The Color Purple
In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, the main character Celie refers to herself as a tree at the beginning of the story. She states, "I say to myself, Celie, you a tree" (22). When I think of a tree, I typically think of peace and balance, but Celie's life lacks both of those aspects. She lives with a man who constantly beats her when he feels like it and even brings his love affair, Shug, to live with him. But throughout the story, I have come to see how she resembles a tree. Celie is a strong woman and even claims that she made herself into wood. She puts up with all of the beating and neglect from her husband and still finds hope to make it through the next day. Physically, her strength outweighs her husband's strength. She works in the fields more than he does. The strength she has symbolizes the strength a tree has because they stand for hundreds of years without faltering. I find it so beautiful that she compares herself to a tree because it represents that she will not allow herself to be knocked over by her poor treatment. Although she states, "Then I start to feel nothing at all," a tree does not need to feel anything to stand strong. The tree is an inanimate object similar to a rock that cannot be moved. This represents the way people around Celie view her as well. They see that they can walk all over her because she will not take any action to stop them from doing so. They take advantage of the fact that she has no outward emotion. Although this may seem to contradict the fact that she is strong, I believe that this is an aspect that makes her stronger. She allows people to walk all over her because she cares for others more than she does herself. She shelters and protects Shug while she is sick, just as a tree gives shelter to a wanderer. Because she allows herself to forget her emotions, she can stand strong, even though the audience would hope she would be strong in a manner to stand up for herself.
Celie not only has the form of a tree, but from what I have read so far, she does the action of a tree-- grows. When Shug enters the house, Celie marvels at this wonderful goddess who seems to have so much more life than her. She learns lessons about the pleasure of intimacy from Shug and discovers that she has greater desires. I believe the moment where she grows the most is when she realizes the error in her marriage. When her step-son, Harpo, asks her about why his daddy beats her, Celie replies by saying that she is the wife. When she does not do what he wants he can beat her. Later in the story, Harpo gets married, tries to beat his wife, and gets beaten senseless. He gets upset and confronts Celie saying that his wife should be beaten because he did not do as he said. At this moment Celie realizes that she helped her son model after her husband. She understands the pain Harpo's wife could have been subjected to. She realizes that the way her husband treats her is wrong and does not wish this upon anyone. She learns that what she says truly does have an impact on the behaviors of others and becomes conscious of that. This is a growing experience because she changes from learning of her mistake. Celie's likeness to a tree speaks to the story as a whole because it highlights the concept of non-violence. Because Celie allows herself to be an inanimate object, she avoids violence with those who oppress her and gradually learns about what is wrong with the way people treat her. This helps her influence others to treat others well. This sort of attitude and influence was very prevalent during the time period of this book because African Americans were beginning to fight for their rights. It goes to show that one voice can change a nation.
Celie not only has the form of a tree, but from what I have read so far, she does the action of a tree-- grows. When Shug enters the house, Celie marvels at this wonderful goddess who seems to have so much more life than her. She learns lessons about the pleasure of intimacy from Shug and discovers that she has greater desires. I believe the moment where she grows the most is when she realizes the error in her marriage. When her step-son, Harpo, asks her about why his daddy beats her, Celie replies by saying that she is the wife. When she does not do what he wants he can beat her. Later in the story, Harpo gets married, tries to beat his wife, and gets beaten senseless. He gets upset and confronts Celie saying that his wife should be beaten because he did not do as he said. At this moment Celie realizes that she helped her son model after her husband. She understands the pain Harpo's wife could have been subjected to. She realizes that the way her husband treats her is wrong and does not wish this upon anyone. She learns that what she says truly does have an impact on the behaviors of others and becomes conscious of that. This is a growing experience because she changes from learning of her mistake. Celie's likeness to a tree speaks to the story as a whole because it highlights the concept of non-violence. Because Celie allows herself to be an inanimate object, she avoids violence with those who oppress her and gradually learns about what is wrong with the way people treat her. This helps her influence others to treat others well. This sort of attitude and influence was very prevalent during the time period of this book because African Americans were beginning to fight for their rights. It goes to show that one voice can change a nation.
