| Description |
This study addresses the theme of fictional African American women reclaiming their suppressed voices within a racist and patriarchal framework of society. Evidence of this theme is found in Their Eyes Were Watching God and "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurstoni; The Color purple and "Roselily," by Alice Walker; and "A Raisin in the Sun," by Lorraine Hansberry. This topic is further explored in the feminist theories of Michele Wallace and bell hooks and critic Patricia Hill Collins. Existing literature on this topic indicates that women's voices are suppressed because of societal roles that are arbitrarily assigned to them. When they try to change these roles women are generally silenced by abuse, and they are often blamed for things over which they have no control (i.e. matriarchy impeding the progress of the African American; community). In an effort to fight oppression, women often empower themselves by reclaiming their voices in a number of different ways. They use their voice in the literal sense to defend themselves against their oppressors and to assert their independence. Also, when society is unwilling to listen to the voices of these women, they sometimes turn to writing as a means of reclaiming their voice. Finally, they sometimes allow others to silence them. The major female characters in the selected fictional texts employ these approaches differently. |
