From Self-Denigration to Self-Realization and Selfhood: A Study of Alice Walker’s the Color Purple
The IUP Journal of American Literature, Vol. IV, No. 4, pp. 38-45, November 2011
Posted: 22 Aug 2012
Date Written: August 22, 2012
Abstract
Women of African descent, who could afford to put their pen to paper, have challenged the status quo in the cultural, political, social, and spiritual realms of their community by using their craft to represent women who defy traditional roles and resist the strictures of oppression. They lend voice to women who have long been silenced and discriminated against, women who have the status of a mule, to say the least. Black women writers from around the globe have been relentlessly struggling against racism, exploitation, gender oppression, and other human rights violations. The psychological and physiological ramifications of globalization have been a major part of the subject matter of the contemporary African writers. With regard to Africa and African culture, the international slave trade and colonialism compelled significant and growing contact with globalization in its nascent manifestations. What black women writers want is to have their say in global decisions concerning survival and the future of humanity. They need access to and participation in the advancement of globalization. This paper critically examines The Color Purple, the highly acclaimed work of Alice Malsenior Walker, and celebrates the unflagging spirit of womanhood.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation