Throughout history, the topic of racial and gender discrimination in America has been the subject of much discussion and research. As Anderson and Collins state, “sex, gender, race, gender identity, and social class profoundly influence individuals' knowledge, experience, and opportunities” (quoted in Tahir). It's not hard to see that historically black people have been treated differently than white people, from slavery to segregation, the color of people's skin has determined many things they can and cannot do . We also see throughout history that women have been treated as inferior to men. Women were often seen as housewives and did not have the same power or voice as men. Since race and gender play a role in how people are treated, it can be seen that historically, black women were some of the most oppressed people in American society. Many authors have attempted to highlight the struggles of black women in society, and Alice Walker is one of those writers. Alice Walker was a mid-20th century black woman who experienced racial and sexual discrimination. She used the characters in her writing to show the oppression that black women experienced in the mid to late 1900s. This is seen most clearly in her book The Color Purple and her story "The Flowers." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Alice Walker grew up shortly after the end of the Civil War, and the aftermath of that war still heavily affected society. Slavery not only affected the physical state of black people, but also their emotional well-being. Alice Walker says, “Black people have been excluded from the circle of goodwill for hundreds of years. . . Many of them, like women who lived in cultures that disdained and deliberately obliterated the feminine, would never know the connection to the land and humanity that was their birthright.” Black people had suffered terrible oppression as slaves. Their physical and emotional pain would last a lifetime and still impact future generations. Although slavery had negative consequences for black men and women, history often suggests that black men suffered more than women. Images of black men being worked to death, beaten or lynched dominate people's images of slavery. In reality, black women suffered as much as black men during the years of slavery. Black women were sometimes lynched and beaten, but more importantly, “enslaved black women were deprived of their humanity.” They were “treated like livestock and used for breeding purposes to provide children (often the children of their masters) for the market.” This frequent physical abuse often resulted in the death of the black woman. If it wasn't a physical death, it would surely kill his spirit. Not only were black women raped and abused by their masters, but they were also frequently abused by those in their own household. Black men watched their masters rape women in their homes, and black slaves followed this pattern. Black men began to act violently and abusively towards women, affecting the physical and psychological state of black slaves. Alice Walker, born in 1944, grew up following these terrible events. The effects of slavery persisted andthe oppression that black women suffered was far from over. Alice Walker's "parents were farmers, and the family endured the oppression of the sharecropping system and witnessed numerous incidents of violent racism." The oppression and segregation of black people in America continued long after the Civil War. Although Alice Walker did not live in a world of slavery, she experienced many of the lingering effects of this previous period. An experience of racial oppression that Walker had as a young child occurred when a stray bullet from her brother's BB gun entered her eye and blinded her in that eye, and "due of her race, she was unable to receive appropriate medical treatment. In many ways, this loss sharpened his sense of observation and opened his eyes to the injustices around him. This is just one of the many injustices that Alice Walker suffered during her life. Not only was she oppressed because of her race, but also because of her gender. Because Alice Walker was a victim of racial and gender oppression, she made her stories a theme to show the oppression that black women experienced. Alice Walker does not have a pleasant view of America, she "describes American society as a 'racist, sexist, colorist capitalist society' where white women must fight for their feminism and black men for their rights as "as human beings, but black women must fight for both their human rights and their rights as women." Walker recognizes that black men and all races of women experience oppression, but she uses her writing to show the oppression of those affected in society due to both their race and gender. Pasi states: “For Walker, African American women suffered triple oppression of gender, race, and class. They have long been “regulated down to the smallest detail and poorly described.” Because Alice Walker is black and a woman, she has seen and experienced oppression of race and gender. Walker embraces her identity and uses her writing to “celebrate the lives of Black American women by giving voice to the oppressed and voiceless.” Alice Walker knew that black women experienced oppression in different ways. Madsen states that one of the dominant themes of many of Walker's writings is: "Women may remain second-class citizens, but they are no longer silent, invisible second-class citizens." And this is the beginning.” Walker knew that black women were severely oppressed, so she chose to give voice to the oppression of these women. She used her powerful writing to let her readers know what these black women endured throughout their lives. In her story The Color Purple, Walker explores the issue of violence and sexual discrimination within the black community, and she describes the oppression that black women experience. live in their own house. Tahir says gender plays an important role in Alice Walker's book, The Color Purple. He states: “African American women were beaten, raped, degraded and abused simply because of their sex. . . Black men used all kinds of violence against their wives, daughters and lovers as a means of oppression.” Walker uses Celie in The Color Purple to show the abuse and oppression found within the black community. Part of the oppression and abuse Celie experiences is that she was “repeatedly exposed to sexual assault.” . . her husband deprives her of contacting her sister Nettie, Célie is without money and economically dependent on her husband Albert. Alice Walker enlightens readers onthe many oppressions that black women faced. Women are supposed to be able to rely on their husbands for strength and protection, but in Cecil's case, her husband was molesting and abusing her. She was oppressed and had no easy solution because her husband supported her economically. Walker does a remarkable job of demonstrating the dilemmas that black women face within their own homes. Pasi states that because Walker focuses on contradictions within the black community, she is well aware that black women are oppressed by men in the community. Pasi continues to say, “Ironically, this is what they are fighting against, and yet they are reinforcing the oppression among themselves. By physically violating the woman, the black man perpetuates the legacy of slavery, hence the slave master relationship between husband and wife.” Walker takes a unique stance on the oppression of Black women in that she does not simply blame white people for the oppression that Black women experience, but she highlights the dilemmas of oppression and abuse that occur within the black community. In Alice Walker's stories, women experience both physical and psychological abuse. Tahir states that in The Color Purple, the pain felt by black women is described in graphic detail: "they were beaten, raped, humiliated and abused simply because of their color and gender." Alice Walker uses the main character Celie to show the psychological and emotional oppression that black women experience. Not only was Celie sexually abused by her father and husband, but she was also emotionally and psychologically traumatized. Celie's rape "causes Celie to have low self-esteem, low self-esteem, nervousness, and disconnection, and this makes her appear defenseless against her attacker." “I don’t know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive. Because she sees herself as a victim of sexual assault, she lacks the ability to see herself as someone deserving of respect and love. Because Celie had been raped numerous times, she could no longer trust those around her and she began to die emotionally. Her sole purpose was to be an outlet for the men in her life to satisfy their desires. Pasi states: “Through numerous rapes and beatings, Celie's status is reduced to that of an object. » Alice Walker does not hide the brutality that black women suffer. Walker fully demonstrates that these women were affected physically and emotionally. While the oppression black women experienced did not kill them physically, their mental well-being was often close to death. Women were forced to feel inferior, often to the point where they felt like their humanity was gone. Because of the physical and psychological oppression that Black women have endured, these traumas have lasting effects on Black women's lives. Walker shows the emotional effects that black women of all ages experience due to their history of oppression. Not only does Walker show the emotional pain that Celie endures in The Color Purple, but Walker shows that sexual and racial oppression is experienced by children. In Walker's story "The Flowers," ten-year-old Myop finds her world shattered and her innocence stripped away when she sees a rotten noose that killed a man of her race. She knows the historical significance of this noose and she will never be able to see the world the same way again because of the color of her skin and the history attached to it. Petry says: “Even ten-year-old Myop. . . to his childhood – andultimately, her attitude towards herself and her world – shattered by the harsh social reality of lynching.” Myop is no longer able to mindlessly travel across the country to pick flowers and admire the beauty of the world. Instead, her view of the world is forever tainted by what she saw that day. Alice Walker does a masterful job of enlightening her readers not only about the oppression that black women have experienced, but also about the lasting effects it has on these women. Black women will never see the world without the history they have endured. Their view of the beauty of the world is forever altered by the oppression their race and gender have suffered. Although it is a very obvious theme in Walker's stories that she depicts the oppression of black women. Some may say that she truly represents the power and strength of black women. Pasi says, “Walker actually celebrates the revival of the black community; she shows how her black women who have achieved self-realization are able to form new relationships with their former male oppressors and with society, thereby creating mutual dependence. It is true that many of the characters in Walker's stories end up as free and independent women, but this freedom is only realized because of the oppression the characters have suffered. In The Color Purple, Celie is one of the characters who undergoes this change. Tahir says: “Even though Célie, the central character, suffers terribly from the consequences of sexism and racism, she does not give in and in the end she was victorious. » Walker does a masterful job of creating dynamic characters who undergo change in her stories, but the central theme of her writing is highlighting the oppression that black women experience. Cutter states, "Walker's female character 'achieves psychological wholeness when she is able to fight oppression.' . .' » The only reason Walker is able to portray the characters in her stories as strong, independent women is because they endured some of the worst oppression imaginable. The fact that they were able to overcome this oppression is what gives them a sense of purpose and freedom. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized essay. Alice Walker has a unique way of presenting the plight of black women in her writing. Alice Walker went through a difficult time herself, and she highlighted and brought to life what many people of her gender and race were unable to say. The oppression and mistreatment of black women made them feel invisible and unimportant for many years. Alice Walker is on a mission to truthfully expose the terrible things that black women have experienced. She wrote her stories about the oppression of black women, but she never believed her stories should end there. Black women were not made to live under oppression. Alice Walker believes black women have a fighting spirit. In many of Walker's books, we can see that "women emerge as strong, powerful, resourceful individuals who find fulfillment in an emotional and intellectual community with other women." Alice Walker's goal is not to leave black woman's history in oppression, but her goal is to write stories that highlight the oppression that black women have experienced to show how it shapes today’s culture. A person of a different race or gender will never see the world the same way a black woman does, but Alice Walker intentionally displays.»=27685.