Alice Walker represents a good, loving and caring man in her novel Meridian. Truman was a man who had done nothing wrong, at least in Meridian's eyes. Meridian worked with civil rights, as did Truman. While working for civil rights, Meridian fell in love with Truman: "Truman Held was the first of the civil rights workers - for that is what they were called - who began to mean something to her , even though it was months after their first meeting. she knew” (Walker 80). Unlike Alice Walker's other novel, Truman was a man who cared about people's rights and how other people felt. Truman was a richly dressed and admired man: "Truman stood on the other side of the screen door in a flowing Ethiopian robe of extravagantly embroidered white, his brown eyes bright with excitement" (Walker 99). Truman's remarkable dress code made him special. Truman was experienced and wise for the times in which he lived. It was rare for African Americans to travel: “Truman loved all the foreign cultures of the world, but his favorite was French” (Walker 99). I think it is unique that Truman is such an influential and inspiring figure. Truman is unlike any other male character Alice Walker has written about, but he compares to Shug Avery from The Color.