73 pages 2 hours read

Alice Walker

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens

Nonfiction | Essay Collection | Adult | Published in 1983

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1

Reading Check

1. Which author does Walker refer to most when she discusses her own model in “Saving the Life that is Your Own”?

2. What staple food item is Walker’s mother in need of in “The Black Writer and the Southern Experience”?

3. At what university does Walker give the commencement address in “A Talk: Convocation 1972”?

4. What is the title of Jean Toomer’s most well-known work?

5. What central term to Walker’s writing does she introduce in her essay “Gifts of Power: The Writings of Rebecca Jackson”?

6. What are the names of the Black women whom Walker refers to as an “unholy trinity” in “Zora Neale Hurston: A Cautionary Tale and a Partisan View”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In “The Black Writer and the Southern Experience,” which author does Walker compare William Faulkner to and what is the major contrast between them?

2. How is the essay “But Yet and Still the Cotton Gin Kept on Working…” structured, and how does this structure support Walker’s message?

3.

Related Titles

By Alice Walker

Plot Summary

logo

By the Light of My Father's Smile

Alice Walker

By the Light of My Father's Smile

Alice Walker

Study Guide

logo

Everyday Use

Alice Walker

Everyday Use

Alice Walker

Plot Summary

logo

Possessing the Secret of Joy

Alice Walker

Possessing the Secret of Joy

Alice Walker

Plot Summary

logo

Strong Horse Tea

Alice Walker

Strong Horse Tea

Alice Walker

Study Guide

logo

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

Study Guide

logo

The Flowers

Alice Walker

The Flowers

Alice Walker

Study Guide

logo

The Temple of My Familiar

Alice Walker

The Temple of My Familiar

Alice Walker

Plot Summary

logo

The Third Life of Grange Copeland

Alice Walker

The Third Life of Grange Copeland

Alice Walker

Plot Summary

logo

The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart

Alice Walker

The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart

Alice Walker

Study Guide

logo

To Hell with Dying

Alice Walker

To Hell with Dying

Alice Walker