The novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a
ground-breaking work in American fiction. The topic of emotional/physical
abuse, especially that endured by black American women of earlier generations
is not openly spoken about or documented in history books. By bringing focus to
this sensitive, yet saddening, experience of black women, the novel attracted
criticism, censorship and controversy. A careful analysis of the novel will
reveal several themes, symbols and motifs woven-in by the author. This essay
will confine itself to highlighting some of the major themes such as the
representation (or lack thereof) of God, the interpretation of the color purple
that is the title of the work, the symbolic value of the epistolary element in
the novel, etc.
One of the prominent themes of the novel is the
degree of suppression of the female African voice in early twentieth century
American society. This is most evident from the events and circumstances in the
life of the protagonist of the story, Celie. During her adolescent years, she
was repeatedly raped and sweared at by her stepfather. She even bears his child
through the whole term, after which the child is taken away and presumably
killed by her stepfather. The oppression and disparaging attitude exhibited by
her stepfather is obvious in the following passage:
“Well,
next time you come you can look at her. She ugly. Don’t even look like she kin
to Nettie. But she’ll make the better wife. She aint smart either, and I’ll
just be fair, you have to watch her or she’ll give away everything you own. But
she can work like a man.” (The Color Purple, Part 1, 1982)
If this was
traumatic enough, the unfolding events of her adult life are equally saddening
and depressing. Her tumultuous adult life is about finding peace and calm in an
existence that is constantly threatened by the abusive husband Albert, while
also navigating the emotional confusion cause by her sexual attraction toward
Shug. Fortuitously, though, her secret relationship with Shug serves to
emancipate Celie to a degree, as she learns to act boldly and assertively like
Shug. But the fact remains that the extent of abuse suffered by Celie is not
only shocking but also touches the limits of individual tolerance.
Another important theme/symbol in the book is that of God, to whom Celie writes
letters regularly, hoping vainly for benign divine intervention in her life. In
all the doom and gloom that is Celie’s life, the notion of God offers the only
consolation and hope. Celie’s letters addressed to God is also an effective
literary device employed by Alice Walker. Through the course of the novel’s
narrative, one can see how Celie’s interpretation of God gradually evolves. At
first, her view of God is that of a powerful white male. This naïve
representation is a product of her personal past experiences and the structure
of American society at the time. For example, she notes in one of her earlier
letters:
“Yeah, I say, and he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama, a
lowdown dog of a step pa and a sister I probably won’t ever see again. Anyhow,
I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. And act just like all
the other mens I know. Trifling, forgetful and lowdown.” (The Color Purple,
Part 4, 1982)
But the
friendship with Shug helps Celie to discard this view to a more nuanced
understanding of God – one who is beyond gender, race, time or space. What
Alice Walker trying to show the reader is the growing maturity and emancipation
of Celie through the content of her letters. In other words, her letters reveal
the evolution and stirrings of liberation within. Moreover, the letters act as
powerful theological symbols, drawing upon the rich tradition of Christian
epistolary.
Finally, the
color purple is also a thematic element in the story, for it represents the
pain and suffering endured by Celie. Drawing upon the idiom ‘beaten black and
blue’, purple stands for the color of clotted blood. It is also a symbol of
Celie’s sexual and physical violation, as she equates her private parts to this
color. But as a reflection of her inner transformation, the color purple is
used to represent positive things in life. This is evident in the passage where
Shug remarks to Celie in a field of purple flowers thus: “You must look at all
the good and acknowledge them because God placed them all on earth”. (The Color
Purple, Part 2, 1982) Eggplant, which takes a hue of purple, is referred in a
similar context:
“When I see Sofia I don’t know why she still alive. They crack her
skull, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind
her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm, it
stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She can’t talk. And she just
about the color of a eggplant.” (The Color Purple, Part 2, 1982)
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The Power of
Narrative and Voice
Alice Walker emphasizes throughout
the novel that the ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings is crucial to
developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is completely unable to resist
those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso’s warning that she “better not never
tell nobody but God” about his abuse of her, Celie feels that the only way to
persevere is to remain silent and invisible. Celie is essentially an object, an
entirely passive party who has no power to assert herself through action or
words. Her letters to God, in which she begins to pour out her story, become
her only outlet. However, because she is so unaccustomed to articulating her
experience, her narrative is initially muddled despite her best efforts at
transparency.
In Shug and Sofia, Celie finds
sympathetic ears and learns lessons that enable her to find her voice. In
renaming Celie a “virgin,” Shug shows Celie that she can create her own
narrative, a new interpretation of herself and her history that counters the
interpretations forced upon her. Gradually Celie begins to flesh out more of
her story by telling it to Shug. However, it is not until Celie and Shug
discover Nettie’s letters that Celie finally has enough knowledge of herself to
form her own powerful narrative. Celie’s forceful assertion of this newfound
power, her cursing of Mr. ______ for his years of abuse, is the novel’s climax.
Celie’s story dumbfounds and eventually humbles Mr. ______, causing him to
reassess and change his own life.
Though Walker clearly wishes to emphasize the power of narrative
and speech to assert selfhood and resist oppression, the novel acknowledges
that such resistance can be risky. Sofia’s forceful outburst in response to
Miss Millie’s invitation to be her maid costs her twelve years of her life.
Sofia regains her freedom eventually, so she is not totally defeated, but she
pays a high price for her words.
The Power of Strong
Female Relationships
Throughout The Color Purple, Walker portrays female
friendships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories. In
turn, these stories allow women to resist oppression and dominance.
Relationships among women form a refuge, providing reciprocal love in a world
filled with male violence.
Female ties take many
forms: some are motherly or sisterly, some are in the form of mentor and pupil,
some are sexual, and some are simply friendships. Sofia claims that her ability
to fight comes from her strong relationships with her sisters. Nettie’s
relationship with Celie anchors her through years of living in the unfamiliar
culture of Africa. Samuel notes that the strong relationships among Olinka
women are the only thing that makes polygamy bearable for them. Most important,
Celie’s ties to Shug bring about Celie’s gradual redemption and her attainment
of a sense of self.
The Cyclical
Nature of Racism and Sexism
Almost none of the
abusers in Walker’s novel are stereotypical, one-dimensional monsters whom we
can dismiss as purely evil. Those who perpetuate violence are themselves
victims, often of sexism, racism, or paternalism. Harpo, for example, beats
Sofia only after his father implies that Sofia’s resistance makes Harpo less of
a man. Mr. ______ is violent and mistreats his family much like his own
tyrantlike father treated him. Celie advises Harpo to beat Sofia because she is
jealous of Sofia’s strength and assertiveness.
The characters are largely aware of the
cyclical nature of harmful behavior. For instance, Sofia tells Eleanor Jane
that societal influence makes it almost inevitable that her baby boy will grow
up to be a racist. Only by forcefully talking back to the men who abuse them
and showing them a new way of doing things do the women of the novel break
these cycles of sexism and violence, causing the men who abused them to stop
and reexamine their ways.
The Disruption of
Traditional Gender Roles
Many characters in the novel break the
boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and
sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of
such disparity between a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays.
This blurring of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity,
as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie and Shug.
Disruption of gender roles sometimes causes problems. Harpo’s
insecurity about his masculinity leads to marital problems and his attempts to
beat Sofia. Likewise, Shug’s confident sexuality and resistance to male domination
cause her to be labeled a tramp. Throughout the novel, Walker wishes to
emphasize that gender and sexuality are not as simple as we may believe. Her
novel subverts and defies the traditional ways in which we understand women to
be women and men to be men.
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