Intersectionality in Black Feminist Writings: A Study of Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple'

This dissertation, titled“Intersectionality in Black Feminist Writings: A Study of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple”, grew out while studying Gender studies, where I first began to think seriously about questions of gender, race, class, and voice in literature. During this course, I became interested in how different forms of oppression are not separate but are deeply connected. This interest later became the basis for this research. While studying these ideas, I found that The Color Purple byAliceWalker offers a powerful representation of how oppression works at many levels. The experiences of Celie show that gender discrimination cannot be under stood without also considering race, economic condition, and social structure. This realization led me to examine the novel through the perspective of intersectionality and womanism. This dissertation is anattem pttoexplorehowtheseinterconnectedsystemsofpowershapethe lives of the character and how voice, resistance, and self-realization became possible within suchconditions.Through closereadingandtheoreticalanalysis,thisstudyseekstocontribute to discussion in literary and feminist studies. For the completion of this dissertation, I am deeply grateful toDr.Pratyush Chandra, for his guidance, support, and constant encouragement throughout this research. His suggestion and direction played an important role in shaping this work.Any shortcomings that remain in this study are entirely my responsibility.