Analysis Of Margaret Walker s Jubilee - 882 Words

Margaret Walker’s Jubilee was published in 1966. Walker dedicates the novel to her family. She explains that the dedication of the book to her children is so that they may know their heritage. She specifically dedicates the book to the â€Å"memory of her grandmothers†. She informs the reader that she is named after her paternal grandmother. She also informs the reader that the novel is the story of her maternal great grandmother, which was told to her by her maternal grandmother. The preface begins with the lyrics of the Negro spiritual Jubilee, for which the novel is named after. The time of Jubilee refers to the abolition of slavery. The table of contents informs the reader that the novel is separated into three parts, Part 1: Sis Hetta’s Child-The Ante-Bellum Years, Part 2: â€Å"Mine eyes have seen the Glory†-The Civil War Years, and Part 3: â€Å"Forty years in the wilderness†-Reconstruction and Reaction. The author is the brilliant intellect, Margaret Walker. Walker obtained her bachelors in English from Northwester University and her master’s and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. While living in Chicago she worked with Federal Writer’s Project and was a member of the Southside Writers Group, along with Richard Wright. She eventually became a renowned professor in the department of English at Jackson State University and established several avenues for Black Studies on campus. The author uses the narratives told to her by her maternal grandmother to recreate a