Stacy Jackson
C. Liegh McInnis
ENG 105-09
December 7, 2011
Critical Analysis of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple to give her insight of men, women, love or the lack thereof, physical, mental, and verbal abuse. The men within this book were very powerful. It would be safe to say that the men were as slave owners and the women were treated as slaves. Celie, being the main character of the book, endures every form of abuse from individuals in her life that should have been showing her love. Everyone abused her except her sister Nettie, whom she found herself trying to protect from their father. Celie’s mother abused and cursed her, even while being on her sick bed because her husband, Celie and Nettie’s father, desired to have sex with Celie more than he did with his wife (Celie’s mother).
Marriage is a union between a man and a woman although in today’s society in some states it could be man and man or woman and woman. However, within the traditional marriage, the man is said to be the head of the household, especially within the Christian faith. Marriage consists of God, the husband, and then the wife which is how it was intended to be. In this context, historically, the men within a marriage ruled or oppressed the wife. The wife had to do whatever her husband demanded of her. Alice Walker’s The Color Purple explains the marital oppression of women, which included an older widowed man who is given a younger unattractive wife by her step-father after asking for the more attractive daughter for marriage. Chanequa Walker Barnes of Duke University Library states, “The Color Purple is a story about pain and, ultimately, triumph.” Being that Celie is the unattractive child, she endures violence, rape, and the lack of love from those who should have protected her. Dealing with such for so long causes her to struggle to gain strength, self-confidence, and will power. Yet, she is eventually able to gain these attributes leading to a happy life after so many years of heartache and pain. Celie’s marriage to Mr. did not display love to her at all. Celie endured abuse from Mr. as well as his children. Celie not only had to be a maid to Mr., but she had to be one to his kids also. Celie’s oldest stepson Harpo endured just as much abuse as she did. Mr. would abuse Harpo just as he did Celie without Harpo putting up so much as a wave to flee a mosquito. Reading and understanding the trials and tribulations that Celie endured and how she conquered them all and later becoming a strong and independent woman could allow one to embrace the negatives in life that one may face with assurance in knowing that one will have strength to overcome them and become stronger independently rather than giving up on life. Celie endured violence throughout her entire life. Her abuse began as a child, merely because she was not attractive. Her father, later discovered to be her step-father, abused her physically. Celie was beaten and was made to do all of the chores within the house. Celie’s mother did not do anything to help Celie, nor did she do anything to stop her husband from abusing Celie. Not only did she endure the abuse from her step-father, but yet her mother abused her too. Could it have been that her mother did not like Celie because of how she looked, or did she treat her in such a way because that was how her husband treated Celie and she did not want to be abused by her husband just as Celie was being abused. Celie was also beaten by her husband Mr. which is what he believed should happen for women to behave as he told his son Harpo. “Well how do you spect to make her (Harpo’s wife Sophia) mind? Wives is like children. You have to let’em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do better than a good sound beating.” (Walker 37). Harpo’s wife Sophia has endured violence within her life, but not at the hands of Harpo. Sophia had to fight her brothers, uncles, and her father while growing up. Fighting to Sophia was her way of showing men that she would not settle as to being treated any way less than an independent woman that stands her ground. Though this was how Sophia truly felt and stood firm in her beliefs, it ultimately landed her in prison. Sophia was approached by the town’s mayor wife Mrs. Millie concerning her working for her household as a maid because she was so amazed at how clean Sophia’s kids were. Sophia responded to her with “Hell no”. This is when Sophia’s problems began. Mrs. Millie’s husband, the mayor, asked Sophia what did she say to his wife, and Sophia repeated with “Hell no”. The mayor slapped Sophia and she knocked him out which is why she went to prison. Needless to say, when Sophia was released from prison, she still ended up working for Mrs. Millie as her maid. One could benefit from knowing this by learning that there is a time and place for one’s actions. One has to be mindful of consequences of one’s actions that could ultimately result in one losing one’s life or ending up in jail. Had Sophia simply said, “No mam, I have a job already, but I appreciate the offer” she probably would not have had the confrontation with the mayor as she did, neither would she have went to prison for so many years losing that time with her children.
Violence occurs within many families. Drugs or alcohol could cause one’s parents to become violent to one not knowing or realizing that it is happening as a result of an addiction. One’s father or mother could become violent to one for several reasons, including anger and not from actions of the child at all. In Celie’s case, violence happens to her because she is not as attractive as her sister Nettie. Celie is mistreated by her mother and her father, who she later discovered was her step-father. Celie’s mother wanted the love of her husband so much that she allowed her daughter, Celie, by another man suffer violence. Although this is the case within the book, there are mothers today that succumb to their husbands or boyfriends in yet the same way. There are women that want the love of a man so intensely that they would not be the protector that they should be for their child or children which do not belong to that man. Mother’s allowing their child or children to face such treatment do not understand that they are mentally hurting these children as well as physically abusing them. Children that face this type of treatment could grow into dysfunctional adults filled with hatred. Children growing up in this way tend to display a host of the same types of treatments to ones that become a part of their lives. Parents that allow such behavior to occur to one’s child does not understand that that child could possibly grow up thinking that behavior is normal. One could benefit from this in knowing that abuse is not acceptable in any form, and that if one does allow a husband or wife to abuse one’s child, one could face incarceration and the loss of one’s child or children to the custody of the state. Even with the state maintaining custody of said children, does not ensure the safety and sanctity of them. There are several foster parents that open their homes to said children, only to receive money from the state. Some of these children are abused yet again by a parental figure that should be showing them love and attempting to transform their minds from thinking abuse is normal. Knowing what happens within some foster homes would benefit society in knowing that programs need to be implemented to where these homes are audited to make sure these children are being taken care of and not abused. This could result in abused children growing into adults that could be positive role models for children facing abuse. Celie’s children, however, did end up with adoptive parents, but were fortunate enough to have had adoptive parents that loved them and took care of them. Celie is raped by her step-father and becomes pregnant by him twice, once with a boy and once with a girl. Because her father impregnates her, Celie’s mother despises her and treats her violently, even until her death. Celie was sold to Mr. after her mother’s death leaving only Nettie at home with their stepfather. Mr. initially wanted Nettie when he came to ask for a wife, but Celie’s stepfather refused to give Nettie to him. He told Mr. of how Celie was not much to look at but she was clean and knew how to keep a house well, but that he could not have Nettie because she was too young. Now that Celie was gone with Mr., no one was there to protect Nettie from her stepfather. He never touched Nettie before because he would rape Celie whenever wanted to. Now Nettie can no longer fight her stepfather off so she runs away to where Celie lives with Mr. and she and Celie asks if Nettie could live with them for a while. After being there for a while, Mr. saw his opportunity to have his way with Nettie also in which he did not succeed. Nettie is forced to leave and Celie does not hear from her for years to come. Self-confidence can be lost due to violence or rape. Rape is a form of violence that can happen to anyone by anyone. One does not have to be related to or even know one as a rapist. Rape can cause one to lose ones’ self-worth, and society could benefit from this by knowing what the act causes and finding ways to treat victims keeping them from later becoming violent towards someone else resulting in them being incarcerated. Will power is the untouchable strength that one has to live. Yet, can endure so many negative things within one’s life that could cause one to lose one’s will to live. Celie thinks she has nothing more for which to live after enduring all that she has, the rape from her father and husband, the beating from her father and husband, and the loss of her sister Nettie whom was the only person that truly loved her. At this point in her life Celie, has conformed to life as it was to her, the violence, the rape, and the lack of love. Celie always knew about Mr.’s mistress by the name of Shug Avery. Mr. left home with his son Harpo in a wagon and came back with Shug Avery. Shug Avery was very sick and no one would take her in. There were rumors at the church that Shug Avery had the nasty woman’s disease. Because of Shug Avery decisions in life, no one wanted anything to do with her, even her parents. Shug Avery had three kids by Mr. All of her kids lived with her parents but she was not allowed to live there, “My kids with they grandma, she say. She could stand the kids, I had to go” (Walker 52). Celie had her opportunity to be in the presence of Shug Avery, along with nursing her back to health. Celia experienced a friendship for the first time in life since the friendship that she had with her sister Nettie. Qiana Whitted of The Georgia Encyclopedia stated “Their relationship features both erotic and spiritual dimensions that not only defy social conventions but also culminate in a more self-affirming vision of existence.”Over the course of the time that Shug Avery was there, she and Celie became very close and grew love for one another. Rose Gladney of Southern Changes stated “Of primary importance is the effort of black women to create their own lives with and without black men. The power to do so comes through the love and support of women for each other, expressed in a variety of ways.” Celie had almost forgotten what love was just as Shug Avery. Shug Avery was accustomed to men loving her because of her explicit nature, rather than for the woman that she really was on the inside. The only person that loved Celie in such a way was her sister Nettie which had been gone for quite a few years. After writing and praying to God, Celie with the help of Shug Avery found letters that Nettie had been sending to her for years but Albert kept them from her. Celie found a new reason to live and her will power to live was strengthened knowing the one person that loved her sincerely was still alive. This will power gave her the ability she needed to take control of her own life and do what made her happy. One could benefit from knowing this by standing up for what one believes and never losing hope and obtaining the boost to move forward in accomplishing goals in life.
Over the course of the time when Celie was taking care of Shug Avery and nursing her back to health, Nettie is in Africa and has joined a missionary group and has been writing Celie tons of letters in which she never received because Mr. always hid them when they arrived. Celie was not allowed to get mail from the mailbox so she never knew of the letters. By this time Celie has almost convinced herself that Nettie was dead and since Nettie ever heard anything from Celie, she thought maybe Celie was dead also. Nettie also thought about the fact that Mr. did not allow Celie to get mail from the box and how he told her as she was leaving their house that she would never hear from Celie again, so she had high hopes of Celie being alive but just not receiving her letters. Nettie, despite of how she was raised and the experiences that she endured, is a self-confident, strong, faith-filled woman. Shug Avery goes to the mailbox with Mr. sometimes and has noticed a few letters with weird stamps on them. Shug asks Celie questions about Nettie and how she looked and whether she thinks Nettie lives somewhere with strange postage stamps. The curiosity of the letters that Shug Avery witnessed from the mailbox caused Celie to think of the trunk where Mr. kept all of his valuables. Shug Avery and Celie waited until Mr. and Shug’s husband was gone and they went into the trunk where they found numerous amounts of letters from Nettie. When Celie discovers Nettie's letters, she not only catches up on her sister's life, she also discovers that her own two children are alive and living with a missionary couple with whom Nettie works with in Africa. Nettie's letters to Celie describes Africa in detail along with her experiences being there and compared them to her and Celie’s life growing up. Celie becomes stronger and more self-assured every day as she continues to read Nettie’s letters. Celie’s confidence begins to turn to fury as she began to ponder over her rapes, her beatings, and the love and affection the men in her life have kept from her. Nettie's letters also demonstrated the differences between Celie's world and how marriage was compared to the African world and marriage, including the bond that can develop among the wives of African men, the deep friendship and love that exists between women, the deep love of a man for a woman, and how sex actually meant more than just waiting for one to get done. If one knows what true love is, one could be confident in one’s beliefs and know the difference in how one should be treated when one is loved. One will learn that real love does not hurt or scorn, it builds one confidence.
Celie now learns that Nettie has married the widowed husband of the missionary couple that embraced her. Nettie now has custody of Celie’s two children Olivia and Adam. Celie also learns from Nettie’s letters that their stepfather was indeed their stepfather and not their real father. Celie always thought that her children were her sister and brother, but now knows that they are not. After reading this in Nettie’s letter, Celie tells Shug Avery about it and they both decided to go and confront Celie’s stepfather. Upon doing so, they noticed that he had a wife in which was only 15 years old and how he was proud of that. He even spoke of how is wife before her was gone because she had gotten too old. Celia confronts him about why he never told her and Nettie that he was not their real father and he stated that he felt there was no need to. He did not think it was necessary to tell them that their father had been lynched by whites. This form of deceit caused mental abuse along with the physical abuse that Celie endured. Celie grew up thinking she was being raped by her father and gave birth to 2 children as a result of the rapes. Celie could not understand why her father did not love her as a father should love his child. This is devastating for her to live with when all along, this man was not related to her at all, and neither he nor her mother thought enough to tell her. Deceitfulness can cause one to lose hope, trust, and faith in those whom are supposed to love one. One losing hope, trust, and faith could cause one to live a secluded and sheltered life resulting in never being able to give love or show love. A life of such could cause on to become severely depressed which could also result in health problems such as obesity and later death. In conclusion, one could endure a host of negative aspects from life, but one also has to gain the strength to put those negative things aside and move forward. Life at times can seem to be the hardest thing ever to gain happiness from, but to give up on life is not an option. One has to have something to believe in and the strength to hold on to it. In reading this book and watching the movie, it has opened my eyes to how great Alice Walker’s mind is. Walker faced some criticism about her book because she did something that most would not have done at the time of writing this book. Barbara Smith of Callaloo states “No one has ever written a novel which so unequivocally posits that the lives and freedom of black women are of crucial importance and concern and no one has taken one’s theme sexual oppression and in the black community and unmasked it in its many guises. Most gratifyingly, no black novelist until Alice Walker in The Color Purple has positively and fully depicted a lesbian relationship between two black women, set in the familiar context of the black community. This book is a mere depiction of a life of violence, rape, and abuse that so many of us endure but do not possess the strength to open our mouths and say something about it. The reason for this is because, just as Celie experienced, the abuse is coming from those who are supposed to love us rather than hurt us. This book ends with Celie having the courage and independence as a strong black woman and is a motivation to how strong we could be as a woman. Though I do not think that I could have endured a lot of what Celie had without ending up in jail as Sophia did, I do however think that Celie had the strength and endurance that she needed all along to get her through the trying times in her life. Alice Walker wrote a wonderful book that does more than just gives one something to read.

Works Cited
Whitted, Qiana. The Color Purple. Georgia Encyclopedia. 13 August 2008. 5 December 2011. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org Barnes, Chanequa. The Color Purple. A New Story for a Familiar Reader. Duke University
Library. 18 June 2008. 5 December 2011. http://blogs.library.duke.edu
Gladney, Rose. The Color Purple. Southern Changes 5 (1983) http://beck.library.emory.edu
Smith, Barbara. Sexual Oppression Unmasked. Callaloo 22 (1984):170 www.jstor.org