A Multi-dialogic Reading Of Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Alice Walker, who is greatly affected by feminism, devotes her whole life to striving for racial equality and women liberation. She is a well-known black writer from Amarica. Her masterpiece, The Color Purple, has become research hotspot ever since its publication in 1982. A lot of papers are written to voice different understanding of its writing style, racial discriminaton, gender issues, thematic significance, etc. This thesis employs Bakhtin's dialogic theory to observe The Color Purple.The dialogues in The Color Purple contains both macro-dialogues﹙dialogues between the author and the hero as well as different consciousnesses﹚and micro-dialogues.﹙the double-voiced discourse within the heroine's mind﹚This thesis is comprised of four chapters apart from an introduction and a conclusion.The introduction makes a general survey of the background, significance, methodology and outline of this thesis.Chapter One introduces Bakhtin's dialogic theory and the humanism nature underlying in his theory. Bakhtin considers that the essence of human existence is equally dialogic. He therefore points out a way to how to build an equal new world.Chapter Two introduces the life and major works of Alice Walker.The present research of her masterpiece The Color Purple as well as the possibility to interpret The Color Purple from the perspective of Bakhtin's dialogic theory.Chapter Three explores the macro-dialogicity of The Color Purple, i.e., the dialogues between the author and the hero, different races and dialogues between feminism and patriarchy. Bakhtin's dialogic theory emphasizes on respecting other's voices, which provides the oppressed with the theoretical basis to resist against the oppression by the oppressors.Chapter Four discusses the double-voiced discourse in The Color Purple. There are always two contradictive voices and consciousnesses interacting with each other in Celie's mind. It is just by this micro-dialogues that Walker expresses her womanist goal to build an equal new world.The Conclusion makes a summary of the whole thesis and restates its major viewpoints.