Women Resistance in Alice Walker's: The Color Purple

Authors

  • Samara Nofal Omar Faculty of Arts, English Language Department, Sana'a University, Sana'a, Yemen

Keywords:

Resistance, Feminism, Oppression, Discrimination, Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the forms of female resistance that appear in the novel The Color Purple and the extent to which the female characters in the novel portray female resistance. It focuses on African-American women's struggle against exploitation by both the whites and black men. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the tragic experiences of black women in racist societies and their struggles for survival. The female characters have masculine characteristics such as dynamism, boldness, and physical strength. Sophia's strength, Shug's sexual confidence, and Harpo's insecurities are prime examples of the disagreement between the characters' genders and the traits they portray.  The results of this study indicate that female characters show active and passive resistance to various forms of oppression experienced. There endure sexual harassment and physical violence. The resistance of women is explained by the actions of several female characters who finally free themselves from the problems they face. Alice Walker fights against the way black women are being discriminated. Discrimination is on two layers, one being black, another is being female

 

 

Author Biography

Samara Nofal Omar, Faculty of Arts, English Language Department, Sana'a University, Sana'a, Yemen

 

 

Dimensions

Alice Walker-biography (January21, 2018).Biography. https://www.biography.com/writer/alice-walker

Abbandonato, L. (1993). Subversive sexuality and the rewriting of heroine’s story in The Color Purple. Alice Walker: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. (Ed.) Henry Louis Gates. Amisted, 296-308.

Adhikari, M. (1991). Re-organizing the lives of women in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Literary Criterion, XXXIV, 20.

Beauvoir, S. de (1974). The Second Sex. Vintage Books Edition, 65.

Beihl, J. (1991). Rethinking Ecofeminist Politics. South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-392-9, 87.

Badly, D. (January 8, 1984). Novelist Alice Walker telling the black women story. Time Magazines.

Butler, J. (1999). Gender Trouble; Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge. ISBN 9780415924993, 231.

Christain, B. (1986). The contrary women of Alice Walker. Women's Studies International Forum, 425

Collins, P. H. (1990). Black Feminist Thought: Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment. Hyman, 134.

Connel, R. (2005). Masculinities. Allen & Unwin, 324

Published

2023-07-22

How to Cite

Samara Nofal Omar. (2023). Women Resistance in Alice Walker’s: The Color Purple. African Journal of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (AJASHSS), 2(3), 271–274. Retrieved from https://aaasjournals.com/index.php/ajashss/article/view/433