從婦女主義的角度解析紫色這本畢業(yè)

1、X X 師 范 學(xué) 院畢業(yè)論文An Analysis ofT he Color Purple from the Perspectiveof Wamanism從婦女主義的角度解析紫色這本書(shū)2013年3月 15日外國(guó)語(yǔ) 學(xué)院 英語(yǔ)教育 專(zhuān)業(yè) 09 級(jí) 1 班 學(xué)生姓名 黃 XX 學(xué) 號(hào) 090201013 指導(dǎo)教師 丁 XX 職 稱(chēng) 教授 完成日期Abstract: Alice Walker is not only the first black woman writer in American history who won the Pulitzer Prize ，but also is one

2、 of the most influential writers of contemporary American literature. Her novel The Color Purple is known as a timeless classic, which directly explores the contradictions and conflicts between black men and women, describes the hard course of blackw omen s growth, points out a feasible road of two

3、sexes harmony, and further shows the eosf stheen cewo“manism ”.This thesis is divided into five parts. The first part gives a brief overview of Alice Walker and her masterpiece The Color Purple . The second part deals with the theoretical framework, and includes the theory of womanism. The third par

4、t gives an analysis of the four female characters in the Color Purple from the perspective of womanism. The forth part mainly deals with three unique features of womanist reflected in The Color Purple. Then naturally the fifth part makes a conclusion. In all, Alice Walker sw omannism overcomes the s

5、hortcomings of the feminism and provides a new angle of view to liberate black women.Key Words: Alice Walker; womanism; The Color Purple; Harmony【摘 要】艾麗絲沃克是美國(guó)歷史上第一位獲得普利策文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)的黑人女作 家,也是當(dāng)代美國(guó)文壇最有影響的作家之一。她的小說(shuō)紫色直接探討了黑人 男女之間的矛盾和沖突， 以及黑人婦女的艱難成長(zhǎng)之路， 提出了兩性之間和諧相 處的可行之道，并從多個(gè)角度展現(xiàn)了“婦女主義”的要旨，是沃克的婦女主義思 想的完美體現(xiàn)，被譽(yù)為永恒的經(jīng)

6、典。本文共分五個(gè)部分。第一部分簡(jiǎn)要介紹艾麗絲 沃克以及她的代表作 紫色 第二部分是理論基礎(chǔ)。第三部分從婦女主義的角度分析紫色中的四個(gè)女性。 第四部分探討了紫顏色中的三個(gè)典型文化特征。第五部分為總結(jié)。綜上，愛(ài) 麗絲?沃克提出的婦女主義不僅克服了傳統(tǒng)女權(quán)主義的缺點(diǎn)，而且也為解放廣大 黑人婦女提供了一個(gè)新的視角， 使她們能更勇敢的面對(duì)自己的人生， 也更有勇氣 實(shí)現(xiàn)男女之間的和諧。關(guān)鍵詞】 艾麗斯沃克；婦女主義； 紫色；和諧ContentsIntroduction 1.0.1 An Introduction to Alice Walker 1.0.2 An Introduction to The Co

7、lor Purple1.1. Theoretical Framework3.1.1 The Theory of Womanism3.1.1.1 Advocating the Braveness and Confidence of black wome.n31.1.2 Praising the Sisterhood of Black Women 3.1.1.3 Pursuing the Harmony of Two Sexe.s4.1.2 Summry4.2. Four Female Characters of Womanism inT he Color Purple 52.1 Celie 52

8、.2 Shug 52.3 Sophia 52.4 Nettie6.2.5 Summary6.3. Unique Features of Womanist Culture Reflected inT he Color Purple 73.1 Blues music7.3.2 Sewing83.2.1 Sewing Clothes for the Family 8.3.2.2 Co-Sewing with the Mr. Johnson9.3.2.3 Quilt-Sewing 9.3.3 Pants- Making 1.0.Conclusion 1.2.Bibliography 13 Acknow

9、ledgement 錯(cuò). 誤！未定義書(shū)簽。Introduction0.1 An Introduction to Alice WalkerIn the latter half of the 20th century, with the development of feminist movement, the rise of African-American writers became particularly striking. Especially in 1983, a black writer Alice Walker won three U.S. literary awards: th

10、e Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the National Book Association Award. As a practitioner and theory explorer of the black feminist literature, Alice Walker revealed the tragic fate and poor living conditions of the black women with her unique perspectives, studied the humanity of the Bla

11、cks beyond the boundaries of race and gender. She discovered the problem of the universal human nature: living conditions, social relations and weaknesses, and the pursuit of the human spirit.Alice Walker lsit erary creation closely related to cultural traditions, the contemporary social environment

12、, and her life experiences and family background. So it is necessary to understand Alice Walker s life background before analyzes the text. Alice Walker was born in a black family who were sharecroppers in Southern America. She witnessed and experienced the unfair social status and sufferings of the

13、 blacks. From her mother and grandmother, Alice Walker learned much about the oppression and abuse of the tragic fate of black women. At the same time, Alice Walker understood the preciousness oft he black s cultural herita Sghee. set the faith for the preservation and promotion of the traditional c

14、ulture. The tragic childhood made Alice Walker indrawn, so she only focused on reading. When Alice Walker wanted to devote herself to literary tradition and historical artistic creativity of the black women, her mother gsa rdening skills and the other black women sa rtistic creativities inspired her

15、 greatly. The impact of Alice Walker msother also reflects on that she valuedc hildren s education. Altho uthgehy lived in a village where without a school, but her mother tried her best to provide her eight children with educational opportunities. Before Alice Walker gone to get college education,

16、her mother had already given her three things: a sewing machine, a typewriter and a suitcase. Walker explained the meaning of these three gifts: the sewing machine means independence, the typewriter means that writing will be her life, and the suitcase means enlarging her vision.Alice Walker is a bl

17、ack writer who has rich life experience, profound thought and clear political ideas. Alice Walker shoulders social responsibility and historic mission of this vulnerable group black women writers. She is fully aware of the touching power of the literature that depends on the deep meaning of the subj

18、ect and ultimate concern for the destiny of mankind. Alice Walker makes a huge contribution to contemporary American literature.0.2 An Introduction to The Color PurpleThe Color Purple was published in 1982 and won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award. This novel tells the life journey of t

19、he protagonist Celie s growth from a vulnerable girl to an independent woman. By emphasising on Celie and the other black women s pursue for equality, independence and fulfillment, Alice Walker demonstrates her ideas of womanism best.In The Color Purple, there are three sets of letters. The first le

20、tter is Celie s letters which were written to God about Celie s misery because she could not write or speak to anyone else. The second is Nettie lest ter to Celie, about her various experiences in Africa. The third is Celie s letter to Net twieh, ich exposes the theme of The Color Purple.The Color P

21、urple began with Celie lest ter to God. When Celie was fourteen years old, she was raped by her stepfather. Then she gave birth to two children who were taken away by her father later. Celie felt extremely painful and torturous, except God, she was forbidden to tell others. Later, Celie married to A

22、lbert, whom she called “Mr. Johnson” .As Mr. Johnson s wife, Celie worked hard in his fields, took care of his children and bore his violence. Celie s sister Nettie, who escaped from her own home because of her stepfather misst reatment, was adopted by a black missionary couple and went to Africa wi

23、th them. At first, Sofia had great influence on Celie. Sofia was a brave woman, who fought against her husband abuse. Ans d Sofia refused to be the maid of the white mayor sw ife. Shug Avery is a blues singer and Mr. Johnson slo ver. Some ideas of Shugs songs are considered as sinful for the Christi

24、ansbut they inspire people Even Celie is encouraged and comforted by Shugs songsIt is the blues songs that convey black womens aspiration for freedom and selfhoodMoreover, Shags pursuit of the blues reflects the appreciation of the African culture Although the plot is simple, this novel is far from

25、being simple. L.S Robinson claimes that “Like a skillfully crafted quilt, The Color Purple incorporates recognizable pieces of literary traditions into its own pattern, including slave narrative, domestic novel, epistolary novel, bildungsroman, fairy-tale, romance, and even existential novel. ” (L.R

26、S obinson, 1996:32). Maroula Joannou acclaims that “the influence of The Color Purple in progressive academic circles was unprecedented (Maroula Joannou, 2000:101).1. Theoretical Framework1.1 The Theory of WomanismIn 1983, Alice Walker creatively put forward the concepts of “womanist a”n d “ womanis

27、m”to replace “ feminist an”d “ feminism i”n her important collection of essays-I-n Search of our MothersGardens. In this book, Alice Walker makes a concrete and vivid illustration of the black women ideal state, ansd defines the term “ womanism” as follow: sgood1. A black feminist or feminist of col

28、or. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children “Youa cting womanish”t hat means you act like a woman, usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous, or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered for one ”. Sish ere sponsible. She is in c

29、harge. She is serious.2. A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually, appreciates and prefers women s culture. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female.3. A woman who loves music and dance. She loves the moon. She loves thespirit. She loves the food and ro

30、undness. She loves struggle. She loves the folk.She loves herself. She is regardless.4. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. (Walker, 1983: xi-xii)Walker creates the termwomanistt od isffheorwen tcheswith white feminists.Womanism is a unity oanti-sexism,anti-racialism, Africa centralism

31、 and humanism, which is regareded as the core of Walkers spiritual world.Alice Walker stresses that the womanist“ Committed to survival and wholenessof entire people, male and female” (Walker, 1983:77).S urvival whole is the core of womanism. Walker wso manism is not only against the gender discrimi

32、nation, but also against the inequality of race and class. Alice Walker calls for all people of different races, colors and genders coexist equally and peacefullyt o achieve human s survival whole.1.1.1 Advocating the Braveness and Confidence of black womenAlice Walker gives the origin of the womani

33、sm in the first interpretation. Hence a womanist must have some characters which the word“ womanish” implies, such asbrave, courageous, responsible, self-confident, and grown-up and so on. As a womanist, Alice Walker shows these characters completely. When Alice Walker was young, she was very confid

34、ent. She dared to cry out “I m the prettiest” in front of her brothers(Walker 1983, 385). Alice Walker actively took part in the Civil Rights Movement and Black Women s Moveme, nWt hen she studied in college. Whats more, she was the pioneer who opens black women literature course in college.1.1.2 Pr

35、aising the Sisterhood of Black WomenIn Alice Walker s wosr,k we can find that the good relationship among women can be found everywhere. For instance, In The Color Purple, the mutual love andsupport among Celie, Sofia, Nettie, Shug, and Squeak, demonstratest he important influence of sisterhood on t

36、he liberation of black women. Alice Walker also emphasizes women se motion and womencsu lture, one of which is making quilts. When Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple, she lived a very simple life in a mountain village, but she still did not forget to make the quilt.“I bought a quiltpattern my mama

37、swore was easy, .I worked on my quilt .My quilt began togrow” (Walker 1983, 358)T. o some extent, making quilts help her to finish the novel.In The Color Purple, Celie, Sophie and Shug also made a quilt named “ sister s choice ” , which symbolizes th epirrecious friendships.1.1.3 Pursuing the Harmon

38、y of Two SexeAlice Walker never forgets black men. The womanist should commit themselves to the entire things of the world, whether they are male or female, human beings or nature. Sometimes, Alice Walker is criticized by her negative depiction of men, especially black men, but she is not a separati

39、st. Alice Walker only wants to show human beings a fact that black woman is suffering unfair treatments and great hurt. Therefore, great hurt hopes that black men can realize and rectify their problem. And they can become friends of black women. At the end ofT he Color Purple, the change of A lbert

40、and Harpo is a good illustration of Walker s wish ohfa ramchoineyv ing theof two sexes.The American Heritage Dictionary defines womanist as:“ Having or expressing abelief in or respect for women and their talents and abilities beyond the boundaries of race and class;e xhibiting a feminism that is in

41、clusive esp. of Black American culture (Harcouri, 2000:312)1.2 SummaryWalker s womanist theories providse a new theoretical perspective to American black women s movement, feminist criticism and eveAnm erican literature. There is no doubt that as a prolific writer and daring practical thinker, Walke

42、r is the greatest African-American womanist in the 20th century.2. Four Female Characters of Womanism in The Color Purple2.1 CelieCelie is the main character, who has been oppressed by men her whole life. Celie is treated as“the mule of the world ”(walker,1983) and suffer from both racial discrimina

43、tion and sexual abuseAt the beginning of The Color Purple ，Celies father says，“you better not never tell nobody but God”(Walker,1982：1)Being deprived of the speech fight，Celie turns her inner feelings to letters where she can express herself freelyAt the start of the novel, Celie views God as comple

44、tely separate from her world. She writes to God because she has no other way to express her feelings. She tells Shug that she sees God as a white man. Celie has this belief because everyone she knows has said God is white and a male. The ugly men Albert and he step father hardly destroy her whole li

45、fe. Luckily, Shug tells her God has no race or gender. This enables Celie to see God in a different way. She realizes that you cannot place qualities on God because God is a part of the unknown. Her faith is now based on her interpretation of God, not one she learned from someone else. With the help

46、 of Shug, Celie found out letters written to her from Africa by her sister Nettie, a missionary. These letters, full of educated, firsthand observation of African life, form a moving counterpoint to Celies life. They reveal that in Africa, just as in America, women are persistently oppressed by men.

47、2.2 ShugShug is a charming and rebellious characte“r in short skirt ，smoking cigarettes， drinking gin ，music for money and talking about slut，hussy，heifer and street cleane”r (walker， 1982： 49)According to Alice Walker, womanists are who loves danc，e loves music，loves the spirit， loves love and love

48、s herself. It appears that Shug is a womanist who expresses her real feelings in the music and firmly believes the blues themes of lo，ve sexuality and freedomShug is a very extroverted and transcendental character. She is Alberts ex-girlfriend, the one who always got away. When she comes back to vis

49、it Albert, she shakes up not only his feelings, but also those of Celie. She influences Albert to the point that he ends up treating Celie better than he ever had. By showing Celie the wonders of life and her body, she helps Celie develop herself emotionally and spiritually. Shug also helps Celie di

50、scover the long lost letters that her sister Nettie had written to her. In allowing Celie to view these letters, Shug is supplying her with even more hope and inspiration, letting Celie see that in the end, everything works out for the best.2.3 SophiaSofia is one of the strong personalities in the s

51、tory. She marries Albert sos n Harpo. Harpo tries to dominate and beat her as he s seen his father treat women, butshe fights back by giving him a bruise on one occasion. One day she runs into themayor and Miss Millie, the mayor s wife. She finds Sofias children very“ cleaasks Sofia to be her maid.

52、Of course Sofia refuses her because she would never dream of it. Being offended, Miss Millie slaps Sofia. Sofia hits back and for this she is beaten by a mob of whites and sent to jail for 8 years, which almost breaks he spirit.“All my life I had to fight I had to fight my daddy I had to fight my br

53、others I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. Girl child are not safe in a family of men But I never thought. I d have to fight in my own house! But I ll kill him dead before I let him beat me” (Walker,1982：401)Sofia is a strong and feisty character, and cannot be controlled by men. She is an inde

54、pendent woman who takes pride for what she does. Sofia has the courage to challenge the patriarchy or the authority of men2.4 NettieNettie is the ideal female character with knowledge, sense of responsibility and humanitarian spiritNettie uses the weapon of knowledge to fight agianst the darkness of

55、 different oppressionsOnce Afro-Americans entered the United States， they lost their identity They have no relatives，no friends， and no culture in the new landThus，womanists advocate Afracentrism which implies the review of Afro-American history and culture，especially slavery culture and regression

56、to African culture and tradition ， according to Alice WalkerApparently，Nettles journey to Africa indicates her search of the lost black identity and cultureNettie told Celie that at the sight of the land where their mothers and fathers cried and lived and died，something struck in her soul like a lar

57、ge bell“ They are so black， Celie，they shine?try to imagine a city full of these shining，blue black people wearing brilliant blue rubes with designs like fancy quilt patterns”(Walker,1982：126)She is excited to find her root and is proud of the black and the black culture， just as all the womanists2.

58、5 SummaryTo sum up, despite that they have different personalities and different ways of emancipation， the four female characters share the spirit of womanism since they are “ committed to survival and wholeness of entire people，male and female”and their sisterhood builds up strength and courage to fight for a better future for all black women and seek a harmonious coexistence between men and womeEnven in modern times，the spirit of womanism reflected by the four females is of great importance and si