FOR MY PEOPLE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF IN AFRO-AMERICAN FICTION--THE EXAMPLE OF ALICE WALKER
Abstract
Chapter 1 argues that major ideas in black psychology are useful tools in the analysis of self in Afro-American fiction. Kinship (the communal or extended self) is postulated as being particularly beneficial in evaluating self in black fiction because of its focus on the dynamics of group behavior. Chapter 2 examines major texts in black fiction, looking at how the self is presented. Tentative conclusions are that individuals develop their best self when they are connected to the black community. For example, the protagonist of The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man fails to develop a positive sense of self because he is estranged from the black community. In contrast, Bita Plant in Banana Bottom has a positive sense of self because she returns to the black community. In Chapter 3 the fiction of black women writers is investigated for its presentation of self. The relationship between the individual's development of a healthy self and the black community is a paramount concern of such writers as Zora Neale Hurston, Paule Marshall, and Toni Morrison. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 specifically analyze the notion of kinship (the communal or extended self) in the fiction of Alice Walker. Her fiction pays particular attention to the development of black women. In her early fiction, kinship is not returned by the community and many black women are defeated. In Meridian, which occupies a middle ground in Walker's vision, she studies black motherhood in detail. In her earlier fiction, her women offer kinship primarily through motherhood and it often destroys them. Meridian ultimately abandons conventional motherhood and finds an alternative way of serving her people, while at the same time developing a sense of self that she can life with. In her case, her understanding of her personal and communal past and present "make her." In The Color Purple, Walker continues to explore the health and healing that Meridian begins. Her latest novel demonstrates that the black community is completely capable of taking care of its own. It can bring the tree-like Celie back to life and bring out the best in an Albert. Kinship is important in Walker's fiction, and her fiction proves that at least one idea from black psychology has merit as a literary tool.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
American literature|Black studies|African American Studies
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