Abstract

The 70s of the 20th Century witnessed the rise and prosperity of black feminist literature with a large number of black female writers dedicated to it. Presenting black traditions in different ways, advocating the awakening of black women and pressing for their liberation, they bring black feminist literature to the mainstream of American and even world literature. One of the most influential among them, Alice Walker mostly writes about the black, their oppression and rebellion.

Representative of Walker’s works, The Color Purple wins the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983. The novel shows how the black people, men and women, oppressed by the hostile familial environment awaken, rebel and finally obtain an independent and harmonious existence. At present, prolific research has been done into the novel from various aspects, ranging from the theme, writing techniques, character analysis and so on. This thesis will make an analysis of the concept of family in the transformation of the black from the oppressed to independent entity.

The thesis consists of five parts: the first part is a brief introduction to Alice Walker and The Color Purple, and then offers a review of criticism on Alice Walker and her works both at home and abroad. The introduction ends with the aims and meaning of the thesis. The second part is a brief overview of family as the hostile place with the dual oppression of racism and patriarchy. Since the influence of racism upon family is relatively mild, this part focuses on the oppression of patriarchy. The third part discusses how the major characters grow within the purgatorial family and gain healing power within the distorted family from woman-bonding and mutual help. The fourth part points out that in the redefined family, autonomy is achieved for all and an extended family is constructed. Through the analysis, the thesis comes to the conclusion that family is of vital importance not only for the black community but also for the society as a whole.

Key words: family, The Color Purple, Alice Walker