Alice Walkers The Color Purple - Research Paper Example

English Literature ic and Modern), Research Paper Topic: How her own struggle of women's rights and equality affected Alice Walker’s writing in "The Color Purple" Outline Celie is a young black girl and this is the story or her exploitation and her bitter struggles to hold on to life. Initially, God is her only solace, whom she loves and trusts, as human beings whom she encounters are ignoble. Though unlettered, she grows into a woman of tremendous confidence. Her husband loves another woman, but she defends Celie and instills courage in her. Ultimately Celie emerges strong physically and spiritually. This is the story of Celie’s emotional and mental rebirth ipso facto this is the story that instills courage in black women. Introduction “The Color Purple,” is one of the sterling literary works of Alice Walker and a critically acclaimed book. It depicts the tough life of a young African-American woman in South America in the early part of the twentieth century. The novel explores the individual identity of African-American women. What were the problems of the black women to get assimilated in the mainstream American society and how it affected them individually and the community at large, when they had to face exploitation and at every stage of life, viewed from every angle? The plot of any novel will tell something about the personal life of the author, howsoever intelligently one may try to sweep it under the carpet. In “The Color Purple,” reflection of the life of Alice Walker is evident. The oppression of the Black women: The oppression of the Black women from all ends, especially in South America, is the major theme of the novel. Politically blacks were at the receiving end, as they were disenfranchised and never treated as equal as compared to whites. Since women were treated as unequal to men by societal standards, for the black women, the life was the double tragedy. They were treated as property or as slaves. Harriet A. Jacobs et.al writes, “there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death; these are inflicted by fiend who bears the shape of men"(27). The novel provides a number of such examples. Celie is passed on from Pa to Mr. --------- and she had no say in issues related to her and her desires were not taken into account. She did not give up, struggled to create her own identity and would not get dominated by the society that ascribed subservient roles to her. She found a role model in a Black Woman who was self-willed and did not permit men around her to restrict her lifestyle. She was bent upon securing sexual, racial and political equality. She got love and support from strong-willed women like Nettie, Sophia, and Shug Avery. She was passionate in her pursuits and was endowed with creativity. Earlier Shug had stopped her from killing Mr. ------------ She established her own business, prospered and gained confidence and wealth. She aspired for spiritual fulfillment as well. The process of exploitation: The book “The Color Purple” was written in the year 1982. The process of exploitation of the blacks began with their sale to the prospective buyers mainly plantation owners and the women and the children suffered the most. Separation from their male counterparts was the first blow to their psyche, which was systematically exploited later. Norman R. Yetman, in the story of Mary Armstrong writes about one such trader of slaves, “He’s so mean he never would sell the man and woman and chillen the same one. He’d sell the man here and the woman there and if they’s chillen he’d sell them someplace else.”(6) Thus, right from her childhood Celie faced tragic experiences that would shatter any girl. She lost faith in humanity and turned to the only unfailing support, God! Each day was full of uncertainties, and her letters to God were like a child lisping and she sought the benign grace of the ultimate protector. The dialogues of the letter mimic the real life situation of Alice Walker. She had no normal childhood and was directionless and destination less. Vicissitudes of life arrived one after another. For giving life to such a character Alice Walker chose the appropriate genre—epistolary. One such letter emerged from the pen of Alice Walker on behalf of Celie. “Dear God, He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got something in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even in look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause my mama cuss me you think I kept mad at her. But I ain’t. I feel sorry for mama. Trying to believe his story kilt her.” (5) Many such letters followed that revealed the burning sprit of Celie. Imprints of bitter experiences of her childhood on her impressionable mind: The normal expectation of a child is the love of parents and elders of the family. She was the eighth (last) child of sharecroppers Willie Lee and Lou Grant Walker. At the age of eight, her brother shot her with his BB gun, and she was render blind in one eye and scarred. Writing talents were perhaps the gift of God to her, she tried to overcome the visual challenge through creative writing to give vent to her inner feelings. She was a shy girl and an introvert. Her father could not arrange appropriate medical facilities for her and this affected her relationship with father, and she could never mend fences with him throughout her life. Notwithstanding her visual disability, she got a scholarship at Spelman College to continue her education. Her sensitive mind could not adjust to the conditions there and she got transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Her literary genius saw the light of the day, and on the theme of abortion she wrote her first collection of poetry, “Once: Poems (1968).” Her teacher, Muriel Rukeyser recognized her writing talents and recommended her work to an agent who reached out to a publisher. With no stopping since then, notwithstanding the fact that her personal life was a bundle of miseres-- her marriage ended in divorce,--she achieved sterling results in creative writing, and finally “The Color Purple” saw the light of the day. Alice Walker and the character of Celie The story of Celie has many similarities to the real life situations of Alice Walker and they are reflected in her writings. Celie was mostly at the receiving end of the brutalities by men. Who was the foremost to torment her physically and mentally? It was none other than her stepfather who raped and beat her before fixing her marriage with Albert, a widower with four children. Albert loved someone else, Shug Avery, a vivacious singer. Celie was treated as a servant. About her plight, Alice Walker writes, “He beat me like he beat the children. Cept he don't never hardly beat them. He say, Celie, get the belt... It all I can do not to cry. I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree. That's how come I know trees fear men."(22)The plot summary of the novel reflects the autobiographical details of Alice Walker. Novel’s intense emotional impact refers to her emotional world. Particularly the estrangement and violence to which Alice Walker was subjected by black men and women is shown in the character of Celie. The sexual disaffection, to which Alice Walker had to go through, is highlighted in the life of Celie. Her observations in “The Color Purple,” depicts the role of male domination and the frustrations of helpless black women’s struggles cornered from all ends, yet desperately wriggling out to come out of the dark cocoon of injustice on every count. That is the focus of her writing through the characters of this novel. Progression of female characters: Through the progression of the characters and working of their minds, Alice Walker indicates how from a totally uncomfortable beginning in life, she confronts all sorts of obstacles and makes a mark in her life. By the introduction of the character Shug Avery, she deals with a new theme, how a woman comes to the rescue of a woman, and the triangular love affair depicted by her, conveys an important lesson. Celie and Shug should have been the contenders and borne enmity with each other as one man, Albert, is involved in their love-life. But it is Shug who comes to the rescue of Celie and convinces Albert to stop brutalizing Celie, and Celie reciprocates and develops a loving relationship with Shug. Albert is transformed with the nobility of Shug. Elaborating that transformation Alice Walker writes, “It don't surprise me you love Shug Avery," Albert tells Celie. "I have love Shug Avery all my life... I told Shug it was true that I beat his wife cause you was you and not her... some womens would have just love to hear they man say he beat his wife cause she wasn't them. ...But Shug spoke right up for you, Celie. She say, Albert, you been mistreating somebody I love.”(269) Those who know the autobiographical details of Alice Walker would be able to connect her life with that of Celie as those details reflect in the writing of the author. The authentic folk voice in the novel highlights the neighborhoods in which Alice Walker grew and personality gradually took shape. She carried out the struggle of women’s rights and equality through a number of female characters and each one of them speaks out for the female fraternity as per the level of their progression. In Shug Avery she has created a memorable character, which instead of challenging her contender for love (Celie) understands the finer aspects of the psyche of women and loves her and in turn the love is reciprocated. In the process the common man involved in their life is reformed from his beastly tendencies, into a civilized individual. The rebellious spirit of Sophia is the lesson for the activists of feminism. Conclusion: This is a well-written novel in which Alice Walker has intelligently interpolated her own struggles of women’s rights and equality by creating female characters that speak for and fight for the cause of women. She has handled the script of the novel in the epistolary style, which is suited to her method of narrations and arguments in support of equality and independence for women at par with their men counterparts. God sees the truth, but how long the women have to wait, is the question posed by her. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A (Author), Yellin, Jean F (Author), Jacobs, John S. (Author). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, Enlarged Edition, Now with "A True Tale of Slavery" Harvard University Press; 2000 Walker, Alice. The Color Purple (Harvest Book), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1992 Yetman, Norman R. When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection. Dover Publications, 2002 Read More