Regionalism in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple

Abstract

This study explores Alice Walker’s presentation of the double victimization of black women in the culture of African-American people in her novel The Color Purple (1985). It emphasizes the significance of Walker’s portrayal of this dilemma, since living in South America has a profound impact on black people in general, and on women in particular. Women in that society suffer from double-otherness, being subjugated not only by white people, but also by black men. Walker has both positive and negative feelings about the South, which greatly influences the accuracy of the events presented in the novel. Walker has an amalgamation of negative and positive feelings towards the South; which justifies her temptation to romanticize the literature about the region, and promotes her ability to present an authentic account. In The Color Purple, Walker gives an account of the experiences of African-Americans women in a society dominated by male and white people. Through sketching the characters, Walker presents various themes including black feminism, selfhood and discrimination.