FAMILY AND SOCIETY WITH REFERENCE TO 'THE THIRD LIFE OF GRANGE COPELAND' BY ALICE WALKER (Pages 97-106) by Ms. Thriveni Mindi in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

E. Franklin Frazer has described Afro - American family structure as having two models, one in which father is viewed as a patriarch and the sole breadwinner, and one where the mother takes on matriarchal role in the place of broken household. It is believed that Afro-American tradition was modified by experiences during slavery, resulting in a current family structure that relies more on extended kin networks. Women have undoubted played integral roles in the functioning of Black Families and the majority of them see men as abusive, no good and unreliable. This kind of personal involvement and personal identification with Black womanhood gives shape and significance in Afro-American Literature. Walker’s characters reflect such transformational turning points because Walker has experienced the societal change and re - examination of gender and historical roles fostered by the Black and Women’s Liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s, engaged in the struggle both their physical and psychological survival. The lives of these Black women consist of struggle, a struggle to survive in the horror of racism and sexism. The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970), Alice Walker’s first novel describes the economic oppressions African – Americans suffered under the share – cropping system and its tragic effects on Black families and the Black community. Afro - American woman’s attachment to family connected with unimaginable loneliness and pain. Margaret is the perfect example of Indian motherhood. Walker illustrated in depth about the Family and Society and this theme of Family and Society constantly emerged in The Third Life of Grange Copeland. Keywords: Family, Society, community, Patriarch, matriarchal.