Analyzing Women Writing: Breaking Silence and Cultural Taboos

This essay delves into how women writers confront and dismantle imposed silences and cultural taboos, using Alice Walker's works, 'The Color Purple' and 'In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens,' as primary examples. The analysis highlights Walker's portrayal of gender inequality, racism, and violence against women, emphasizing the significance of women writers in addressing societal issues and advocating for change. The essay further examines the reasons behind women writers' efforts to break silence, including combating discrimination, racism, and toungelessness, while leveraging their influence to promote societal betterment. It concludes that women writers play a crucial role in voicing the experiences of marginalized women and challenging oppressive norms.

WOMEN WRITING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Examining how and why women writers break imposed silence and cultural taboos:...............4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
All over the world, the women had to face and deal with a number of challenges in their
day to day working lives. They have to deal with discrimination, harassment, sexual abuse, lack
of education, gender pay gap, and many more issues within several nations across the globe
where the voices of the women are not being heard and they have to face with whatever life
throws on them. However, there is one such author named as Alice walker, who addressed the
issues and challenges faced by the women in general and addresses them using her writing skills.
The present study will capture the essence of two of the writings of Alice Walker that addresses
the challenges faced by the women. The novels which will be discussed within the essay will
include the The Color Purple which was published in the year 1982 and In Search of Our
Mother’s Gardens: Womanist Prose. The present discussion aims to compare the views and
opinions shared within both the books and also aims to examine how and why women writers
break imposed silences and cultural taboos.
MAIN BODY
The book The Color Purple book is one of a bestselling novels that depicts the issues and
challenges of women in those times. The book in general discusses about the gender equality
helps the women by addressing the harsh behaviour of the society and the existence of the male
dominance within the society (Musanga, and Mukhuba, 2019). This book helps in addressing
the trauma of an African American teenager who lives in a rural sector in the Georgia. With this
book, the author has tried to explain how a young girl was not safe even with her own family
members. Within the book, Alice has explained how a young girl was assaulted by her own
father and how the lives of the women within the society depressing and troubled.
The book, The Color Purple provides an insight within the lives of the women and how
they had to deal with such big challenges from a very young age within the society. The book
has been found effective in providing the readers with a brief acknowledge and the insight of the
lives of young women and also highlights the issues such as the racism, sexism, assault, silencing
the protest of women of women and many other such issued faced by the women. The author has
also highlighted the issue of violence and the violent behaviour against the women as the women
within the novel has to face the violent behaviour of the own father against her (Sharma, ). The
Alice Walker has made effective use of her writing skills for the purpose of addressing the
challenges faced by the women. This book has been an eye opener for the readers as it openly

discusses about the cruelty of this male dominant society. From the analysis of the book, it can
be stated that Alice Walker has used writing as a major platform has helped the women of the
society by showcasing the life of a young girl and the cruelty of the world against her within the
book.
Another book written by the Alice Walker i.e., In Search of our Mother’s Gardens is also
a wonderfully written book that addresses the concepts of racial discrimination, insecurity,
subjectivity of beauty, womanism and alienation and black feminism and feminism. In this book,
the Alice Walker has discussed about the women in that time had to give up on their artistic
skills because of the slavery forced upon them (Tarigan, 2018). In this book, the author has made
effective use of her writing and has gathered the historical data in order to address issues of
specifically the women belonging to the African – American community within the society. In
this book, the author has also stated the negative comments and pitiful and judgy behaviour of
the saints against the women which belongs to the community of African- American women
within the society. In one of the statement, the author has mentioned a specific comment made
by a saint on the appearance of the African women (Adedokun-Awojodu, and Oladejo, ). The
saint commented that the appearance of the black women is itself a punishment and that the lives
of the black women is miserable because of their spirituality.
On the basis of the analysis the book, it can be stated that the lives of the women which
particularly belongs to the category of African American has been found to be very miserable
and they had to face discrimination because of colour (Ellis, 2020). The African woman also had
to deal with bad and pity comments made by several people with respect to their colour and
appearance.
Therefore, it can be stated that the Alice Walker has made efficient use of her writing for
the purpose of inscribing the challenges of women and the lives that these women used to live
during that time.
Examining how and why women writers break imposed silence and cultural taboos:
Women are one of the most important character of the society, they face imposed silence
and cultural taboos where they can not able to speak freely and share their viewpoint. Women
are targeted in each era, weakness was considered key element in women where society fail to
meet the requirement of each woman including freedom to break their silence and speak for their
right. Women safety was important thing in every era, monitory women face imposed silence

where they fail to provide their feelings. Women writer carry power to convince society and have
great influence on the mindset of each member, these writers use their words to stand along with
women and take major steps to bring down any issue related to women (Aiston, Sarah Jane and
Chee Kent Fo 2021). Women writer speak true to bring women voice above the level, these
writer break silence and cultural taboos in which a woman is trapped. There are certain reason
why women writer have break the imposed silence and cultural taboos, these are:
Discrimination: This is one of the biggest reason why women writer have break the
silence imposed by the society on women, silence of women leads to discrimination in society.
Monitory women have no major steps to bring down silence or to speak for their freedom, due to
discrimination in every place, area and work, monitory women fail to break silence.
Discrimination create family pressure on women, not allowing them to speak and share their
idea, due gender discrimination, women unable to stand against wrong that happened to them in
every case. It is very clear that each women writer stand against gender discrimination due to
fact they can solve issue related with gender discrimination (Fredman, Sandra 2017). However,
words of these women writer needs to be measure and published so that society can reduce and
completely stop discrimination on women. Minority women who are not provided with equal
opportunity and chance get promoted in society face most amount of discrimination, this become
an issue when discrimination crosses the line and impact women mental health. Women writer
mention gender discrimination where they mention issue women face due to discrimination in
society, writer break the silence with the help of mentioning discrimination in their books and
publishing to reach each and every woman.
Racism: This is one of the major issue the society impacting each individual, community
and group, racism simply means discrimination with particular group or community or small
segment of the society. Racism occur when there is no strict action or education, mainly minority
group, individual and community face discrimination related to race. Women in minority face
mental impact due to discrimination they face been part of minority group, women are already
been targeted under certain other discrimination including gender discrimination, age
discrimination and sex discrimination (Hosang, Georgina M., and Kamaldeep Bhui 2018).
Minority women face impact because of their silence, women are the one who face most amount
of discrimination from racism. Women writer able to break this silence where they try to speak
for the betterment of the monitory women, cultural taboos become an major issue when it comes

to breaking racism discrimination in the society. Women writer try to mention racism in their
books that impact women and due to lack of speaking or silence, minority women fail to stand
for their voice impacting their position in the society. Racism become an issue for women that is
why women writer mention racism as major part of their story and books.
Tounguelessness: This is one of the major issue that promote silence in the women and
impact women position in the society, when women fail to speak for their right including respect,
honour and dignity they fail to maintain women flag above in the society. Tounguelessness is
major issue because women fail to speak due to certain reason including pressure from society,
partner and family, breaking up silence become an issue when there is tounguelessness in women
where they do not speak for their right (Kucharska, Justyna 2018). Women writer who try to
break the silence and cultural taboos know that tounguelessness of women is critical issue
because even writing about their right, some women including minority women will not speak
for their right. Lack of speech can be seen in women where they fail to break silence. It is very
clear that every woman is ready to speak and remove tounguelessness however due to societal
pressure they can not able to share their viewpoint and different perception according to their
feeling. Women writer mention tounguelessness as a major issue that will arrive in breaking
silence because women have no practice of speaking for their right and discrimination face by
them. Women writer break the silence with their words and right sentence.
Influence: This is one of the most important element which is used by women writer to
break the silence, women writer try to influence each woman with their words and focus on
betterment of the society. Influence simply means impact of writers word that impact reader and
their perception about the society, it is very clear that discrimination with women and is a major
issue still faced by many women in the society, women writer speak to manage these
discriminations (Lazreg, Marnia 2018). Women writer have great influence on the society as
they have powerful sentence to manage any discrimination against women, however, women
writer try their best to manage these issue in the society but still influence is not that much great.
Women writer mention each and every issue to break the silence and manage discrimination in
the society, breaking the silence through their books and mentioned viewpoint where women
writer felt the discrimination in the society impacting their words. Women writer know the
breaking of silence is important and it is essential to mention.

CONCLUSION
On the basis of the report, it has been analysed that the it is essential for the women
writers to use their skills and knowledge for the purpose determining the issues that are existing
within the society as a part of the lives of the women and address them in front the readers with
the use of their skills. The Alice Walker has been successful in voicing her opinions and raising
her voice about the cruelty against the woman, gender bias, discrimination on the basis of colour
and beauty against woman, sexual violence, assault, harassment and many more of such issues.
The books of the Alice Walker have effectively made an impact of on the minds and hearts of the
readers and also helped the readers in opening up their minds against the type of violence,
discrimination and other such immoral behaviours that the woman were facing in that era. It also
helped the woman in understanding the whatever they have been facing with the society is not
right and therefore, they should raise their voice against the same.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Adedokun-Awojodu, B. and Oladejo, O.A., Emancipating the African Female without a Fuss in
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Everyday Use: for your Grandmama and in Search of
our Mother’s Garden.
Aiston, Sarah Jane, and Chee Kent Fo. "The silence/ing of academic women." Gender and
Education 33.2 (2021): 138-155.
Ellis, L., 2020. In Search of My Mother’s Garden. Volume 7. Fall 2020, p.22.
Fredman, Sandra. "Reversing discrimination." Global Minority Rights. Routledge, 2017. 307-
332.
Hosang, Georgina M., and Kamaldeep Bhui. "Gender discrimination, victimisation and women's
mental health." The British Journal of Psychiatry 213.6 (2018): 682-684.
Kucharska, Justyna. "Cumulative trauma, gender discrimination and mental health in women:
mediating role of self-esteem." Journal of Mental Health 27.5 (2018): 416-423.
Lazreg, Marnia. The eloquence of silence: Algerian women in question. Routledge, 2018.
Musanga, T. and Mukhuba, T., 2019. Toward the Survival and Wholeness of the African
American Community: A Womanist Reading of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
(1982). Journal of Black Studies. 50(4). pp.388-400.
Sharma, S., Ideas of God, Gender-Roles and Self-Discovery in Alice Walker's The Color Purple
_.
Tarigan, G., 2018. An Analysis of Violence on Woman as Potrayed in Alice Walker’s The Color
Purple.
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