Meridian (1976) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

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Summary edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Lynne Rabinowitz: A white Jew from the North, and Truman’s eventual wife. Lynne is an argumentative, slightly aggressive woman who is seduced by ideology and her own heightened sense of self-importance, but she is also a selfless and dedicated worker in the movement. Her involvement is rooted partially in guilt and an exaggerated sense of her own complicity in racial injustice and the racism meted out by legions of American whites. Later, her idealism turns to regret, defeat, and a steely resignation as she is plagued with jealousy—of Meridian, in particular—and dissatisfaction of the course her life has taken.
• Truman Held: Meridian’s former lover and an active participant in the civil rights movement. Truman is a handsome man whose intelligence borders on arrogance. His air of pretension and his desire to impress set him apart. He often lapses into French when he knows that the person he is addressing has little or no grasp of the language. Passionate and emotionally volatile, he is unable to resist the powerful pull of the women in his life. At the same time, he can be aloof and distant, an emotional coward who would rather run away from a problem than confront it directly.
• Tommy Odds: A friend of Truman’s who works on voter-registration drives in Mississippi. Tommy is dedicated and charismatic, and he is successful at getting more southern blacks to register and vote. Later, his less appealing qualities emerge, as his anger and resentment over losing part of his arm boil over into rape and other violence. His desire for revenge and his wish to blame Lynne for his troubles blind him to reason and mute his otherwise kind and generous nature.
• Mrs. Hill: Add a description of this character.
• Nelda
• Eddie Jr.
• Camara
• Delores
• Daxter
• Mrs. Turner
• Louvinie
• Miss Margaret
• Swinburn
• Johnny
• Mr. Raymonds
• Feather Mae

Quotes edit see section history

• “He . . . wondered if Meridian knew that the sentence of bearing the conflict in her own soul which she had imposed on herself—and lived through—must now be borne in terror by all the rest of them.”

  This is the final sentence in the novel. Meridian, like a phoenix, has emerged whole and restored after facing various trials, and her transformation is quiet yet triumphant.

• ““Your ambivalence will always be deplored by people who consider themselves revolutionists, and your unorthodox behavior will cause traditionalists to gnash their teeth,” said Truman, who was not, himself, concerned about either group.”

  This statement appears in the last chapter, “Release,” and clarifies Meridian’s elusive qualities and her mysterious, difficult-to-summarize nature.

• “It was just that they knew, as she knew about them. That they were transplanted, as they had always been, to a place where they fit like extra toes on a foot. Where they were trusted by no one, exploited, when possible, by anyone with political ambitions.”

  This comment appears in the third “Lynne” chapter and refers to Lynne’s evolving perceptions of race, religion, ethnic identity, and what it means to be a minority in the South.

• “Her father sighed. “I never said either side was innocent or guilty, just ignorant. They’ve been a part of it, we’ve been a part of it, everybody’s been a part of it for a long time.””

  Meridian’s father makes this comment in the chapter entitled “Indians and Ecstasy.”

• “They have a saying for people who fall down as I do: If a person is hit hard enough, even if she stands, she falls.”

  Meridian speaks these words in the novel’s opening chapter, “The Last Return.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Wile Chile
• Atlanta
• Saxon
• Mississippi
• America
• Georgia
• New York

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• The Sacred Serpent Mound: Like the Sojourner, the serpent mound—and the deep mysterious pit contained in the coil of its tail—is a powerful connection to the past. The ancient mound, built by the region’s original Native American inhabitants, is located on a patch of land behind the Hill home. It is a reminder of the need to study, honor, and learn from the past. Meridian’s father has a spiritual connection to the lives of people buried there, and he honors the native presence that preceded his own as tenants of the land. The mound, to him, symbolizes the interconnectedness and the universality of human experience. It helps him to contextualize and better understand the black experience by signifying the lives of another marginalized people who were forever altered by a racist white power base. However, just as the land was taken from the Cherokee, Meridian’s father is similarly forced to give up ownership of the parcel. Thus, also like the Sojourner, the mound’s symbolic meaning and significance change when the area is taken over by the government and turned into a historical park that initially bars blacks from entering. What had once been a powerful connection to the past becomes a radical disconnection from it, as the site is exploited and its deep spiritual, cultural, and historical significance is trivialized and commercialized.
• The Sojourner: The Sojourner is the name given to the largest magnolia tree in the country, which grows in the quadrangle of Saxon College. It is associated with Louvinie, a slave on the plantation whose property would eventually be turned into Saxon College. Louvinie buries her tongue, cut out in punishment for unintentionally causing the death of one of the Saxon children, beneath a scrawny magnolia tree, which eventually grows into the renowned, towering giant. Thus, the magnolia serves as a living reminder of the past, of growth in the face of oppression and the millions of slaves who were silenced, their tongues metaphorically removed, by the institution of slavery. The tree also serves as a source of comfort for the lonely Meridian, who initially has trouble adjusting to college life. At one point, Meridian even chains herself to it to prevent its removal, a task at which she ultimately fails. When the students, in revolt, chop down the tree, the Sojourner’s symbolic import changes. Now its destruction represents an abrupt breaking with the past and the racist traditions that marked it.
• The Tank: The tank sits in the town square in Chicokema, where Meridian is living when the novel opens. Painted white and decorated with red, white, and blue ribbons, it was bought in the 1960s to ward off “outside agitators,” those who advocated the extension of civil rights to all of the town’s residents, including blacks. Positioned near the tank is a statue of a Confederate soldier, whose leg was permanently crushed when the tank was being put into place. This gestures to the fact that the civil rights movement is like a new civil war, one that has come with great force to replace and supersede that earlier conflict. When Truman meets up with Meridian again after a considerable absence, he witnesses her leading the town’s children, forbidden on that day from touring the traveling exhibit, across the square. Men positioned inside the tank move the muzzle and point it directly at her, but she is neither cowed nor deterred. The tank serves as an ironic presence, suggesting that freedom must be defended from those who do not match the tank’s white coloring. It also symbolizes the violence and oppression that marked not only the history of slavery but the civil rights movement as well.
• The Wild Child: The Wild Child, who makes only a brief appearance in Meridian, represents the possibility of pursuing life independently, on one’s own terms. The Wild Child is an iconic figure—Walker does not even give her a name. The residents of the slums surrounding Saxon College know little of this mysterious, almost-feral girl who rummages for food in garbage cans and has not fully acquired language. Meridian ultimately fails to help her and, in fact, plays a role in her death—the Wild Child cannot be tamed, and she died trying to escape that fate. Like the Wild Child, Meridian strips her life of external influences, material goods, and physical comforts as she moves from community to community, registering voters and fighting racism. Both women live on the fringes of society, away from the scrutiny and judgment of mainstream life. Meridian’s great-grandmother, Feather Mae, suggests a similar presence, a free, radical, and unconventional spirit who, after her profound experience in the pit in the serpent mound, renounces all religion not based on physical ecstasy. Later in her life, she took to walking around naked and worshipping the sun. These unique women pursue their lives on their own terms, extolling their fiercely individualistic spirits.
• Physical Frailty: Meridian is plagued by a mysterious inherited illness, much like epilepsy, which parallels and triggers her spiritual and physical transformation. The sickness renders her unconscious, episodes she refers to as “falling down,” and it subjects her to paralysis, blindness, and hair loss. On one hand, the condition connects her directly with her father and great-grandmother, who suffered the same burden. The illness is also the physical rendering of Meridian’s deep emotional and spiritual angst, the grief and sadness that have marked and gripped her throughout her life. The illness becomes a means for Meridian to suffer, to perform penance for this ambiguous wrong she felt she has done. It also offers her atonement and, ultimately, self-acceptance. When she is well again, rising out of her sick bed and heading full force into the future, she can finally forgive herself and love and accept herself for who she is.
• Meridian: Walker prefaces her novel with a lengthy list of definitions and traditional usages of the word meridian. A total of twelve different meanings are included for both the word’s noun and adjectival form. This alone signifies the fact that Meridian resists easy definition or simple categorization. She is a complex and capacious character whose presence and identity cannot be reduced to a simple phrase or formulation. The term also sets up a comparison between Meridian and the growing civil rights movement. One of the most common definitions of the term is “zenith, the highest point of power, prosperity, splendor.” Not only does the novel trace the rise and growing power of social activism, united in the face of racist and segregationist policies, but it also tracks the ascent of Meridian from her spiritual and physical pain to a newly whole being in full charge of her capacities and inner wealth. An alternate meaning, “distinctive character,” applies just as well to the novel’s protagonist and namesake.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Alice Walker (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3573.A425M4 2003
• Dewey: 813

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › African American › Walker, Alice
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( W ) › Walker, Alice
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

More Books Like This edit see section history