FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING: SUFFERING VOYAGE OF THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER IN ALICE WALKER�S POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY

Female genital cutting refers to several traditional practices that involve the cutting of female genital. The practices were considered as a passage to womanhood, the first gate to involve in every social activities. It is usually performed before the woman reached the age of twelve. The problems of this thesis are to explore how female genital cutting is seen in Alice Walker�s Possessing the Secret of Joy. Second, the study focuses on what the effects of female genital cutting to the main female character in Alice Walker�s Possessing the Secret of Joy are, and the last is how the United States responds to female genital cutting. Practically, this study can be considered as a complementary for other studies on American literature which have been conducted by other studies. Furthermore, this study is expected to contribute to the enrichment of knowledge about female genital cutting and the effect to woman. In this novel, the existence of the main character is not pure from the main character herself, but there are some external factors that affect her existence. The external factors urge her to take circumcision which lead to her suffering. The interference of the United States by prohibiting female genital cutting encourages this practice is conducted secretly