A Critical Study on Psychological Trauma in Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy
P. Suresh1, P. Anuradha2
1Dr. P. Suresh, Associate Professor, Department of English, Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies, Vels University, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), India.
2P. Anuradha, Ph.D. Scholar, Department of English, Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies, Vels University, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), India.
Manuscript received on 23 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 02 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 08 May 2019 | PP: 282-286 | Volume-7 Issue-5S3 February 2019 | Retrieval Number: E11510275S19/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: African American women have been discriminated throughout the ages. They have been considered has least being by their own community people. These women were marginalized in the society and are treated as slaves, they undergo struggles in class, race, gender discrimination. African American women were represented in the way of the oppressed class who have always been a subject of men’s domination. They are suppressed in many aspects, they are also misrepresented in society. African American women are denied from their basic rights, they are totally excluded from social, economic and political rights. Women of African American were kept dump by which they forget the value of their self. They have been affected psychologically and in need of emancipation. African American women writers contributed their writing for racial and gender equality. They fought bravely against the structures of patriarchy through there writings. The main theme of their writings is selfesteem, self-realization, the importance of regaining their rights and achieving their ‘self’. There are many black women writers in literature, some of them are Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Maria Stewart, Deborah Gray-White, Zora Neal Hurston, Alice Walker and so many. These writers paved way for the liberation of African American women, some of the writers are activist who fought for the freedom of women domination. This paper is going to deal with one of the writers mentioned above; Alice Walker, not only a writer but also an activist fought for the Southern women freedom. This paper focuses on the issue of removing female circumcision in Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy. The author portrays her fictional women character Tashi in this novel, who face endless struggle after female circumcision. The aim of this paper is to show how these African women are traumatized by the name of tradition and culture.
Keywords: Gender Discrimination, Sexual Identity, Subjugation, Oppression, Awakening, Female Circumcision.
Scope of the Article: Social Sciences