Cultural Appropriation in The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
This essay examines Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings as a fictionalized account of the Grimké sisters, analyzing how Kidd navigates the risks of cultural appropriation while crafting a compelling dual-narrative structure. The paper explores the novel's alternating perspectives between Hetty (Handful) and Sarah, arguing that this technique both reveals and partially counterbalances the problematic use of an enslaved character to illuminate a white protagonist's moral awakening. Symbolism — particularly bird imagery, flight, and sewing — along with the antebellum Southern setting are examined for how they link the two women's experiences. The essay draws on scholarship about cross-racial literary representation and Southern fiction to assess Kidd's successes and limitations.
- Introduction: A Fraught Cross-Cultural Narrative: Thesis on dual narrative and cultural appropriation
- Slavery as Symbol and the Question of Cultural Theft: Hetty as symbol and instrument of Sarah's development
- Bird Imagery, Sewing, and the Symbolism of Freedom: Flight and sewing symbols linking both women
- Setting, Southern Identity, and Intersecting Hierarchies: Antebellum South, race, gender, and narrative voice
- Conclusion: Dual Perspectives and Their Limits: Kidd's partial success balancing intersectional perspectives
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The essay maintains a critical stance throughout, acknowledging both the novel's merits and its problematic dimensions rather than offering uncritical praise or dismissal.
- It integrates secondary scholarship — Grobman, Romine, and Wright — to ground literary observations in established academic discourse on cultural appropriation and Southern fiction.
- The paper weaves together multiple analytical threads (symbolism, setting, point of view) and consistently returns them to a central argument about cultural appropriation and narrative perspective.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models how to conduct a balanced literary analysis of a culturally sensitive text. Rather than treating cultural appropriation as a binary verdict, the author uses Grobman's framework to measure the degree to which Kidd's novel appropriates or negotiates Black experience, arriving at a nuanced conclusion. This is an effective model for students learning to argue a qualified thesis.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a thesis paragraph that introduces the central tension and previews the analytical categories to follow. Subsequent body paragraphs each address one literary element — overarching symbolism and characterization, specific imagery, setting and hierarchy, and narrative voice — before the conclusion synthesizes the findings. The structure is tightly logical, with each paragraph building toward the final qualified judgment about Kidd's success in balancing dual perspectives.
Introduction: A Fraught Cross-Cultural Narrative
As problematic as it may be for a white Southern author to presume understanding of the psyche of a slave, Sue Monk Kidd embeds enough nuances in The Invention of Wings to make the fictionalized account of the Grimké sisters compelling and enlightening. Alternating between the voices of Hetty (Handful) and Sarah is the literary device Kidd relies on to demonstrate different perspectives and points of view, while also showing what Hetty and Sarah have in common. Kidd shows how both women develop the courage to rebel against social norms — and even the law — in order to make the world a better place. Symbolism also helps tie together the disparate worlds in which Hetty and Sarah live. Thick with symbolism related to the theme of flying and the freedom that flight implies, The Invention of Wings also shows how gender and race intersect in oppressive, patriarchal societies. Setting is integral and indispensable in the novel, a quintessentially Southern work. Whereas the shift in point of view between the two main characters demonstrates their differences, symbols and setting illuminate the similarities between Hetty and Sarah.
Slavery as Symbol and the Question of Cultural Theft
Kidd capitalizes on the motif of slavery as an overarching symbol of a more generalized oppression in The Invention of Wings. When Sarah first meets Handful — whose very nickname perpetuates her dehumanization — she has been complaining more about her longing to "escape the porcelain dolls," the symbols of stereotypical girlhood, than about being trapped in a society that continues to buy and sell people (Kidd 8). Sarah then receives Hetty as a gift, as if Hetty too were just another doll, and suddenly Sarah's humanitarian consciousness is awakened and she becomes determined to effect social change through her rebellion.
Using Hetty almost exclusively to develop Sarah's character amounts to "cultural theft," replete with the problematic perpetuation of stereotypes and the use of African American vernacular by an outsider (Grobman 10). Hetty exists mainly so that Kidd can paint a flattering picture of her white protagonist, even though the story does "present a cross-cultural female conversation" (Grobman 10). Sarah dominates that cross-cultural conversation, even though Kidd's opening chapter is told from Hetty's point of view and Hetty features prominently throughout the novel. Hetty is not so much a character as an icon — the archetypal young domestic slave whose benevolent white mistress takes a liking to her. If The Invention of Wings were not based on a true story, Kidd's narrative would represent unabashed cultural appropriation. As it stands, the story does capture the real-world struggles of those willing to make personal sacrifices in order to promote ethical goals.
Conclusion: Dual Perspectives and Their Limits
Neither Sarah nor Hetty are taken seriously in their respective worlds: two worlds that collide uneasily in the antebellum South. Each character must wield whatever resources she has at her disposal. By showing readers both Sarah's and Hetty's perspectives, Kidd overcomes the tendency to appropriate African American experiences wholesale and clearly differentiates between what Hetty endures versus what Sarah faces. Both women recognize the potency of intersectional oppression, and both invent wings for themselves and for posterity.
Works Cited
Grobman, Laurie. "Teaching Cross-Racial Texts: Cultural Theft in 'The Secret Life of Bees.'" College English, Vol. 71, No. 1, 2008, pp. 9–26.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Invention of Wings. New York: Penguin, 2014.
Romine, Scott. "Where is Southern Literature?" Critical Survey, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2000, pp. 5–27.
Wright, Donald R. "Recent Literature on Slavery in Colonial North America." OAH Magazine of History, April 2003, pp. 5–9.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.