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Sexism And Classism In Alice Walker's The Color Purple

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Alice Walker 's The Color Purple deals with the notion of sexism, racism and gender discrimination and their negative psychological effects on women 's mind. In this novel, Walker criticizes all kinds of discriminations. The characters, especially the main female characters: Celie, Shug Avery, Sofia, and Squeak, do not have stable identity, but their identity is fluid and dependent on their own language and desires and other characters speech and emotions. The characters are under the influence of their own thoughts and emotions; moreover, other characters’ desires and speech influence them too. Besides, the epistolary style of the novel helps the reader to comprehend the main characters fluid subjectivity. Different impressions prevent us from being confined to a single point …show more content…

Black women faced constant sexism in the Black Liberation Movement. The movement, though ostensibly for the liberation of the black race, was in word and deed for the liberation of the black male. Freedom was equated with manhood and the freedom of blacks with the redemption of black masculinity. The lives of African-American women have been critically affected by racism, sexism and classism, which are systems of societal and psychological restriction. The racist, sexist and classist structure the American society compartmentalizes its its various ethnic groups, denigrates the colored as inferior and characterizes males and females as center and margin respectively. Just as black as groups are relegated to an underclass by virtue of their race, women are related to a separate caste by virtue of their sex. Black women are related to a separate caste by virtue of their sex. A system of unequal power and privilege where humans are divided into groups or races with asocial rewards unevenly distributed to groups based on their racial classification. (Zare and Ataeiniya, , p 21). Variations of racism include institutionalized racism, scientific racism, and everyday racism. (Collins,

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In her article, Race and Women’s Identity Development: Distinguishing Between Feminism and Womanism Among Black and White Women, Boisnier focuses on the centralized idea of “comparing existing models of feminist identity development as they relate to women from different ethnic or racial groups,” to support her belief that Black women identify more with womanism and Black feminism (Boisnier, 211). Boisnier analyzes two widely known feminism models to validate her belief, the Downing and Roush feminist model and the Helms womanist model, in which she states that both models “share a basic pattern of evolution in women’s thinking about themselves,” (Boisnier, 212) However, the Helms womanist model suggests that Black women feel separated from

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Chisholm utilizes cause and effect to describe the unfair perspectives others have on African American women in society. When Chisholm states “ Since time immemorial the black man’s emasculation resulted in the need of the black woman to assert herself in order to maintain some semblance of a family unit.” As a result of this historical circumstance, the “black woman has developed perseverance.” Chisholm creates the generalization that black women are known for taking care of their families, while the men fight the political and

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This essay examines how intersectionality impacts Black women, examining their various levels of struggle and the tenacity that defines their path. Crenshaw contends that comprehending intersectionality allows us to see the diverse identities of minority women and better grasp how various oppressive systems interact to produce compounded discrimination. She highlights the significance of viewing race, gender, and other social categories as linked components of one's identity rather than as separate and isolated issues. Black women reside at the intersection of race and gender, which exposes them to a unique set of issues that are sometimes disregarded or misunderstood. Black women face racism and sexism in predominantly White nations, making their experiences complex.

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As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

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Alice Walker is considered a Revolutionary for many people because of the struggles she fought through as an African American woman, novelist, and activist living in the mid to late 1900’s. Alice Walker shows how women have struggled in America with having similar and equal rights to white men. She also shows how African Americans struggle with the same problems when it comes to achieving similar or equal rights to a white male. In the novel, “The Color Purple”, written by Alice Walker, the main protagonist, Celie, learns to find her own voice and own self worth through a series of obstacles that she had to overcome throughout her journey; similar to the way Alice Walker also had struggles of being an African American woman during the mid to

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Racism is the belief or idea of superiority of one race over another, often resulting in discrimination and/or prejudice towards people of the race. The ideology underlying racist practices often includes the idea that humans can be divided into distinct groups that are different due to their social behavior and their innate capacities as well as the idea that they can be ranked as inferior or superior. Since the late 20th century the notion of biological race has been recognized as a cultural invention, entirely without scientific basis. Structural Racism in the U.S. is the normalization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy – the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Arab and other racially oppressed people.

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She leaves the message that the valuable bond between men and women is possible only through the choice of freedom, desire and respect for each other’s individuality. She also believes the dominance of male is not good for any society. The present paper shows this view of the Alice Walker with a focus on the novel ‘The Color Purple.’ Key words: victimization, male

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