From Double Oppressions To Double Liberations

Alice Walker (1944—) is a famous contemporary black feminist and novelist in America. Having experienced so many sufferings and hardships, she is keenly aware of the predicament that black women are in. For centuries they have undergone the double oppressions of racism from the white and sexism from the black men. Their identities are marginalized and rights are deprived of and they remain at the bottom of the society. Therefore, Walker has made great efforts to explore the living conditions of black women, reveal their tragic fate and to seek possible solutions. The theory of"womanism"is one of her most outstanding achievements. The Color Purple(1982) is by far the most distinguished one among her works. It won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and the American Book Award in 1984, and has brought Walker the international fame. Based on Walker's womanism and her work The Color Purple, this thesis probes into the struggle and pursuit of black women under the double oppressions. This thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter one deals with Walker's life story, her major works and the plot of and general comments on The Color Purple. Walker was born in a poor black family in the south of America where severe violence and poverty has exerted a strong influence upon her future writing. The Color Purple describes the heroine's progress from self-negation under the racism and sexism to realization of her own value with other black women's help.Chapter two is an analysis of Walker's womanism. Womanism is more than an account of lesbian relationship, it emphasizes the sisterhood built on women's mutual support and love and is committed to the survival and wholeness of the entire race, men and women so as to establish a harmonious society between them.Chapter three deals with the deconstruction of black women's double oppressions——racial and sexual oppression in the novel.Black people, especially black women, suffer from racial discrimination and lose their dignity. In the eyes of white people, black women are sexual tools or secondary creatures. White people dominate black women's homeland and white-dominating thoughts. This phenomenon exists noy only in America but also in Africa. In this sense, black women's discrimination and oppression are an international issue.Patriarchy is a system under which women and children are governed by men. The Color Purple reflects Celie's spiritual progress from numbness, awakening and struggle to the economical and spiritual independence. The novel illustrates black women's dignity and advocates the equality between men and women.Chapter four is about black women's search for a new womanist society. A search for black women's tradition is an important weapon for black feminists to oppose against the double...