OPPRESSION AND RESISTANCE IN CELIE'S CHARACTER IN ALICE WALKER'S THE COLOR PURPLE: A BLACK FEMINISM ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines the forms of oppression experienced by Celie in novel The Color Purple (1985) by Alice Walker, and her strategies of resistance as analyzed through Black feminist theory. Employing a qualitative literary research design with descriptive-interpretive analysis, this study draws on the theoretical frameworks of Patricia Hill Collins (2000) and bell hooks (2015) to identify and interpret the evidence of interlocking oppression, female solidarity as resistance, and identity reconstruction. The findings reveal that Celie experiences layered oppression encompassing race, gender, and class, as conceptualized through Collins's matrix of domination. Resistance emerges through the cultivation of sisterhood relationships particularly with Shug Avery and Sofia which catalyze Celie's psychological liberation and eventual economic independence.