The Color Purple - Essay Example

Module Module ID: The Color Purple The Color Purple is one of the most remarkable works created by the contemporary era American fiction writer Alice Walker, which serves as the reflection of the abuses being committed in the multicultural society of the purported enlightened country USA in the name of freedom and individual liberty. The author has successfully elucidated the social evils including incestuous rape, child abuse, domestic violence and wife battering have been prevailing in various states of the country for decades. The story also alludes to the discriminatory statues of law are vogue in the USA, where the poor and African American citizens are looked down upon with racial hatred and prejudice by the overwhelming majority of the white population. The story also contains religious aspects in its theme, where the weak and hapless individuals seek the support from the high heavens in order to get free from the awkward clutches of cruel and ruthless members of society. Acharya (2006) submits to state that almost all humans form their personal beliefs about the set of unknowable elements of the universe, which they brand about the unknowable as religion. Hence, the author strives to demonstrate man’s natural tendencies of seeking help from the Lord whenever they find themselves helpless on the face of difficulties and agonies of life. The story revolves round the protagonist Celie, a fourteen years old black girl, who is victim of the sexual assaults of her stepfather. The stepfather, not only rapes her continuously, but also impregnates her twice illegitimately. Celie is also rebuked and tortured by the obnoxious Alphonso, who does never have mercy towards the innocent little girl (6). Since she is unable to resist to the cruel and atrocious behavior of her stepfather, she writes letters to God out of the feelings of sheer disappointment and despair. Hence, she maintains unabated belief in the existence of the Supreme Being, Who would remove all her miseries one day. Thus, the elements of Christian religious belief sway throughout the book that consists of letters to God carrying prayers for the protagonist’s safety from the cruelties society committed on the weak stratum. She also looks nagging in her letter on the sad demise of her mother, which has deprived her of the affection and protection of a sheltering tree in the person of the mother. She also makes complains through her writing to the Lord regarding the loss of her daughter and then son, both of which are snatched away from her lap as soon as she gives birth to them. Since the children are the product of her illicit relationship or rape by her stepfather, who gets the infant children lost in order to conceal his heinous crime he has been committing against her innocent stepdaughter. The little girl’s mourning and cries fill the hearts of the readers with gloominess. The author, in a highly moving though morbid way narrates the torture and battering Alphonso inflicted upon Celie. However, Celie’s unabated belief in the Lord does not waver altogether. On the contrary, her faith observes tremendous boost while her addressing the Lord through her innocent writing. help. Her letters further make complains from the Lord on getting married to the immodest and dissipated Mr.___. Although Mr. ___ had asked for the hand of Celie’s younger sister Nettie, yet Alphonso preferred to hand over comparatively “the ugly” Celie to the sweet and charming Nettie. Since she is unable to get rescued from the cruelties of Alphonso and then Mr. ___, her belief about God as a white male strengthens. Consequently, she starts believing that the deity belonging to male stratum as well as white racial group would not protect an ordinary, poor and helpless black girl at any cost. Thus, sense of alienation appears in the mind of the black girl. The elements of racial discrimination are also evident in the letters Celie writes to God, which are actually the reflection of the sentiments of alienation of the blacks towards the white culture. The dedication and affection for their cultural heritage and ancestral norms is actually the expression of the Blacks’ dedication to the African culture; it is therefore their behaving as fashionable and stylish individuals of society is mere an attempt to hide their inner feelings of inferiority complexes. (Walker & Christian, 1994) Celie finds apparently a rival in Shug’s person, who is actually one of the mistresses of Mr. ___, and desires to see her. Being a public singer, Shug has been Celie’s favorite celebrity, though she is not allowed to meet her during her concert at the same city. Somehow, Celie gets the opportunity of coming close to her during Shug’s falling ill and staying at the house of Mr. ___. She nurses Shug by taking her care as her moral and ethical obligation. Consequently, she dedicates her services for the convalescence of Mr. ___’s mistress. During the course of their interaction Celie starts feeling sexual attraction towards Shug, which apparently is strictly against the religious and spiritual teachings she follows; however, she is unable to resist the charm of developing same sex inclinations quite unintentionally. Renowned feminist writer Dorothy Alison has also pointed out towards the same bitter reality in her Survival (2005), where she herself had been the victim of incestuous abuse at the hands of her nefarious stepfather from the age of 5 to 11 years. Consequently, she had started abhorring the entire male folk, and developed sexual inclinations towards the members of same sex. The same has been depicted in the work under investigation, where the protagonist seeks relief in developing sexual relations with another woman, i.e. Shug, in order to escape the atrocities inflicted upon her by Mr. ___. Walker’s description of a missionary couple and the safety of Nettie and Celie’s lost children also maintain religious sentiments of hope and courage in their theme. Walker strongly believes that God certainly hears to the calls of the humans, and blesses them with support in one way or the other. Celie’ reunion with her sister and the lost children is also the reflection of the author’s faith in the compensation Nature makes by blessing the oppressed humans with pelf, power, prestige and possession—all of which Celie gets though after undergoing several trials and hardships. To conclude, it becomes evident that Walker has demonstrated her religious and spiritual faiths by confining the entire work as the communication between an ordinary human and his Creator. She has revealed that a weak and ugly black girl could be worthless in the eyes of society; but is someone very special for the Lord, Who has created her, and listens to her calls as well as replies her though late, by eliminating all her miseries and sufferings. It is therefore LaGrone (2009) views celie’s temporary alienation towards God as the outcome of her sheer despair, though she addresses the Lord by calling Him as dear God, which reflects that man cannot do away without having love for the deity in his subconscious; as a result he remembers the Lord both consciously and unconsciously throughout his life. Works Cited Acharya, Sankarsan. “Religion, God and Science” Web prosperity.com/NewsFeed.html March 17th, 2006 Alison, Dorothy. “Survival” 2005 LaGrone, Kheven. “Alice Walker’s the Color Purple” Rodopi 2009 Walker, Alice. “The Color Purple” Pocket Books 1982 Walker, Alice & Christian, Barbara “Everyday Use; Women Writers: Texts & Contexts” Rutgers University Press 1994 Read More