（英语语言文学专业论文）透过艾丽丝·沃克的《紫色》看非裔美国人的身份重构.pdf

iii 摘摘 要要 延续三百余年的罪恶的奴隶贸易使得成百万的非洲人被贩卖到欧洲、美洲以及 加勒比海等地区。这种奴役生活使得许多背井离乡的非洲黑人身心都遭受了巨大蹂 躏和摧残。颠沛流离的漂泊，禁锢的生活，流散的创伤，更为重要的是遭遇身份认 同危机后的迷茫，都在驱使他们勇往直前去寻找自由的空间。这些散居的非洲族裔 虽然跨越了两种文化，却往往不被任何一种所接受，所以一种焦虑与不安在他们心 底油然而生。他们回到非洲期望寻找自己的文化根源和归属感。然而大多数人却失 望而归，因为那里的文化习俗与他们想象中的完全不同。哪里才是他们真正的家园 呢？在西方，他们被认为是非洲来的黑鬼，遭受种族歧视和社会的不公正待遇。回 到非洲，他们这些从外国来的人群并不被当地居民所接纳。对于这些回家寻根的非 洲黑人来说，内心的痛楚就体现在，他们不理解非洲本土人，而白人也不理解他们。 本文透过非裔美国女作家艾丽丝沃克的普里策文学奖小说紫色折射流散 的非洲族裔构建身份的摸索过程，通过主人公南蒂和黑人传教士塞缪尔的非洲之行 展现寻根之路的艰难，并进一步揭示梦想与现实之间的差距。他们与非洲当地人的 冲突体现出了传统与现代，野蛮与文明，以及自我与他性等矛盾的不可调和性。然 而寻根之梦的幻灭却为他们化解认同危机、走出双重意识的迷津、构建自我身份指 明了一条途径：在后殖民时代的多元文化社会，非洲族裔可以建立一种兼具黑人和 白人文化的混杂身份。 关键词：关键词：身份重构；流散的非洲族裔；双重意识；想象中的家园；文化根源 ii abstract due to the notorious slave trade, millions of africans were transported to the new world， the european continent and the caribbean islands over 300 years. the nightmarish slavery and its aftermath have made a lot of the dislocated people suffer both physically and mentally. their forced exiles, the encaged lives, the anguish during the dispersal and, more importantly, the puzzle of the cultural identity have been driving them in the pursuit of their own free space. the hyphened africans straddle in two cultures, but usually are accepted by neither, which produces a sense of unease in themselves. they go back to the origin, hoping to find the roots and the sense of belonging. nonetheless, most of them are let down by the unfamiliar culture and strange customs there. where on earth is their home located? stay in the west world, and they are marked as negroes from africa, discriminated by the rest of society and told to go home. back in africa, theyve never felt really accepted as one of them, for theyre foreigners from outside. as a negro, there is a conflict inside. he doesnt understand his race, and the whites do not understand him. through alice walkers the color purple, an acclaimed novel of pulitzer prize, this thesis traces the experiences of the diaspora africans shifting between “routes” and “roots”, presenting the gap between their dreams and reality, the tensions between the returned blacks and the indigenous people. the clashes between tradition and modernity, pre-modern spontaneous modes of living and civilization, self and otherness pose great problems for them in their efforts to reconstruct their cultural identity. the disillusion of returning home suggests that establishing an in-between identity of being black and white might be a way out for afro-americans in the post-colonial multiracial society. key words: identity reconstruction; african diaspora; double consciousness; imaginary homeland; cultural roots 承承 诺诺 书书 本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是在导师指 导下独立完成的，学位论文的知识产权属于山西大 学。如果今后以其他单位名义发表与在读期间学位论 文相关的内容，将承担法律责任。除文中已经注明引 用的文献资料外，本学位论文不包括任何其他个人或 集体已经发表或撰写过的成果。 本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是在导师指 导下独立完成的，学位论文的知识产权属于山西大 学。如果今后以其他单位名义发表与在读期间学位论 文相关的内容，将承担法律责任。除文中已经注明引 用的文献资料外，本学位论文不包括任何其他个人或 集体已经发表或撰写过的成果。 学位论文作者（签章）： 20 年 月 日 学位论文使用授权声明 学位论文使用授权声明 本人完全了解山西大学有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即：学 校有权保留并向国家有关机关或机构送交论文的复印件和电子文档， 允许论文被查阅和借阅，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等手段保存、汇 编学位论文。同意山西大学可以用不同方式在不同媒体上发表、传播 论文的全部或部分内容。 保密的学位论文在解密后遵守此协议。 本人完全了解山西大学有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即：学 校有权保留并向国家有关机关或机构送交论文的复印件和电子文档， 允许论文被查阅和借阅，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等手段保存、汇 编学位论文。同意山西大学可以用不同方式在不同媒体上发表、传播 论文的全部或部分内容。 保密的学位论文在解密后遵守此协议。 作者签名： 导师签名： 20 年 月 日 作者签名： 导师签名： 20 年 月 日 chapter one introduction 1 chapter one introduction 1.1 motivation and objectives of the present study the african diasporas started with the notorious slave trade and lasted for over 300 years when millions of africans were transported to the new world, the european continent, and the caribbean islands. the nightmarish slavery and its aftermath made a lot of the dislocated people suffer both physically and mentally. their forced exiles, the encaged lives, the anguish during the dispersal and, more importantly, the puzzle of the cultural identity have been driving them in the pursuit of their own free space. seeking the way to the dream land rekindles the idea of going home. africa, their motherland and their roots, is where they can find the sense of belonging. it becomes so dear and attractive to the uprooted descendents. poor as it is, they believe they will find the haven of comfort in africa. thus they embark on the journeys back to africa to seek their cultural roots. nevertheless, their experiences show that africa is just the imagined home, for the native africans and the dislocated blacks dont share the exactly same culture any more as a result of changed living conditions and social environments. a majority of such practitioners actually attach themselves emotionally rather than culturally to the roots of africa. therefore, for them the focus should be converted from roots to routes again. most of them return to wherever they have come from to build a hybrid identity of being african and american at the same time, which turns out to be the workable solution to the identity crisis of afro-americans according to some western scholars (lemelle and kelly 1994 adler 1998; sewell 1998; jansoh 2002; fanon 2008; gilroy 1993, 2008). the target problem in the present thesis is to find a feasible solution to the identity dilemma posed by the african diasporas. the previous studies are mainly conducted in the fields of anthropology, sociology or cross-cultural communication of applied linguistics. whats innovative here is to explore cultural phenomenon by way of literature study, for novel is long regarded as the best carrier to convey true voice of ethnic minority. majority of diasporic literature is based on lived experiences of the narrators or authors, which helps to make the related ethnic study much more reliable. alice walkers masterpiece the color purple is selected as the primary reference, where the development of the characters is followed to tackle the identity crisis of african-americans in postcolonial multiracial society. alice walkers the color purple: the identity reconstruction of diaspora africans 2 this paper traces the experiences of the diaspora africans shifting between routes and roots, presenting the gap between their dreams and realities, the tensions between the returned blacks and the indigenous people through alice walkers the color purple. the clashes go directly into tradition and modernity, savage and civilization, self and otherness, which can be hardly reconcilable. the disillusion of returning home suggests that establishing an in-between identity might be a way out in the post-colonial multiracial society. firstly, the paper will probe into the historical background of returning to africa in different situations: the first enforced repatriation from britain and the united states to africa in 1800s, marcus garveyism of going back to set an african empire and rebuild its prime in 1920s, rastafarianism intended to identify all the diasporic black youth with one image in 1930s, to civilize their fellow people by black missionaries before the second world war and the attempt to escape racial discrimination and social injustice in 1960s. secondly, their hard journeys from routes to roots would be shown in details, which will serve as proof that africa is only an imaginary homeland. they can neither spiritually attach nor culturally identify themselves to it any more. on the third place is an analysis of tensions between the indigenous africans and those people returning from the west from perspectives of tradition vs modernity and the problematic individual identity due to the changed language, mentality and physical appearance. the fourth part of the paper discusses their utopian illusion of returning home and the focus has to be shifted from roots to routes again. the conclusion arrives finally that the establishment of the individual identity for african americans demands a both-and pattern rather than an either-or choice represented by w.e.b du boiss double-consciousness. 1.2 alice walker and the color purple alice walker, born in eatonton, georgia 1944, is an outstanding contemporary african american writer. her numerous honors and awards include bread loaf writers conference scholar, merrill writing fellow, mcdowell colony fellow shortly after her college years, the rosenthal award in 1974 for in love and trouble, and lillian smith award in 1973 for revolutionary petunias, and the pulitzer prize and the american book award in 1983 for the color purple that was later adapted into a critically acclaimed 1985 movie as well as a 2005 broadway musical play. she is fairly productive, and the publications through 1999 include five volumes of poetry, two collections of short stories chapter one introduction 3 and six novels that illustrate increasingly radical black womanism and narrative experimentation. (bernard 2007) walker spent a lonely and solitary childhood resulting from her disfiguring scar. to escape the insults of her peer and relatives, she retreated into reading stories and writing poems. at spelman college, walker spiritually and politically became an activist in the georgia voter registration movement of sncc. in the summer of 1964, she traveled to east africa, got pregnant and returned sick, alone and suicidal. during the awful days, she finished her first poetry once that was not published until 1968, when the womens movement began displacing the black power movement in the american society. her life experiences and her involvement in the civil rights movement and the womens liberation movement contribute much to her determination of struggling against oppression and fighting for equal rights for individuals and her race as well. walker describes her political agency and thematic concerns as being preoccupied with the spiritual survival and survival wholeness of her people, women and men. she persistently seeks mystery and animism in her novels and life that is, according to her, not only the real african heritage but also something beyond politics, race and geographical locations. walker admires the writers who can well aware of their oppressions, and develop the characters in the way of envisioning a solution to problem, and an evolution to higher consciousness on the part of society. the color purple portrays the respective life of two sisters celie and nettie by employing 92 letters exchanged between them that lasted more than thirty years. grown up in rural georgia, their childhood was full of tears and miseries with a mad mother and a viperous stepfather alphonso who raped the fourteen-year-old celie and took away her two children. celie then was unloaded to albert, an old widower with four children, and continued to suffer from domestic violence. shugs appearance totally changed her life. with shugs love, support and care, celies consciousness was raised and she struggled for self-esteem, self-reliance and self-reinforcement. she left her abusive husband to memphis, where she started a seaming business. later, celie inherited the property from her father when alphonso died. being independent economically and spiritually, celie set out to establish her identity of being a whole person. on the other side of the narration, netties life was revealed through the letters to celie as well. she ran away from the town to escape alphonso and then alberts sexual harassment. homeless and helpless, nettie was adopted by a black couple missionary samuel and corrine treated her like a family alice walkers the color purple: the identity reconstruction of diaspora africans 4 member. fanned by the idea of civilizing and helping their people, nettie followed the black couple and their two children who turned out to be celies babies to africa, where they tolerated indifference and ignorance of the native people. the hard experiences in africa eventually drove them back to the united states again, where they are expected to start a new life with celie, enjoying family gather-together and restructuring their roles and positions in society. in the color purple, one wont fail to see the black folk speech, music, and religion and these styles are adopted to present a contemporary dream of what a black woman ought to be and do. though the awakening of the protagonists consciousness to love, independence, and sisterhood is more romantic than realistic, celies emerge from the brutal domination and abuse of men to a liberated, autonomous self economic and artistic independence as a seamstress and merchant draws a beautiful picture for all the african diasporas in dilemma of identity crisis. whats embedded in the novel is the social oppression for black women in their quest for freedom, literacy, and wholeness. nevertheless, the theme could be further extended to a larger scale and a larger audience that the black americans are supposed to fight against white supremacy and racial discrimination and struggle for their rights and their status. 1.3 literature review 1.3.1 studies about the historical background of returning to africa 1.3.1.1 the first enforced repatriation from britain and the united states to africa after the american independence war, the english has brought back london a lot of blacks as a reward for their help during the war. these colored servants, soldiers and sailors soon become the target of the british dislike, where racial discrimination against the blacks was commonplace. the solution to the problem is suggested by a businessman henry smeathman who “puts up a plan for a settlement to be made near sierra leone, on the grain coast of africa, .people of color, to be shipped as freemen. in april 1787, 441 men, women and children set sail back to africa (bishton 1987:74). ” attracted by the sierra leone experiment, american colonization society which is formed in 1812 has received the support of the u.s. congress to send the first afro-americans back to africa by 1822. according to the record in the blackheart man, the resettlement of 13,000 chapter one introduction 5 afro-americans in liberia has been sponsored by the american government in 1857 (bishton 1987). the americans did it mainly for the sake of the national stability. theyre afraid that the race riots might erupt between poor whites and free blacks in the north whore regarded as potential revolutionaries. 1.3.1.2 marcus garveyism: back to set an african empire and rebuild its prime in the nineteen-twenties, marcus garvey, an afro centrist from the caribbean, appeals the blacks back to africa which he believes is the only place they will feel safe and secure. maryse conde thinks that garveys dream is that “africans of the diaspora would some day return to their ancestral home and, reunited with their brothers after a long separation, build an african kingdom which would recapture some of the continents ancient glories (lemelle two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. (bernard 2007:69-70) the theory of double consciousness conveys the spiritual sufferings of african americans when having realized themselves as equal human beings in the society. they are well aware of their torture resulting from being a biracial, bicultural people, as americans of african descent and african americentric heritage, so they strive for life, liberty and wholeness. anglo-jamaican critic paul gilroy also bases his theory about the culture of the black diaspora on modern themes of identity formation. he views double consciousness put forward by w.e.b. du bois as a technique resulting from black contemporary music blues and jazz shaped by combining national and ethnic musical elements. this shared hybrid black atlantic culture form implies the way to construct a hybrid identity for african americans. for the identity dilemma of african americans, scholars at home and abroad have shown similar viewpoints. chen hong-fu (2009) claims the close relations between african complex and multiculturalism, and he concludes that diaspora africans are supposed to build their roots in the mainstream society rather than attaching themselves to a far away imagined land. the diaspora works by alice walker all present the similar theme of identity crisis. to say goodbye to dubois double consciousness and to position themselves properly in society, american blacks are put in the situation of establishing a dual identity by perfectly combining africanness and americanness. its not something alleged by followers of african centrism, like black is beauty, back to africa for roots, chapter one introduction 9 or black god creates everything. rather, she proposes that both cultural essence of africa and america should be accepted and highly appreciated. for that, walker is regarded as a real black cultural warrior. to become a multicultural man is a way out for their dilemma. w. e. b du boiss “double-consciousness” theory and its influence on american black literature is also discussed by scholars in china. it played an important role for afro-americans to position themselves in society, but it has more negative than positive effects on a complex identity development according to guo xiao-yang and ma yan-hong (2007). they think double consciousness presents the contradicting stands of the blacks and the whites that could be hardly negotiated, which will further sharpen the social conflicts. it has helped the blacks to dispel much confuses of their identity, but it does no good to a hybrid identity establishment. zeng zhu-qing argues that afro-americans tend to regard african traditions and heritage passed over generation as their roots, but that actually serves as mere emotional comfort or spiritual backbone rather than cultural identity. the feeling c