The Color Purple is widely known for its numerous issues surrounding violent and explicit substances. Alice Walker’s epistolary novel focuses on a young girl named Celie, who is raped and impregnated by her father. She writes about her experiences at home in Georgia to God, and her sister, Nettie, who is on a mission trip in Africa. Celie begins writing these letters about her experiences to God and Nettie in order to keep her sanity through the horrific events she suffers. Throughout the story, the main character endures countless hardships brought upon her by her father, husband, family, and friends. Celie and her family overcome obstacles and find themselves through adversities such as domestic abuse and the devaluation of women as the story …show more content…
One family member in particular named Sofia is a stubborn, hard-headed woman who is Harpo’s (Celie’s stepson) wife. She usually does not listening to Harpo’s commands, and one day, Harpo gets frustrated. In a discussion with his father, Mr.___ (who is also Celie’s new husband), Mr.___ tells his son that “wives is like children […] nothing can do that better than a good sound beating” and concluded his lecture convincing Harpo that “Sofia needs to be taken down a peg” (Walker 36). Poor consultation and guidance is seen here in the exchange between father and son. It can be inferred that Mr.___ grew up being taught that disciplining a companion or a wife needs to be done in order to teach a lesson. He simply passes this horrible practice to his son without hesitation. Unfortunately, Mr.___ is not the only one who thinks Harpo should hurt Sofia. While Harpo and Mr.__ are talking about Sofia’s stubbornness, Celie interrupts their conversation with the impactful words: “Beat her” (Walker 37). These two words greatly influence Harpo’s actions because he looks up to Celie like a mother and trusts her terse commands. Although it is not written in the text, readers can make an inference that Harpo did beat his wife later that day when they got into another …show more content…
Mel Watkins, a New York Times book critic, agrees with this statement when he writes in his critical review that “black American heroes” in Walker’s novel “withstood the gaudiest abuse a racist, sexist society could offer” (Literature Lovers). Watkin’s claim about the novel is unquestionable because readers of The Color Purple are exposed to hard working women who attempt to overcome their obstacles brought to them by the male figures in their lives. Watkin also writes that the author’s story “provoked controversy about Walker’s portrayal of black men, which many found offensive and one-dimensional” (Literature Lovers). The Color Purple can be seen as offensive and one-dimensional because people can interpret the author’s words as saying: all black men are vituperative. This is not true. Walker is simply trying to demonstrate that it is common for men to be in charge of their wives and be dominative over them in the 1900s (and even today). Watkin simply praises the novel’s spark of controversy surrounding very sensitive topics. For Celie, men like Alfonso, Mr.___, and Harpo were all African American men who continuously put her down and gave her a hard time. This does not change until Celie displays her character development in her final letter to God. The Color Purple opens the eyes of the previously blind into the world’s aspect of an oppressive
Celie is unprotected by the adults in her life. Many different men, leaving her with little to no self-worth and no help, verbally, physically, and mentally abuse her. Her Pa raped her and she gave birth to two children by him. Her mama is sick and mentally ill, dying young. It’s not clear to anybody whether it’s better for Celie to stay at her house with Pa or to marry Mr.______ when he comes by looking for a wife to take care of his young children. "I don't say nothing. I think bout Nettie, dead. She fight, she run away. What good it do? I don't fight, I stay where I'm told. But I'm alive." (P 22) This quote shows troubles of women. Celie allows the men in her life to abuse her both sexually and physically. She does not fight back or escape it, she takes it as it comes.
Celie uses god as a symbol of hope to her life and happiness. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker is a story about the life of an african american woman before world war 2. Alice portrays real life problems women during that time faced. The main character Celie experiences domestic violence, racism, jealousy, homosexual curiosity, motherhood, and poverty. The story is made up of letters Celie writes to God, her sister, Nettie, and letters Nettie writes to Celie. The letters all vary in length. The main conflict in the story is that Celie has never questioned her rights or what she wants, she has always done as she has been told and never gone against
From reading this novel, it seems as though there are multiple characters throughout the book that tend to be victims of violence, and men attempt to exert their dominance over women. Mainly focusing on their wives and family members, by beating them aggressively and raping them in certain situations. In the story Pa has recently been committing several forms of violence against Celie. Pa is clearly violent towards her by raping her and beating her. In the book, Celie describes an interaction that she once had with Pa and how she was being severely abused. Celie expresses, “He [Pa] never had a kine word to say to me. Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. First he put his thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my breast. Then he
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker takes place in the early twentieth century, a time where men were perceived as much more dominant than women. “The Color Purple” highlights on how prevalent rape, incest, sex, and forced labor was during the patriarchal society. By Celie, a prominent character in “The Color Purple”, being an African American women , she faces a tremendous amount of belittlement and abuse from the men which alienates her from her society and emphasizes on how wrong the morals and values of the society were during the early 1900s.
Throughout the novel several characters challenge their gender roles. When Harpo and Sofia got married, Harpo noticed that Sofia was different from all the other women. Sofia believed that she could and would make her own decisions. Harpo had to learn how to reason with her and obtain her thoughts on things. Harpo doesn't like the way she thinks and goes to his father for advice on what to do. When asking for advice Celie’s husband suggested that Harpo beat her. Harpo’s facial expression shows that he really doesn't want to beat his wife, but Harpo is too concerned with his social status as a “man” to care. When Harpo attempts to beat his wife it makes the relationship between them two worse. When he attempts to beat her, she fights Harpo back and wins. To Harpo this is a big deal because few women are confident enough to fight back. In the novel after this happens Sofia says “I loves Harpo, God knows I do. But I'll
In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Celie is constantly faced with abuse from certain men who had control over her throughout her life. However, thanks to all of the women who helped surround and protect her throughout the novel, Celie becomes strong enough to overcome the abuse she was continually experiencing. The most influential women in Celie’s life included her sister Nettie, her daughter-in-law Sofia and the singer Shug Avery. These are the women who help Celie move on from her life of abuse and see her transform from being a shy and withdrawn woman into someone who was able to speak her mind and live her own life as she wanted. Celie is inspired by her sister’s independence, determination and dedication while in Africa.
Throughout the novel The Color Purple, Celie Harris Johnson, an oppressed African American woman, struggles with gaining her independence. Along with losing the only person who truly loved her; she is continuously abused both physically and mentally by Albert Johnson, her husband as a result of an arranged marriage, known as Mr._ to Celie. As the story unravels, the reader familiarizes themselves with the character, Celie, through the use of names, occupation, articles of clothing, and the dialect.
The Color Purple is the inspiring story of a young girl, Celie, who is separated from her sister, married to an abusive man, whom she does not love, yet overcome these challenges and becomes a strong proud black woman. Originally written by Alice walker, the story also took a film adaptation under director Steven Spielberg in which the main idea of oppression against unjust powers is continued. In the written novel, Walker spares the readers not one detail of the suffering and agony Celie faced as described in her letters to God thus expressing Walker’s serious tone. In the film, Spielberg reveals a playful aspect to the story to lift spare the emotions of the audience. Walker and Spielberg both demonstrate Celie’s defiance to emphasize how
Celie is a young black girl who lives in Georgia. It is easy to tell that she does not have a lot of education, because of her spelling a dialect. largely uneducated. Walker worded Celie’s speech as black folk language, it is raw, honest, and strong. Celie's letters have a surprising strength. They are verification of Celie's struggle to hold onto life, despite all of the savageries she endured.
The Color Purple explores and introduces many themes including, the ability to express your thoughts through writing and letters, female relationships, sexism, racism and gender roles that occurred during the early 1900’s in the South. The author of the novel Alice Walker, uses the characters of the novel to help the main character Celie find herself as a woman and stand up to the men in her life that take advantage of her. The Color Purple is an epistolary and fiction novel made up of Celie’s, the protagonists, letters to God where she talks about the struggles of being an African American woman subjected to the cruel prejudices in the South. The novel was originally published in 1982 by Harcourt although it is
The novel ‘The Color Purple’ by Alice Walker is a story about a woman called Celie. She suffered from abuse and assault from her father, and husband. From the beginning of the book, she was very submissive to Mr.____ and did whatever he ordered to her. However, in the middle phase, the novel goes up to climax, which is Celie looked back in the miserable old days, and Mr.____’s misdeed made her upset, then she left him with Shug to Tennessee.
Nearly three in ten women are in a, or have been in an abusive relationship. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a novel about a girl named Celie, and her sister Nettie, who are stuck in the south in the early twentieth century. Celie and her sister battle for their lives, against the discrimination of colored women. After Nettie escapes, Celie is left to fend for herself married to a man who abuses her. Men believe that they can take advantage of women until the women prove them wrong.
“The Color Purple” is an epistolary novel that narrates an invented story that it would be perfectly reliable. The book, written by Alice Walker, tells the history of a black girl named Celie, a girl that is living in the United States, in a secluded and rural city.
The Color Purple follows the story of Celie, an African American woman from rural Georgia, who grows up in an abusive, oppressive environment which teaches her to normalize sexist and patriarchal ideology. This normalization and submission continues to control her until the women in her life, Shug, Sophia, and Nettie, empower her to overcome her male oppressors and become liberated from the patriarchal society. By viewing this novel through a feminist lens one is able to decipher the “role of women in society … [as well as the role of men in] the oppression of women” (O’Conner, 2017). In applying the feminist lens to this novel we are able to observe not only the role men play in the oppression of women, but also its effect on the women who
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a novel set in rural Georgia during the early 1900s. Celie, the main character and narrator of the novel, is a very poor and uneducated young girl. Celie begins writing letters to God because her father is very abusive; he beats and rapes her at the age of just fourteen. At the beginning of the novel Celie is afraid of both her father, and her husband, that abuse her. However, by the end of the novel, Celie proves to be a dynamic character as she develops into a strong, brave, and self-sufficient women who stands up to those who took advantage of her.