Women by Alice Walker

by: Alice Walker      Women

"They were women then
My mama's generation
Husky of voice stout of
Step
With fists as well as
Hands
How they battered down
Doors
And ironed
Starched white
Shirts
How they led
Armies
Headragged generals
Across mined
Fields
Booby-trapped
Ditches
To discover books
Desks
A place for us
How they knew what we
MUST know
Without knowing a page
Of it
Themselves."

 In Alice Walker's poem "Women", it shows that women sacrificed themselves for their children's education. It's about knowing the consequences of what they are doing  but they still had to do it for their children to have an education and to not be a slave like they were. You can tell it's about education in the last eight lines. Education was a very important thing back then, that the parents really wanted for their children. This poem is harsh, strong, and beautiful. I think that this poem is trying to convey that women of her mothers generation had to be tough, but were also loving and caring at the same time. Line five says "With fists as well as / Hands." The fists represents the tough side of women, but the part about the hands shows that they still have a soft touch. At the end of the poem it says that the women discovered books. I think that the end of this poem means that these women did not have much knowledge but they knew it was important for their children to be educated and have a better life than they did. Walker uses poetic devices in this poem. The first poetic device that I found was in lines 12-18. She used an implied metaphor to compare women to generals in the army that are tough and led soldiers into battle. An implied metaphor means that it was not directly stated but you are to imply what she is trying to say. In line seven I think that Walker used the doors that were battered down to represent things that women like her had to overcome. Like women rights movements, and the end of slavery for African Americans. Another poetic device used in this poem is assonance. In line 10 it says "Starched White / Shirts." This line is using the repetition of the "S" sound. The last poetic device used in this poem is tone.  

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