RECLAIMING FEMALE SELF AUTONOMY IN GLORIA NAYLOR’S NOVEL THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE

Abstract

This study is an attempt to explore the journey of the black females in asserting themselves in Gloria Naylor’s novel The Women of Brewster Place (1982). Gloria Naylor, as an African American writer, explores how the black female is oppressed and segregated racially and sexually in the American society. She depicts how her female characters survive and reclaim their own identities. As many other African American female writers, Naylor portrays truthful scenes about how the black female lives. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze how Naylor’s characters survive in a patriarchal and racist society and assert their identities.