Womanist Vision Of Survival In The Color Purple

Walker's epistolary tale, The Color Purple published in 1982, chronicles the startling tragedy and triumph of a poor black woman named Celie in her struggle for self-empowerment, sexual equality, and spiritual growth in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century. This thesis is intended to explore Alice Walker's womanist vision of survival in The Color Purple through woman-bonding, self-reliance and changes of black male characters. Womanist vision of survival involves black women's quest for liberation and harmonious coexistence of two sexes as its core. The author's position is that womanist vision of survival means black men undergo radical transformation and thus gain spiritual survival when they take responsibility for their wrongdoings against women and start to recognize black women as their equals besides women achieving survival.Chapter one focuses on womanist vision of survival by woman-bonding including passionate friendship, sisterhood and motherhood. Through describing the relationships among the protagonist Celie and other black women, the thesis manifests that they must help and support each other, foster confidence to gain selfhood and eventually shatter sexist and racist shackles.Chapter Two explores womanist vision of survival by means of self-reliance including blues singing, sewing, education and changing the patriarchal Christianity. Such creativity has become important means for them to achieve economic independence and social equality.The last chapter discusses the changes of the black men in The Color Purple and the reconciliation of the two genders. These black men undergo self-redemption to reach the womanist goal of the spiritual survival.The author of the thesis endeavors to explore the motif of survival from womanist perspective. Deeply rooted in the African culture and tradition, womanism is against sexism and racism with the survival and wholeness of the entire people, male and female as its aim. It excludes both white supremacy implied by feminism and separatism implied by black feminism. Womanist vision of survival embraces gender equality and happy coexistence of males and females. The thesis points out ways of black women's liberation and independence as well as changes of black males, and thus the hope for the survival and wholeness of the entire people, male and female. The author indicates the development and growth of humanity by exploring the possibility of the unity among women, and male transformation in The Color Purple.