从妇女主义的角度解析《紫色》这本书.docx

从妇女主义的角度解析《紫色》这本书.docx

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从妇女主义的角度解析《紫色》这本书

XX师范学院

毕业论文

AnAnalysisofTheColorPurplefromthePerspectiveofWamanism

从妇女主义的角度解析《紫色》这本书

外国语学院英语教育专业09级1班

学生姓名黄XX学号090201013

指导教师丁XX职称教授

完成日期2013年3月15日

Abstract:

AliceWalkerisnotonlythefirstblackwomanwriterinAmericanhistorywhowonthePulitzerPrize，butalsoisoneofthemostinfluentialwritersofcontemporaryAmericanliterature.HernovelTheColorPurpleisknownasatimelessclassic,whichdirectlyexploresthecontradictionsandconflictsbetweenblackmenandwomen,describesthehardcourseofblackwomen’sgrowth,pointsoutafeasibleroadoftwosexes’harmony,andfurthershowstheessenceofthe“womanism”.

Thisthesisisdividedintofiveparts.ThefirstpartgivesabriefoverviewofAliceWalkerandhermasterpieceTheColorPurple.Thesecondpartdealswiththetheoreticalframework,andincludesthetheoryofwomanism.ThethirdpartgivesananalysisofthefourfemalecharactersintheColorPurplefromtheperspectiveofwomanism.TheforthpartmainlydealswiththreeuniquefeaturesofwomanistreflectedinTheColorPurple.Thennaturallythefifthpartmakesaconclusion.Inall,AliceWalker‘swomannismovercomestheshortcomingsofthefeminismandprovidesanewangleofviewtoliberateblackwomen.

KeyWords:

AliceWalker;womanism;TheColorPurple;Harmony

【摘要】艾丽丝·沃克是美国历史上第一位获得普利策文学奖的黑人女作家,也是当代美国文坛最有影响的作家之一。

她的小说《紫色》直接探讨了黑人男女之间的矛盾和冲突，以及黑人妇女的艰难成长之路，提出了两性之间和谐相处的可行之道，并从多个角度展现了“妇女主义”的要旨，是沃克的妇女主义思想的完美体现，被誉为永恒的经典。

本文共分五个部分。

第一部分简要介绍艾丽丝·沃克以及她的代表作《紫色》。

第二部分是理论基础。

第三部分从妇女主义的角度分析《紫色》中的四个女性。

第四部分探讨了《紫颜色》中的三个典型文化特征。

第五部分为总结。

综上，爱丽丝•沃克提出的妇女主义不仅克服了传统女权主义的缺点，而且也为解放广大黑人妇女提供了一个新的视角，使她们能更勇敢的面对自己的人生，也更有勇气实现男女之间的和谐。

【关键词】艾丽斯·沃克；妇女主义；《紫色》；和谐

Contents

.

Introduction

0.1AnIntroductiontoAliceWalker

Inthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,withthedevelopmentoffeministmovement,theriseofAfrican-Americanwritersbecameparticularlystriking.Especiallyin1983,ablackwriter—AliceWalkerwonthreeU.S.literaryawards:

thePulitzerPrize,theNationalBookAwardandtheNationalBookAssociationAward.Asapractitionerandtheoryexploreroftheblackfeministliterature,AliceWalkerrevealedthetragicfateandpoorlivingconditionsoftheblackwomenwithheruniqueperspectives,studiedthehumanityoftheBlacksbeyondtheboundariesofraceandgender.Shediscoveredtheproblemoftheuniversalhumannature:

livingconditions,socialrelationsandweaknesses,andthepursuitofthehumanspirit.

AliceWalker’sliterarycreationcloselyrelatedtoculturaltraditions,thecontemporarysocialenvironment,andherlifeexperiencesandfamilybackground.SoitisnecessarytounderstandAliceWalker’slifebackgroundbeforeanalyzesthetext.AliceWalkerwasborninablackfamilywhoweresharecroppersinSouthernAmerica.Shewitnessedandexperiencedtheunfairsocialstatusandsufferingsoftheblacks.Fromhermotherandgrandmother,AliceWalkerlearnedmuchabouttheoppressionandabuseofthetragicfateofblackwomen.Atthesametime,AliceWalkerunderstoodthepreciousnessoftheblack’sculturalheritage.Shesetthefaithforthepreservationandpromotionofthetraditionalculture.ThetragicchildhoodmadeAliceWalkerindrawn,sosheonlyfocusedonreading.WhenAliceWalkerwantedtodevoteherselftoliterarytraditionandhistoricalartisticcreativityoftheblackwomen,hermother’sgardeningskillsandtheotherblackwomen’sartisticcreativitiesinspiredhergreatly.TheimpactofAliceWalker’smotheralsoreflectsonthatshevaluedchildren’seducation.Althoughtheylivedinavillagewherewithoutaschool,buthermothertriedherbesttoprovidehereightchildrenwitheducationalopportunities.BeforeAliceWalkergonetogetcollegeeducation,hermotherhadalreadygivenherthreethings:

asewingmachine,atypewriterandasuitcase.Walkerexplainedthemeaningofthesethreegifts:

thesewingmachinemeansindependence,thetypewritermeansthatwritingwillbeherlife,andthesuitcasemeansenlarginghervision.

AliceWalkerisablackwriterwhohasrichlifeexperience,profoundthoughtandclearpoliticalideas.AliceWalkershoulderssocialresponsibilityandhistoricmissionofthisvulnerablegroup—blackwomenwriters.Sheisfullyawareofthetouchingpoweroftheliteraturethatdependsonthedeepmeaningofthesubjectandultimateconcernforthedestinyofmankind.AliceWalkermakesahugecontributiontocontemporaryAmericanliterature.

0.2AnIntroductiontoTheColorPurple

TheColorPurplewaspublishedin1982andwonthePulitzerPrizeandtheAmericanBookAward.Thisnoveltellsthelifejourneyoftheprotagonist—Celie’sgrowthfromavulnerablegirltoanindependentwoman.ByemphasisingonCelieandtheotherblackwomen’spursueforequality,independenceandfulfillment,AliceWalkerdemonstratesherideasofwomanismbest.

InTheColorPurple,therearethreesetsofletters.ThefirstletterisCelie’sletterswhichwerewrittentoGodaboutCelie’smiserybecauseshecouldnotwriteorspeaktoanyoneelse.ThesecondisNettie’slettertoCelie,abouthervariousexperiencesinAfrica.ThethirdisCelie’slettertoNettie,whichexposesthethemeofTheColorPurple.

TheColorPurplebeganwithCelie’slettertoGod.WhenCeliewasfourteenyearsold,shewasrapedbyherstepfather.Thenshegavebirthtotwochildrenwhoweretakenawaybyherfatherlater.Celiefeltextremelypainfulandtorturous,exceptGod,shewasforbiddentotellothers.Later,CeliemarriedtoAlbert,whomshecalled“Mr.Johnson”.AsMr.Johnson’swife,Celieworkedhardinhisfields,tookcareofhischildrenandborehisviolence.Celie’ssisterNettie,whoescapedfromherownhomebecauseofherstepfather’smistreatment,wasadoptedbyablackmissionarycoupleandwenttoAfricawiththem.Atfirst,SofiahadgreatinfluenceonCelie.Sofiawasabravewoman,whofoughtagainstherhusband’sabuse.AndSofiarefusedtobethemaidofthewhitemayor’swife.ShugAveryisabluessingerandMr.Johnson’slover.SomeideasofShug’ssongsareconsideredassinfulfortheChristians．buttheyinspirepeople．EvenCelieisencouragedandcomfortedbyShug’ssongs．Itisthebluessongsthatconveyblackwomen’saspirationforfreedomandselfhood．Moreover,Shag’spursuitofthebluesreflectstheappreciationoftheAfricanculture．

Althoughtheplotissimple,thisnovelisfarfrombeingsimple.L.SRobinsonclaimesthat“Likeaskillfullycraftedquilt,TheColorPurpleincorporatesrecognizablepiecesofliterarytraditionsintoitsownpattern,includingslavenarrative,domesticnovel,epistolarynovel,bildungsroman,fairy-tale,romance,andevenexistentialnovel.”（L.SRobinson,1996:

32）.MaroulaJoannouacclaimsthat“theinfluenceofTheColorPurpleinprogressiveacademiccircleswasunprecedented”（MaroulaJoannou,2000:

101）.

1.TheoreticalFramework

1.1TheTheoryofWomanism

In1983,AliceWalkercreativelyputforwardtheconceptsof“womanist”and“womanism”toreplace“feminist”and“feminism”inherimportantcollectionofessays--InSearchofourMothers’Gardens.Inthisbook,AliceWalkermakesaconcreteandvividillustrationoftheblackwomen’sidealstate,anddefinestheterm“womanism”asfollows:

1.Ablackfeministorfeministofcolor.Fromtheblackfolkexpressionofmotherstofemalechildren“Youactingwomanish”thatmeansyouactlikeawoman,usuallyreferringtooutrageous,audacious,courageous,orwillfulbehavior.Wantingtoknowmoreandingreaterdepththanisconsidered“goodforone”.Sheisresponsible.Sheisincharge.Sheisserious.

2.Awomanwholovesotherwomen,sexuallyand/ornonsexually,appreciatesandpreferswomen’sculture.Committedtosurvivalandwholenessofentirepeople,maleandfemale.

3.Awomanwholovesmusicanddance.Shelovesthemoon.Shelovesthespirit.Shelovesthefoodandroundness.Shelovesstruggle.Shelovesthefolk.Shelovesherself.Sheisregardless.

4.Womanististofeministaspurpleistolavender.（Walker,1983:

xi-xii）

Walkercreatestheterm“womanist”toshowthedifferenceswithwhitefeminists.Womanismisaunityoanti-sexism,anti-racialism,Africacentralismandhumanism,whichisregarededasthecoreofWalker’sspiritualworld.

AliceWalkerstressesthatthewomanist“Committedtosurvivalandwholenessofentirepeople,maleandfemale”（Walker,1983:

77）.Survivalwholeisthecoreofwomanism.Walker’swomanismisnotonlyagainstthegenderdiscrimination,butalsoagainsttheinequalityofraceandclass.AliceWalkercallsforallpeopleofdifferentraces,colorsandgenderscoexistequallyandpeacefullytoachievehuman’ssurvivalwhole.

1.1.1AdvocatingtheBravenessandConfidenceofblackwomen

AliceWalkergivestheoriginofthewomanisminthefirstinterpretation.Henceawomanistmusthavesomecharacterswhichtheword“womanish”implies,suchasbrave,courageous,responsible,self-confident,andgrown-upandsoon.Asawomanist,AliceWalkershowsthesecharacterscompletely.WhenAliceWalkerwasyoung,shewasveryconfident.Shedaredtocryout“I’mtheprettiest”infrontofherbrothers（Walker1983,385）.AliceWalkeractivelytookpartintheCivilRightsMovementandBlackWomen’sMovement,Whenshestudiedincollege.What’smore,shewasthepioneerwhoopensblackwomenliteraturecourseincollege.

1.1.2PraisingtheSisterhoodofBlackWomen

InAliceWalker’sworks,wecanfindthatthegoodrelationshipamongwomencanbefoundeverywhere.Forinstance,InTheColorPurple,themutualloveandsupportamongCelie,Sofia,Nettie,Shug,andSqueak,demonstratestheimportantinfluenceofsisterhoodontheliberation