Oppression And Resistance: An Interpretation Of The Color Purple Based On Foucault’s Power Theory

The Color Purple is the representative work of African American woman writer,Alice Walker.For this novel,Alice Walker becomes the first black woman writer,who wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.The Color Purple portrays a series of vivid and well-rounded black women images and narrates a story of them who facing the dual oppression of disciplinary power on racism and sexism,but going through a state of numbness to self-awakening by means of unyielding resistance and the pursuit of an aesthetic life and hence completing the successful counterattack of their life.This thesis applying Foucault’s power theory to interpret The Color Purple,mainly explores the following three problems.First of all,it discusses how the disciplinary power operates in the society constructed in The Color Purple;secondly,it focuses on the oppressions that the black women are suffered under the discipline of power;finally,it studies on how the black women resist the oppression and realize the liberation of their body and mind.Beginning with an introduction to Alice Walker and The Color Purple and studies on The Color Purple both at home and abroad,this thesis deeply cultivates the power factor in causing the survival dilemma of the black women based on the study of Foucault’s power theory.Foucault regards that disciplinary power is ubiquitous,which mainly realizes the discipline of body,discourse and knowledge through hierarchical observation,normalizing judgement and examination.Foucault believes that where there is oppression,there is resistance.He also divides the way of resistance into two kinds,partial struggle and aesthetics of existence.Partial struggle is decided by the characteristic of Foucault’s micro-power theory.Foucault believes that the micro-power is specific and therefore the resistance to the micro-power is also specific.Aesthetics of existence is the essence of his idea of resistance.He believes that life should be closely related to art,focus more on the care of the self and hence realizing the prosperity of the spiritual world.Taking aesthetics of existence as a means of resistance is also Foucault’s sophistication.The black women in The Color Purple are subjected to the discipline and oppression of power,their bodies are tamed,their words are ignored and the truth they hear is distorted.However,facing such predicament of life,relying on their own awakening of consciousness,the support of sisterhood and the artistic way of life,they resist the oppression of disciplinary power and eventually achieved the liberation of body and mind.This thesis employing Foucault’s power theory,aims to expound that the black women from the original docile and imprisoned individuals,awaken in the silent captivity of power,strive to break the cage of power and finally realize self-liberation.It also providesinspiration for everyone that when encountering the circumstance of being oppressed by the discipline of power,one ought to learn to do independent thinking,distinguish oneself from the disciplinary power and rebel appropriately.At the same time,it is also hoped that this paper will arouse more people’s attention and reflection on the disciplinary mechanism in the current society.