was Meridian who had led them to the mayor's office, bearing in her arms the bloated figure of a five-year-old boy who had been stuck in the sewer for two days before he was raked out with a grappling hook." (Walker, 191) Meridian also acts as a mediator, ironically, between Truman and his wife Lynne. She remains friends with both of them despite the pain that they once caused her. Throughout the novel, Meridian provides

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Approximate Word count = 859
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)