TRAUMA AND IDENTITY IN ALICE WALKER'S THE COLOR PURPLE AND TONI MORRISON'S SULA
TRAUMA AND IDENTITY IN ALICE WALKER'S THE COLOR PURPLE AND TONI MORRISON'S SULA

Summary/Abstract: The present study explores the relationship of trauma to identity, with some reference to eco-consciousness, in African-American Literature. The literary texts chosen for analysis are Alice Walker's "The Color Purple and Toni Morrison's "Sula". The study begins with defining trauma, identity, and eco-consciousness and then analyzes the two novels accordingly. The study assumes that, more often than not, traumatic experiences have a negative effect on the identity of the traumatized persons. In some particular situations, a traumatic event may have a positive effect on the traumatized person and hence strengthens him/her. It all depends on the identity of the person before and after the experience. The relationship of trauma to identity is reciprocal in the sense that trauma can affect and shape an individual's identity and that an identity can be redefined after a traumatic experience. Learning how to cope with trauma rather than being overwhelmed by it is one of the options that some of Walker’s and Morrison’s “strong” characters are faced with.

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