Identity of Black Women in Alice Walker’s poems

This research provides a descriptive analysis of Black women identity based on Alice Walker’s anthology, Horses Make A Landscape Look More Beautiful. In the Walker’s poems described how Black women oppressed by men, and their existance in some fields have subordinated by men. Through her poems, Walker depicted identity of Black women in many aspects, from their personality to their outside, such as culture. Besides that, Walker through her poems argues that Black women are inferior, and savages. Especially in literature, Walker has refused domination of men in writing. Therefore, Walker showed to men that she as part of Black women community are not inferior through her poems. The description above about content of Walker’s poems will make data of analysis in this research. Data were collected through in three reading steps,they are extensive reading, intensive reading, and reading comprehension. Further, these data are formulated as the limitation of this research, through two formulation of problems, 1). To know what are the characteristic of Alice Walker’s writing about Black women on her poems, 2).To know what extent Walker’s defence toward Black women identity in her poems. Therefore, this research focused to analysis of Black Women identity and Walker’s defence toward Black women. Further, the approachment for analysis data used Showalter’s theory, especially part of woman as writer or called gynocritics. Further, through gynocritics can be known Black women identity completely within four aspects are, their body, language, psyche, and culture. Based on Walker’s poems through body of Black women have characteristics that Black women are dark skin, rotted teeth, wounded eye, and melted ear. Then through language that Black women based on Walker’s poems that Black women’s language still subordinated by men, especially in literature, because of men domination in writing, thus Black women have no media for express their mind and feel. The third element is psyche, throught it, Black women’s psyche can be investigated began from slavery history. In this moment, Black women’s psyche has formed throughout oppressed by men. Besides that, Black women in slavery have experienced as victim of sexual violence. Lastly, three elements have mentioned above, they are accumulated in Black women’s culture. In culture, Black women identity not yet appear because of patriachy system that applied in the culture at that moment. Besides that, through gynocritics can be known how Walker gives defence to Black women through her poems. In additionally, Walker’s purpose to recontruction image of Black women identity in order to their have power and ability same as men in some fields. Finally, the data from Walker’s poem lead to two conclusions regarding identity of Black women. The first, identity of Black women based on Walker’s poems depicted as victims of violence of men. The second, in same work, Walker provides defence for awakening Black women identity.