Rereading Alice Walker’s Womanism Through The Analysis Of Black Male Images In The Color Purple

Alice Walker’s masterpiece The Color Purple has created a surprising sensation inAmerican literature since its publication in1982. The novel centers on the grown-up processof the heroine Celie, who is depicted as a typical black female character earnestly searchingfor identity in the male-dominated community. This thesis focuses on the black malecharacters and rereads them so as to give a fresh idea to Walker’s womanism.The Color Purple differs from those works of the traditional black female writers. It is aBuildungsroman novel written from the womanist perspective. The term “womanism”originates from Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose, in whichWalker defines a “womanist” as “a feminist of color”,“a universalist”, who is committed tothe survival and wholeness of entire people, both male and female, to establish a harmoniousrelationship between the two sexes. It is under the guidance of her womanist beliefs thatWalker has created many typical womanist images in her writings.Voluminous comments have been made on Walker and The Color Purple, and most ofthem embrace such issues as the search of self-identity and liberation, Black English,sisterhood, narrative technique and form or lesbian relationships. Comments on black malecharacters seem to be much harsher. Most black male critics and feminist critics hold strongnegative attitude toward Walker’s black male characters because of their belief in Walker’scruel and unrealistic portrayal of the males. Only a small number of critics stay on theopposite side. Although they succeed in seeing the positive elements of the black males, theystill fail to link them with Walker’s womanism. It is therefore necessary to interpret Walker’swomanism through the analysis of her black male images, which might help readers betterunderstand the essence of womanism.Complementing the pre-existing studies, this thesis attempts to interpret Walker’swomanist thoughts out of the black male characters, in the hope of exploring theinterrelationship between them. This thesis reaches the following conclusions:Walker attacks the negative male characters, but gives them humanistic care at the sametime. It is the black men’s “double identity” that makes them both victimizers and victims inAfrican-American society. The dynamic (from negative to positive) black male characters inthe novel expound the ultimate womanist goal of womanism, committing “to survival andwholeness of entire people, male and female” so as to found a harmonious community. Thepositive black male characters stand for Walker’s ideal black male images in her womanistthought. In short, Walker’s womanism conveys humanistic care and hope to both women and men.Analyzing the black male characters from the angel of womanism would contribute to theunderstanding of the profound meaning of womanism and these male images. It is hoped thatthis thesis can shed light on interpreting Walker’s womanism and black male characters in herother works.