Literacy or Self Identity?

Black women have often struggled to be recognized and accepted into society. We have not always been allowed to have a voice so we kept our stories and struggles bundled inside. Before literacy was accepted for black women, storytelling was our reading and writing. We kept our history orally and many notable black writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Gloria Naylor used their power of literacy and created stories and books of a black woman’s struggle. In each of the books written by the authors, stories of struggle, abuse, acceptance, respect, and finding one’s identity is the popular topic. When focusing on the harsh reality of being black and literate, five types of feminism are used to describe the black woman’s struggle. Liberal, Radical, Poststructural, Social, and Black feminism are the different types of feminism. Liberal feminism focuses on the transformation of a woman finding her own identity and beliefs. Radical feminism is the idea that women’s oppressions stems from a male dominated world and the process of reclaiming and separating yourself from male control. Social feminism is the idea that racial and social class are the reasons for a capitalist system and Black feminism addresses African American women’s struggles as it relates to social, gender, and racial class. Black feminist often strive to give a voice and freedom to black women.

In the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker we examine Celie's growth and inner thinking. Alice Walker exemplifies how both family and school can obstruct the growth of a woman. Celie recognizes the importance of being literate saying, “us know we got to be smart to git away (Walters 139).” Due to unfortunate circumstances Celie does not continue her education, forcing herself to rely on other things to find her identity. Celie uses silence to “stay alive”. See, silence symbolizes conformity, submissiveness, and denial. When you do not have literacy to back up the confidence in your voice, you fall victim to other people’s knowledge and you become silent, because you are unsure of your own voice. Often when someone does not contain literacy they believe in other’s truth, that’s why it is so important to have some form of self identity, or confidence when literacy is not existent. Celie eventually finds the confidence within herself through what other people tell her, but later does not need the acceptance of what others think to feel good about herself. This shows what the power of language can do. It can transform a voiceless, non-confident woman into a self aware, strong female. The Color Purple shows that formal literacy does make a person more knowledgeable, but doesn’t satisfy all the needs of a person. It questions whether self- awareness and knowing one’s place in the world is the true definition of literacy.