The Reproduction of Violence in Alice Walker’s Novels: from Heroic to Victimized Rapist

• Main Author: Adelina Vartolomei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hyperion University 2013-05-01
• Series: HyperCultura
• Subjects: Violence; Rape; Philomela; Stereotypes; Slavery; African American
• Online Access: http://litere.hyperion.ro/hypercultura/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Vartolomei-Adelina_pdf.pdf

Abstract The paper analyzes the reproduction of violence in three novels written by Alice Walker (The Color Purple, Meridian, The Third Life of Grange Copeland). This physical and psychological abuse is not blamed on a certain race or ethnicity. More specifically, this system of injustice is reiterated by African Americans who have been submitted to it during and after slavery. Calvin Hernton, for instance, observes how the roles of masters and slaves are reassigned in Walker’s novels as African American men are “masters” while the women are still oppressed. The paper focuses especially on African American women and the suffering they endure on account of the fact that before and after freedom they are still in chains. The main instrument of oppression is that of rape, reason why Martha Cutter, for example, states that the myth of Philomela has greatly influenced the writing of African American women. However, a conflict is born as Alice Walker depicts black men as both peaceful and violent, description with which Angela Davis disagrees because the negative examples might create fake stereotypes as they did in the past such as that of the black rapist and black whore.