inappropriately. It suggests that the grandmothers
do not allow themselves to be weighed down by
negative thoughts about the difficulties of their
lives. They face their challenges and, by bearing
clean thoughts and speakingclean words, motivate
and inspire others to do the same. So these grand-
mothers also evince a spiritual strength.
Style
Imagery
Walker’s poem ‘‘Lineage’’ is filled with vivid
images that appeal to several senses. First are the
visual images, such as those of the grandmothers
working in the field. They work behind plows, and
then they plant the seed. Readers can visualize
these scenes. Next is the sense of touch, as the
speaker mentions that the grandmothers reach
down and touch the earth. Where they touch, or
where they sow seed, plants grow. Thus, the
images pass from early spring to the time of har-
vest. Readers can imaginean empty field evolving
into a plot of land filled with tall green plants.
Then come images that stimulate the sense of
smell. The speaker remembers not only through
the visuals of her grandmothers working in the
field but also through remembrance of fragran-
ces. Here readers can imagine a child smelling a
particular cake of soap and being reminded of
her grandmothers. Soap also conjures a sense of
cleanliness, suggesting another visual image of a
neat grandmother who, despite her hard work in
the field, is a cleanly woman, too. The speaker
continues with the scent of onions. This could
be another representation of a woman working
in the field, digging up onions, but it could also
remind the speaker of her grandmothers as women
cooking in the kitchen. The next image related
to smell is that of clay. Some southern fields are
heavy in clay, so this reference is presumably not to
a potter working with clay but rather to a woman
whose hands are so often deep within the soil that
the smell of clay is embedded in her skin.
There is another image associatedwithboth
sight and touch, and that is the image of the grand-
mothers’ hands. The speaker points out that the
veins in her grandmothers’ hands are prominentWomen working in a field(ÓFriedrich Stark / Alamy)
Lineage