Post #4

In her novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker presents the audience with the oppression and finally the revolution of women and their rights. Throughout the entire story, Walker presents different scenarios where women’s rights are stomped on because the men believe that women are their possessions. Whether in Africa where women have their face scarred as a representation of womanhood or in America where women are physically abused, Walker does not shy from demonstrating the injustices women face. The main character, Celie, is the primary victim of oppression in this story. Celie gets beaten by her husband just because he feels like it, is used as a mule who does all of the fieldwork, and is constantly told that she is ugly and good for nothing. Her husband steals letters from her sister because he knows that it will make it more miserable. It is as if the men set out to make Celie’s life a wreck. However, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Celie refers to herself as a tree at the beginning of the novel and declares, “Celie, you a tree. That’s how come I know trees fear man” (22). By illustrating that Celie is a tree at the beginning of the story, Walker foreshadows that Celie will go through a large sum of growth throughout the entire story.

Celie begins her journey as a worthless woman who puts her faith in God for a better life. Throughout the novel, she realizes that her life has been controlled by males, including God, and grows out of her dependence on them. Shug Avery is the soil that helps Celie grow. Shug helps Celie uncover who she is by giving her something she never had—love. Shug shows Celie the pleasure that the female body deserves by showing Celie where her sex organs are and by demonstrating how beautiful a woman’s body is. Celie falls in love with Shug and discovers that her sexuality is independent of men. Celie grows guts during her time with Shug and begins reading the hidden letters from her sister. Shug encourages her to do this and without these letters, Celie never would have grown apart from her dependence on men. The letters opened her eyes to how much she has lost because of the men in her life. When she discovers that her father is not her biological father and that her children are actually alive, she states, “I don’t write to God no more… he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama… the God I been praying to is a man. And act just like all the other mens I know. Trifling, forgitful and lowdown” (187). By letting go of this all-powerful man, Celie obtains her independence from man. She flowers into a woman who defines and defends herself. By the end of the novel she leaves her abusive husband, takes the male figure of God out of her life, and finds self-worth through designing pants. Not only does she stand up for herself, but she also forgives and mends past relationships.

After going to Memphis with Shug, Celie returns home but does not return as the same person. Her stepson, ex-husband, and friends are all shocked to see that she is well-dressed and speaks for herself. Celie is not the only one to grow and transform after her departure. Her ex-husband changes completely and states, “I’m satisfied this the first time I lived on Earth as a natural man. It feel like a new experience” (259). Once both Celie and Shug left he began to do all of the fieldwork he made Celie do, began taking better care of his health and home, and kept to himself much more. It took losing everything for him to realize that he had to become a better man. Both he and Celie hit rock-bottom before they transform into the strong beings they needed to be. They grow apart from each other but have an individual growth that allows them to become friends by the end of the story. Celie’s ex even understands how poorly he treated her and offers to marry her. Although Celie rejects his marriage, she does not reject his companionship, demonstrating that she has grown to look past the wrongs others have done to her. She is at peace. Walker presents two characters that are similar to trees in order to show that humanity has the ability to stand up for its rights, but it first takes understanding oneself in order to do that. This understanding feeds the growth that these two trees go through. I found it interesting that Walker uses the growth of one character as a catalyst for the growth of another. Picking up on that symbol right off the bat made me cognoscente of how it worked its way through the story as I read. I found myself looking for how this symbol would pop up again in the story and found that it tied the whole story together. Reading Foster, Prose, and Nabokov while I read The Color Purple made me think even closer about the details of the story such as the tree and even what Shug’s favorite animal was. I found myself trying to find the connection between religion and oppression in the book. I also began noticing how the various characters spoke to try to see how those subtle differences shape who they become throughout the story. It made the book more meaningful as a whole.

I feel like people typically hear this book’s name and think it is about all of the injustices that African Americans face. That was what I thought of this book as I began reading it. But I soon discovered that this book does not focus on the oppression of African Americans, but of women. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in women’s rights because this book demonstrates a variety of ways in which women are oppressed. Walker takes the reader from the Deep South to Africa to show how oppression varies. She also makes an argument that God is one of the woman’s oppressors, which I found very remarkable. I have not seen many women’s rights arguments that God himself is an oppressor. I have heard that religion itself can be restrictive, but never the God or gods associated with religion. I feel like this argument is what makes this novel so unique. It gives a whole new perspective to what and who we should value and put our faith in. This book is a great read for anyone who is fascinated with women’s rights and who is also questioning religion as a whole. The Color Purple is an inspiring novel that helps any reader see the importance of finding themselves and being true to oneself.