Sexual Violence in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple

The present research article discusses one of the worst human disasters of the 20th century, which is the persecution of black women in a society considered the first in the world. The work sheds light on the history of the emergence of America as a superpower at the expense of others, including blacks. Blacks are among the most important victims who were subjected to the most heinous forms of injustice, including slavery and abhorrent racial discrimination. It discusses the tragic situation that black women in America suffered from in terms of color, gender, and the patriarchal system in the 20th century through works based on true stories. Despite the intellectual and cultural development that America is experiencing, it is still in the twentieth century adhering to the ideas of the patriarchal system that is unjust to women. The research deals with Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved and sheds light on the true meaning of slavery and sexual exploitation through the protagonist Sethe, as she embodied the suffering of black women in America, especially since it is based on a true story. Comparing it to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, where the protagonist Celie embodied the injustice of the patriarchal system and sexism and its effects on black women in America. The research explores the symbolic and common themes between both novels: the sadism and hypocrisy in dealing with black women. It highlights the role of the feminist movement in contributing to lifting injustice against women and its effective role in this field as it has been, since its inception, the free voice of women and the defender of their full rights. The two selected works embody this important role, especially since one of the works is from the nineteenth century and the other from the twentieth century.