Literary Devices in Meridian
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
While Meridian is a quintessentially American story, the novel focuses primarily on the South. Yes, that's right—the stronghold of Honey Boo Boo, NASCAR, and deep-fried everything. But sweep asid...
Narrator Point of View
Although the narrator stays inside Meridian's head for most of the novel, there are a handful of chapters told from Lynne's and Truman's perspectives. That being said, the narrator doesn't have a v...
Genre
Meridian traces the American Civil Rights Movement over the course of a decade. We watch the Movement grow and change through the eyes of characters like Truman and Meridian, from the early days of...
Tone
Alice Walker slips inside the heads of her characters, allowing them to do most of the talking.So when we're in Meridian's head, we look at the world through her eyes. Same for Truman and Lynne. Gi...
Writing Style
Meridian does more time-bending than Back to the Future. Seriously. After all, the novel starts with the beginning of its final scene. Weird, huh? Then we jump back in time to Meridian's college da...
What's Up With the Title?
Besides referencing its titular heroine, the title of Meridian helps us gain a better understanding of our main character's actions.After all, the first chapter is preceded by a dictionary-style de...
What's Up With the Ending?
By the end of the novel, Meridian has become like the X-Men's Professor Xavier. Having done good her whole life, she's now setting out to create a crack team of super-heroic civil rights activists...
Tough-o-Meter
Although Meridian doesn't do anything crazy, there are a few points when things get a little tricky. Notably, the book jumps through time on a constant basis—although this is usually easy to deci...
Plot Analysis
Teen MomMeridian has a rough childhood. Although she's an exceptional student, she's forced out of school after getting pregnant as a teenager. Her husband, Eddie, is not too great either. Eventual...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Meridian Hill is a smart but naive girl born into a working-class family. As a teen, Meridian gets pregnant and marries a boy named Eddie—their son is named Eddie Jr. Things go bad fast: Meridian...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
Meridian is born into a working-class family in the rural South. As a teenager, she becomes pregnant by a boy named Eddie and marries him; they have a son named Eddie Jr. This bums Meridian out for...
Trivia
David Icke is a former British athlete and sports broadcaster turned self-proclaimed Son of God and world-renowned conspiracy theorist. His theory? That the world is being run by a cadre of shape-s...
Steaminess Rating
Meridian does not shy away from depictions of sexuality and violence, although the text is rarely graphic. That being said, there are several instances of sexual assault and abuse that readers migh...
Allusions
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1.14.66, 77)W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (1.14.77)Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (1.15.16)Jane Stembridge, I Play Flute (2.21.4)Margaret Walker (2.24.8)Camara Lay...