The Evolution Of Alice Walker's Womanism In Her Early Novels

In the history of African American literature,the black female writer Alice Walker reveals the tragedies of black females in the 20 th century from an unique perspective.Her works tell the stories about the black females who are different in personality and strive for their own rights.Her representative work,The Color Purple won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize,which are the two highest honor awards in the United States and it was made into a film by Spielberg.With the maturity of the heroine,Walker's womanism has gradually matured.This thesis chooses three of Walker's early works,The Third Life of Grange Copeland,Meridian,The Color Purple to illustrate the evolution of Walker's womanism.Through the analysis of the black women in the works,it clarifies the gradual process of the feminist consciousness from the budding stage to the mature stage.Chapter One first introduces the source and content of Alice Walker's womanism.Then it collects and summarizes the previous studies of scholars at home and abroad on her three early works,as well as her womanism.And then it presents the significance of the thesis.Chapter Two illustrates the budding stage of Walker's womanism,the representatives are Margaret and Mem with tragic fate in The Third Life of Grange Copeland.The black females completely lose self-consciousness on account of the strong erosion of the white culture and the indifference of the black community.But Ruth gives the black females a glimmer of hope in the dark,this plants the seed for Walker's womanism.Chapter Three is the growth of Walker's womanism.The protagonist Meridian in Meridian rises up against class oppression,racial oppression and gender oppression,which demonstrated the awakening of the black females' self-consciousness.In this novel,the sisterhood in the black community gives the black females great power.But it can be seen from the way Meridian fights and the feeling of guilt she has thatWalker's womanism is still developing,which is immature and not universal.Chapter Four is the mature stage of Walker's womanism.The heroine,Celie in The Color Purple,becomes independent and self-confident after lots of misfortunes.At the end of the novel,she starts her company and stands on her own feet.Meanwhile,the relationship between black men and black women also becomes harmonious.The womanism of this stage believes that if the black females really want to achieve their own independence,they should get rid of their attachment to black men,but unit with them,which integrates the whole human culture.Chapter Five is the conclusion.Analyzing three of her early works expounds the evolution of Alice Walker's womanism.