The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Book Report/Review Example

of the How do the male characters in the color purple shape, break, or have other influences over the female characters? Introduction Male dominance is a common phenomenon that has been largely discussed by various scholars over time considering the effect the same has on the societal beliefs that have been valued by the people. In most instances, the male characters in the society are portrayed as exerting influence over the female, a key characteristic of the theme of the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Walker marvelously succeeds in portraying the interplay of the themes of power, gender and language in her text in very dynamic ways that coherently discloses the transformation of the traditional concepts of gender roles through a conscious utilization of language in the production of the narrative strategies (Walker 180-192). The basis of this study or its critical goal shall be to refute the interpretation of the gender roles as noted by Walker through a revision and rethinking of the analyses and discussion of the literary element of male dominance, as pertinently shown in the understanding of the novel. Particularly, this study shall be concerned with the understanding of how the male characters shape, break and/or have an influence over the female characters. In seeking to understand the concept as critically described above, the discussion shall be built around the pronouncements made by the significant characters in the novel, particularly, Celie. In the novel, Celie and other female characters in the text are seen to have engaged in numerous experiences with their male counterparts, which might have influenced their characters and personality, especially based on the style in which they resorted to the same. The actions of Celie and those of the other characters in the novel appear as intertwined in the extent that an action by one of them directly affects the other characters too (Walker 165-172). The character of the father to Celie greatly impacts on her life and perception of men in general, to the extent that she considers relations with fellow women more constructive than those with the male counterparts. Celie is becomes abused by the step-father who goes to the extent of raping her repeatedly at a tender age of fourteen years; thus, destroying her trust for men. In return, this influences her to develop greater love and passion for a fellow woman, in this case her sister, Nettie. Subsequently, the novel relays the aspect of forced marriages in the context that Celie is forcibly given for marriage to another abusive man, Albert. The worst is that the husband as well had feelings for her sister and wanted to marry her. Such encounters in her life make her not want to associate with men of all categories at all time, and break her personality and being. The sexual encounter between Celie and the husband can be described as unloving and sordid with Celie describing it as just letting him do his business and when done gets off and goes to sleep. This in its form shows a serious form of exploitation of the women by the men. Another notable point in this text is that the growth of the relationship between Celie and the sister Nettie is made stronger by the realization that they come from different fathers. This alone portrays the promiscuous behavior of men and the abandonment of their children as is the case with the two girls. Nettie also does only show love and affection to Celie and none else. The discovery of the difference in fathers is recorded in page 182 of the novel in a letter by Nettie in which she notes “Pa is not our Pa” (Walker 182). The realization that the person they had taken to be their father is but a step-father, although appearing to have disturbed them, turns out to firmly strengthen their relationship after the realization that they are each other’s direct relations. Therefore, the bond between Celie and Nettie is fronted by the actions of the males in the text. The relationship that Nettie had with Albert also helped in the transformation of her perception about males. There was a radical alteration in their affiliation from that of love to hatred upon Celie and Albert marrying, while she is refused by Pa for being young and tender for marriage. The intention for marriage between Nettie and Albert is shown in the novel when Celie notes ‘I say marry him, Nettie.’ Despite not being married to Nettie, Albert still has feelings for her which is evidenced when she visits them and Celie at their house when the story begins. It is fair to conclude that the visit was only to see Albert but, when she sees the suffering Celie and her children are subjected to, she feels sorry for her and subsequently goes off her. This is confirmed by her immediate departure such that when he tries to touch her, she rejects her. Nettie instead advices Celie in the manner of “Dont let them run over you. You got to let them know who got the upper hand.” (Walker 18). The novel is also built around the theme of segregation both at the national and family levels. At the national level, the Blacks are segregated upon by the Whites who only consider them as slaves. At the family level, segregation is recorded of that in which men despise upon the women and only perceive them as tools for their gratification. Women in the text are seen as struggling to gain recognition from the society and not only to be seen as inferiors. Particularly, the women are concerned with the attainment of fair and equitable treatment in the society by the men. However, instead of being granted this, the men are portrayed as abusers forcing the females to struggle out of the oppression and segregation, which takes on its worst form through sexual aggression (Hsiao 93-120). Consequently, segregation towards women takes on the form that allows males to be engaged in infidelity, while the same for women becomes a great cause for comment and attack. The loose behavior by men is allowed by the society while women are denied the same. The worst scenario in this novel is that of Shug having an affair with Celie’s husband, Albert, in which both even spend under the same roof with her. This shows that the infidelity is not an imperative quality among men but, important for the women. Additionally, the preacher attacks Shug for her loose kind of lifestyle while ignoring those behaviors by Albert. As a result, the women in the text are shown as willing to fight for themselves regardless of the implications. Even though Shug appears as the most liberated of all the women, she is attacked too, verbally, by the church elders. The behavior by men shapes the women in the sense that the polarity between the roles of the two genders is an indication of the arbitrary division evidenced to have resulted from the construction of the language. There is also an aspect of temperament in masculinity and femininity in the novel which is expressed as having contributed largely to the influencing of the actions of women based on the behavior of the men. For instance, Sofia, a feminine character in the novel is brutally mishandled by the male police officers simply because she is strong physically and powerful. The development of her subservience and great strength in character is based on the dreadful experiences she had at the hands of the police officers when she tried to talk back to the ‘white mayor.’ This results in her being sentenced to drudgery for numerous years as a servant to the mayor. Subsequently, Albert describes Shug as being ‘more manly than most men.’ (Walker 180-183) Generally, the qualities of independence, integrity and honesty are equally required by the women but, which the males appear hesitant to consider. The author of the novel, therefore, intended to assert that while people may be varied in strength; their gender should not dictate the perceptions of the qualities towards them, which should be human essentially. Therefore, the behavior of the male characters towards the women is a clear point for the categorization of the novel under the classification of feminist writing as a result of its depiction of the plight of the women who greatly suffers ills at the hands of the men and based on the behaviors of the women. Conclusion In summary, it is evident from the analysis presented above that the actions and behaviors of the male characters in the novel greatly impacted on the women by either breaking or shaping their actions. Women are seen as eager to defend themselves from the wiles of the males, despite the numerous challenges that they face. As shown in the discussion, it is evident that the themes of race, segregation and gender are the key pillars for the novel by Walker and a blend of the same enables her to out-rightly pinpoint the negative effects of these in the society (Thompson 9-65). A lot can be learnt from these themes, especially in relation to the impact on the females. The connections resulting from the novel portrays the involvement of both love and hatred expressed in different contexts throughout the text. Works Cited Hsiao, Pi-Li. Language, Gender, and Power in The Color Purple: Theories and Approaches. Feng Chia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (2008): 93-120. Thompson, Audrey. Caring in context: Four feminist theories on gender and education. Curriculum Inquiry 33.1 (2003): 9-65. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 2011. Internet resource. http://www.litnotes.co.uk/color.htm http://www.gradesaver.com/the-color-purple/study-guide/essay-questions/ Read More