he chief reviewer of New York Times, suggests that the novel is no more than “a cloying collection of New Age homilies, multicultural pieties, hung like politically correct Christmas ornaments on tortuous journey from self-congratulation” (Kakutani, 2004: 16). Basically, most reviews about this book are brief illustrations and comments rather than analyze its deep meaning and literary value. In addition to the short reviews above-mentioned in some magazines, Gerri Bates, makes an elaborate analysis of the themes and contents. Through Gerri Bates’ analysis, “this literary work focuses on the major themes of ancestor reverence, cleansing, and mediation, and the minor themes of environmentalism, dreams, spirituality, and instruction” (Bates, 2005: 168). It is because of the themes the novel conveys that the story embodies the philosophy and spirituality of New Age that “encompasses the universality of nature and human spirit” (Bates, 2005:172). New Age principles emphasizes mediation which “Kate embraces as a vehicles to understand her inner world, talks with the female deity, and comprehends the physical world around her” (Bates, 2005: 173). As Walker puts it in an interview of 2007, the aim of meditation is to open the heart which this novel basically concerns about. In addition, Gerri Bates convinces that Walker’s emphasis on nature exactly coincides with the belief of New Age believers who attach much importance to the ecological responsibility, holding that people should honor and respect nature.
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Chapter One Relationships between White and Colored
Viewed historically, the relationship between the colored and white is never fair. Although slavery has been abolished more than 100 years, discrimination against colored people is deeply rooted in modern society. According to Walker, people all over the world, no matter what color they are, should enjoy the same right. In the novel Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, racism causes agonies to colored people which in turn results in abnormal personality of white people as well. Walker proposes the idea of womanism to advocate equal rights among different races so as to establish a harmonious society.
1.1 White and Colored as Victims of Racism
After the first European immigrants settled in America, the Negro slaves were largely trafficked there, and they lived miserable lives under the supervision of cruel salve owners. The prosperity of American today is inseparable from black people’s contribution. But the treatments that black people have received are not commensurate with what they have contributed, and their statuses have been debased. Meanwhile, white people also are victims of racism, being convicted by their own conscience for their brutal behaviors. Racism has existed throughout human history with a general belief that on the basis of one race, abilities and characteristics they p
