Abstract:Alice Walker is one of the most famous and prominent writers in America since 1970s.The Color Purple is her masterpiece, which makes her the first African American woman writer to win the Pulitzer Prize. This thesis mainly analyses the process of the heroin Celie’s quest for self-identity and discusses her psychological changes in different phases of life. By analyzing Celie’s quest for self identity,this thesis reveals the transformation of Celie from a long-suffering black girl to an independent and indomitable woman .

Key words:The Color Purple; Celie ;self-identity

摘要：艾丽丝·沃克是20世纪70年代以来美国文坛最著名、最有影响力的黑人女作家之一。《紫色》是她的代表作，《紫色》使她成了美国历史上第一位获得普利策文学奖的黑人女作家。本文主要分析主人公西丽自我身份的寻求过程，探讨她人生不同阶段的心理变化。本文通过对西丽自我身份的寻求的探讨，揭示了西丽从一个逆来顺受的黑人女孩到独立自主的顽强女性的转变历程。

关键词：《紫色》；西丽；自我身份

　In The Color Purple,Alice Walker portrays a image of modern black woman,who resists the patriarchal society and fight for her self-identity,inspired by the womanist and the help from sisiterhood,Despite all the mistreatment and oppression,the protagonist Celie achieves her economic and spiritual independence.

　The black women in the patriarchal society suffer from double oppression,namely sexism and racism.They stay at the bottom of the household as well as the society, they have no say wherever.In the house,women are treated as the free labors and sex slaves.They act as the objects of sexual abuse and the human beings without rights, Celie is one of them. She gets abused by her stepfather and her husband,but she has no thought of fighting against them or standing up for herself. However,with the help of Shug,Sofia and Nettie,Celie finds her ways to struggle for her self-identity: suspecting God; resisting patriarchal discourse; developing sisterhood with other black women.The changes in Celie's letters represent her psychological development. Frequently, with external inspiration and internal introspection, Celie transforms from an oppressed black woman to a independent womanist with high spirits. She gains her independence economically and psychologically. She leaves Mr.___ ,meets her sister and her children, starts her own business as well; so,in a manner of speaking, she becomes quite a successful and independent woman.