AwakeningofFemaleConsciousnessReflected英美文學(xué)畢業(yè)論文

1、 . 學(xué)號：師學(xué)院華銳學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）專 業(yè) 英 語 年 級 2008 級 姓 名 曉丹 論文（設(shè)計）題目 Awakening of Female Consciousness Reflected in The Color Purple指導(dǎo)教師 郭耀忠 職稱 講 師 2012年 5月 11 日27 / 32師學(xué)院華銳學(xué)院本科學(xué)生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）開題報告姓名性別學(xué)號專業(yè)班級曉丹女英 語2008級本科3班題目Awakening of Female Consciousness Reflected in The Color Purple選題意義The Color Purple gives a c

2、ritical thinking on black womens living conditions from womans perspective.This article attempts to trace the construction of female consciousness through an analysis of the growing experience of the heroine Celie. From her growing process, we can see that women want to get equality with mens positi

3、on; the most important thing is to realize the value of their existence, maintain independent personality, keep the integrity of the spirit world, and seek independent ability for survival.主要容、思路與方法Alice Walker is a remarkably prolific black woman writer in contemporary American literature. Her mast

4、erpiece, The Color Purple tells the process of how a southern black girl Celies female consciousness has been gradually awakened and how she pursues independence and obtains liberation. Based on historical evidences and feminism, this essay analyses Celies female consciousness awakening in The Color

5、 Purple. In this novel, the heroine Celie writes letters to God in which she tells about her life including her roles as a daughter, a wife, a sister and a mother. And she meets some black women who help her find her value and get independence. They are Shug Avery, Nettie and Sophia. In the course o

6、f Celies female consciousness awakening, there is always a strong belief of optimism in her. With her optimism and her efforts, Celie successfully finishes her female consciousness awakening.指導(dǎo)教師意見指導(dǎo)教師簽名：年月日系意見簽章年月日師學(xué)院華銳學(xué)院本科學(xué)生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）中期檢查表系別：外語系 專業(yè)：英語 班級: 2008級本科3班題 目Awakening of Female Consciousnes

7、s Reflected in The Color Purple學(xué) 號曉丹指導(dǎo)教師郭耀忠職稱講師計劃完成時間：2011年5月上旬論文（設(shè)計）的進度計劃：1.3月7日前,選題,資料收集2.3月15日前,提交開題報告。3.4月21日前,完成并提交論文的初稿。4.4月24日前,完成并提交論文二稿。5.4月26日前,完成論文的三稿。6.5月3日前,完成論文的定稿。已經(jīng)完成的容： 1.確定了論文題目，閱讀相關(guān)的文獻(xiàn)并搜集了必備的資料；2.確定了論文提綱與基本的容框架結(jié)構(gòu)和論證的細(xì)節(jié)；3.論文第一稿基本完成。指導(dǎo)教師意見：指導(dǎo)教師簽名： 年 月 日備注：ContentsAbstract1Key Words1

8、1. Introduction21.1About Alice Walker21.2 About The Color Purple32.Cultural andHistorical Background52.1 Feminism52.2 Two Oppressions Upon the Black Women73.Female Consciousness Awakening through Suffering83.1 Celies Childhood83.2 CeliesUnhappy Marriage Life83.3 Sophias Effect93.4 Shug Averys Effect

9、93.5 Netties Letters103.6Women Themselves, the Only Godness to Save Themselves133.7 The Independence of Celie134.Conclusion14Bibliography17Awakening of Female Consciousness Reflected in The Color PurpleName: Liu Xiaodan No.: English Major Foreign Languages DepartmentSupervisor: Guo Yaozhong Title: I

10、nstructorAbstract: Alice Walker is a remarkably prolific black woman writer in contemporary American literature. Her masterpiece, The Color Purple tells the process of how a southern black girl Celies female consciousness has gradually awakened and how she pursues independence and obtains liberation

11、. This essay discusses the course of the heroine in The Color Purple, Celies pursuit of her self-consciousness. Even though her life is extremely hard, Celie never gives up looking for her female consciousness awakening and finally she successfully achieves the value of herself. Based on the histori

12、cal evidences and feminism, this essay analyzes Celies female consciousness awakening in The Color Purple. In this novel, the heroine Celie writes letters to God in which she tells about her life including her roles as a daughter, a wife, a sister and a mother. And she meets some black women who hel

13、p her find her value and get independence. The first woman is Shug Avery, the Blues singer, who is her husbands lover. She then becomes Celies savior. The second one is Nettie, Celies sister, who becomes a missionary teacher in Africa. She also becomes Celies spiritual dependence after Celie knows t

14、hat God doesnt exit in reality. At the same time, she is the guardian of Celies two children who symbolize Celies hope. The third one is Sophia, the daughter in law of Celie. Celie is inspired by her strength and courage, and gets rid of all troubles. Influenced by these women around her, Celie fina

15、lly has her own work, realizing her own value as a woman. In the course of Celies female Consciousnessawakening, there is always a strong belief of optimism in her. With her optimism and her efforts, Celie successfully finish her female consciousness awakening.Key Words: The Color Purple; Celie; fem

16、inism; black women摘要:艾麗斯沃克是當(dāng)代美國文壇著名的黑人女作家。她的著作紫色講述了南方黑人女孩西莉的女性意識如何逐漸覺醒以與她如何追求獨立進而獲得解放的過程。本論文探討的是紫色這部小說中的女主人公西莉不斷的追求女性自我意識并最后實現(xiàn)自我價值的過程。盡管生活充滿坎坷，西莉卻從沒有放棄過她對追求女性意識的覺醒，最終她成功實現(xiàn)了自我價值。本文從歷史角度與女性主義入手，分析一個生長在美國南方的黑人婦女西莉，寫信給上帝去講訴她作為女兒、妻子、姐姐、媽媽的角色的一生。同時，介紹了幾個影響她一生的黑人婦女。第一個是莎格埃佛里，一位布魯斯歌手，同時也是她丈夫的情人，最后成為了她的拯救者；第

17、二個是聶蒂，西莉的妹妹，她是一個非洲的傳教士，在西莉認(rèn)識到上帝不可能真正走入她的生活中后，她不但是西莉的精神寄托，而且還是西莉的希望，因為她是西莉的兩個孩子的監(jiān)護人；第三個是索非亞，她的兒媳，意志堅定，一直激勵著她。最后，她終于擺脫了一直困擾她的那些煩惱。通過對生活的不斷認(rèn)識，以與周圍的幾個女人對她的影響，找到了一個真實的自我，完全擁有了自己的工作。在西莉女性意識覺醒的過程中，她身上有一種樂觀主義精神。正是這種樂觀精神和努力讓西莉成功完成了她女性意識的覺醒。關(guān)鍵詞：覺醒紫色；西莉；女性主義；黑人女性1. Introduction1.1 About Alice WalkerThe Color P

18、urple (1982), written by the famous Afro-American female writer Alice Walker (1944-), won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1983. She is the first Afro-American woman who has won this award. The novel was adopted for film in 1984 by Spielberg and this adaptation brought her a worldwide fame and popu

19、larity.Alice Walker was born in the small rural town of Eatonton, Georgia on February 9, 1944. She was the eighth and last child of Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tallulah Grant, two sharecroppers. Her parents experiences with the oppressive sharecropping system and the racism of the American South ha

20、d deeply influenced in her life. Violent racism and family poverty had left a permanent impression on her writing.In 1965, Walker was involved in Civil Rights Movement following her graduation, which influenced her writing of her novels, such as The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970),Meridian (197

21、6) and The Color Purple. She even married a Jewish Civil Rights lawyer, Mel Leventhal. Another movement that influenced her deeply was the Womens Liberation Movement which she regarded as white womens movement. She became interested in the conditions of black women who suffered the double oppression

22、- racism and sexism. The latter came from white men, even from black men. She realized the necessity for them to achieve freedom. So the concern of black women and the impact of racism and sexism on them became the major themes of Walkers novels. She endeavored to explore an ideal way for black wome

23、n to fight against racial and sexual discrimination and to establish their identity. As a result, she wrote her famous novel The Color Purple, which exposed black mens sexual abuse and prejudice against female blacks. 1.2 About The Color PurpleThe Color Purple is an epistolary novel. It consists of

24、90 letters, of which over two thirds (61 in number) Celie wrote to God, 14 to her sister Nettie, and 15 Nettie wrote to Celie. The story centers on Celies life, with Netties African adventure. The time frame of the novel covers over thirty years, and Celie is now in middle age, in her mid or late fo

25、rties or thereabout. It opens with Celie at 14, sexually abused by her “father” (Fonso by name) who threatened to kill her mammy if she told anyone but God. She gave birth to two children who were taken away from her immediately after they were born. Later her “father”“married”soldher off to Albert

26、(called Mr.or a long time in Celies letters).The man abused her and had an evil desire to her sister Nettie. So Nettie ran away and found peace working for a missionary family and taking care of their two children, Adam and Olivia. Celie never hears from Nettie for some thirty years. In the meantime

27、 Celie takes care of her husbands children and endures a hard, loveless life. Her husbands lover Shug Avery, a flashy African American singer, falls ill and is brought over for her to take care of. The two women bond well with one another, and Shug teaches Celie to love and stand up for herself. She

28、 teaches her about God. All through her progress toward emotional maturity, Celie regards Shug as her spiritual guide. Invigorated with a new sense of wellbeing, Celie begins to assert herself. She leaves Albert and stays with Shug. Celies self-awareness quickly grows. Then she learns that Fonso was

29、 her stepfather. Her biological father, a prosperous store owner, was lynched by the white racists who hated him because they thought he had stolen their business. After Fonso dies, Celie comes into the property that is rightfully hers and becomes independent. She achieves rebirth. All the time she

30、prospers, Albert goes down slope. He loses his will to life, becomes an alcoholic, and almost dies. He survives, becomes friends with Celie, and helps her with her sewing. It turns out that he has for yeas kept Netties letters to Celie, and Celie is happy to know that Nettie has been fine all the ye

31、ars, married to the missionary after his wife dies. Celie reads Netties letters and begins writing to her. Then she learns that the missionarys two children are adopted, and are in fact Celies blood and flesh. They come back from Africa and reunite with Celie.Many people abroad are interested in Ali

32、ce Walker and her novel The Color Purple. Mel Watkins regards it as “striking and consummately well-written.”(Mel Watkins, 1970:165) Dinitia Smith suggests that the novel marks a major advance for Walkers art: “because the book is superb, it places her in the company of Faulkner, from whom she appea

33、rs to have learned a great deal: the use of a shifting first-person narrator, for instance, and the presentation of a complex story from a nave point of view.” These positive remarks reveal that The Color Purple is probably Walkers most artistically mature work which transcends the boundaries of the

34、 female gender to embrace more universal concerns about individual autonomy and self-reliance.Similar to the foreign scholars and with the passion for American minority literature, more and more Chinese critics and scholars show great interest in Alice Walker and her works. Liu Yuan asserts in “The

35、Color Purple and Alice Walkers Womanism” (Liu Yuan, 2006: 243) that the novel gives a full expression of the ideological emotion of feminism and a vivid description of black womens struggle for liberation and equality. In “The Pattern of Chang in Alice Walker(Liu Yuan, 2006: 223)” , Liu Ying argues

36、that the pattern change in Alice Walkers heroines shows her understanding of the process that black women must undergo to achieve their vision. 2. Cultural and Historical Background2.1 FeminismFeminism is a discourse which involves various movements, theories, and philosophies which are concerned wi

37、th the issue of gender difference. It advocates equality for women and campaigns for womens rights and interests. Apart from the criticism of social relationship, many feminists also emphasize the analysis of the inequality between men and women and the promotion of womens benefits. Feminist theory

38、aims at knowing the essence of inequality and stressing on gender politics and sexuality. The exploring theme of feminism includes discrimination, stereotyped image, and materialization of sex, housework distribution, oppression and paternity. Feminism originated in the West. It was regarded as a th

39、eoretical and political movement which took womens experience as its source and motivation. The word feminism first appeared in France and meant womens liberation. Then it spread to Britain and America and gradually became popular. At the beginning, the movement pursued the equality between men and

40、women. The right to vote was the first and foremost. During 1920s and 1930s, the majority of the women in western countries gained equal political rights. However, in social life and peoples sense, women were still in an inferior position. So the feminist began to realize that there lay a problem of

41、 gender relations and power. Therefore, feminism movement turned into the analysis of power structure and the origin of inequality between men and women. Feminism is the combination of theory and practice. Its a kind of belief and ideology aiming at eliminating all inequality including sexual discri

42、mination.The movement of feminism is divided into three phases. The first generation started in 1850s and continued to the beginning of 20th century. The second phase which was called Modern Feminism lasted till 1960s. PostModern Feminism has been developing up to now. The first generation of femini

43、sm derived from the French Revolution and the Enlightenment. The representative figure was Harriet Tyler Mill from England. The primary appeal of the movement was womens equal rights in education, legislation and economy. The feminists mainly called for womens liberation from economic aspect. Their

44、achievements had a great influence on later feminism, especially the Marxist or Socialist Feminism. Leo Tolstoys Anna Kalielinna was the representative literature of that time. The International Womens Day also came into being in that period. But during this period feminism hasnt risen up to the the

45、oritical altitude and remained at experimental stage. From the beginning of the 20th century to 1960s, the world had experienced two world wars. With colonialism collapsing and different kinds of contradictions emerging, feminism has grasped the opportunity of a prosperous development. The breaking

46、up of feminism into three branches was the most distinguishing feature. They are Radical Feminism, Socialist Feminism and Liberation Feminism. Socialist Feminism mainly concerned womens equal rights in economic life and class struggle, while Radical Feminism and Liberation Feminism called for womens

47、 freedom in sex. They challenged the whole male-dominated society and the sex class system. Post-Modern Feminism originated between 1960s and 1980s. Two major elements contributed to its booming. First, sexual liberation led to many problems of broken families, single mothers and the spread of AIDS.

48、 These problems have drawn people to think about whether it is worth the cost to strive for sexual liberation and feminism. Second, as more and more women have taken the leading position of government, company and other organizations, peoples doubt about womens real role in family and society has gr

49、own deeper. Thus PostModern Feminism rose in response to the proper time and conditions. Compared to Modern Feminism, it puts more emphasis on the philosophical thoughts beyond the limits of women and has a strong sense of socialism and sexual freedom. The feminism movement has a profound and lastin

50、g influence on the society. Women have gained much more freedom and equal rights in politics, economy and education. A social revolution has also been promoted by feminism. More and more women take part in different kinds of social activities to prove themselves. The emerging of many outstanding fem

51、ale politicians and enterprisers is a typical example. Thus the gender structure of the society becomes more balanced and harmonious. In the future, women will have more opportunity to demonstrate their talents and gain their own value of life. To be more specific, feminism has the following charact

52、eristics, which are shown in The Color Purple:a) Feminists search for the source of literary creation in Afro-American women heritage and tradition .They emphasize that Afro-American women heritage and tradition gives Afro-American women creativity.b) Feminists attribute Afro-American womens misfort

53、une to the combined racism and sexism. While disclosing patriarchys oppression upon Afro-American women, feminists point out that racism corrupts Afro-American men and consequently deepens Afro-American womens sufferings.c) Feminists attach great importance to sisterhood, which is the escape hatch f

54、or the oppressed Afro-American women.d) Feminists believe that Afro- American womens self-respect and self-improvement will influence Afro-American men and ultimately will make them get rid of their patriarchal prejudice and make them respect women.e) Feminists believe that mutual understanding and

55、communication between Afro- American men and women will improve and perfect their relationship.2.2 Two Oppressions Upon the Black WomenPeople may know about racial discrimination and sexual discrimination, but they may not know how extensive they are, how they work and how they are interrelated with

56、 each other. The following much celebrated passage in Hustons Their Eyes Were Watching God can give us an accurate answer, “so the white man throw down the load and tell the niggers to pick it up. He picks it up because he has to, but he doesnt tote it. He hands it to his woman folks. The nigger wom

57、an is the mule of the worlds so far as I can see”The mule of the world-this is the role black women are forced to play in the domestic, social and political circumstances, and this is also the fate of the black women in The Color Purple. In this novel, Alice Walker spares no details and delineates a clear picture of the two oppressions that the black women endure.Black women dont have any right in the society. They think that they should have no rights before, and they are told that they should obey their fathers and their husbands, I mean that they should obey