A Study on the Necessity of Communication and Empathy in The Color Purple

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discuss Alice Walker’s The Color Purple as a problem of heterogeneity, homogeneity, and hybridity in terms of the necessity of communication and empathy. Traditionally, black women have been given a negative image of lewdness, stubbornness, and a source of evil. In The Color Purple, Walker uses ‘quilting’ to create a specific shape by fitting several pieces of cloth as a symbol of the mutual solidarity of the black women’s community. In addition, Walker seeks to expand solidarity with men, not limited to the solidarity of women’s communities. This can be seen as Walker expanding the heterogeneous domain of men and women into the aspect of homogeneity. Traditionally, the male domain and the female domain are separated, but Walker suggests hybridity by exchanging roles between males and females. In conclusion, Walker proposes womanism as a new alternative to transcendental humanism that includes men and women.