Women's oppression in the color purple

Abstract

In this study, the writer analyses novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The Color Purple is a narrative novel about Celie and Nettie, two African-American women who are struggling to deal with gender oppression in male dominated of early 20th century African-American society. There are some oppression that must be faced by the main character of this novel. But in this study, the writer limits on the oppression happens in the family and the struggles of main character. This study uses the qualitative descriptive method to draw a description about woman’s oppression. The writer uses Feminist Literary Criticism. Feminist criticism is a criticism that focuses on the struggles of woman to transform from the oppression to gain equality and have a good life. This study includes some oppression based on sexism includes physical, mental and sexual abuses and gender stereotypes. The main character is Cellie. She is also the narrator in this novel because she writes by herself about anything that she faced, specially the abuse from men in her life. This novel is epistolary because it consist of letters written by the main character.