Non-conformity/ Individuality
In the poem Be Nobody's Darling Alice Walker uses repetition of the imperative title in the first stanza and the last stanza to bookend this poem with the importance of being an individual. She further emphasizes how one must stand out from the crowd in more imperative and emphatic language such as 'Be an outcast,' and 'be pleased to walk alone.'
Death
Walker deals with death in Be Nobody's Darling through the juxtaposition of 'Make a merry gathering, and 'on the bank / where thousands perished.' The contrast between the trivial, frivolous adjective 'merry,' emphasized by alliteration, creates a sudden solemn tone surrounding the death of so many people.
Value
In the poem I Will Keep Broken Things, Walker values items that are discarded or imperfect, both living and inanimate, such as 'the old Slave Market Basket,' and 'Iguanas,' with their 'heads sheared off.' The beauty in this poem is twofold: firstly Walker learns to accept herself as broken stating 'I will keep Myself;' and secondly she sees the value in things while they are still broken remarking 'Their beauty is They Need Not Ever Be fixed.'
