Personal Synthesis & Feminist Analysis

            Overall, I really enjoyed reading Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple.  It is a perfect book for college students to analyze because things are very complex in Celie’s life.  It would have been even more interesting to analyze if we would have had more males in our class; I would be interested to hear their take on things.  Celie was abused starting as a child and it continued through adulthood.  As we discussed in class, Celie gave her abusers (Pa and Albert) the name Mr. ______, which we, as a class, took to mean that she was giving them as little personalization as possible—they took her innocence away from her and she took away their name.  Was this a fair trade? I do not think so. 

            Last week in class, we talked about how successful Celie had become with the help of Shug.  Celie was able to start her own business, making pants for women—something that was pretty much unheard of during the 1940’s.  I thought it was really cool at the end how Celie received her own home and business, from the man who abused her as a child.  Perhaps he felt guilty years later and wanted Celie to have what she deserved—what he knew she deserved. The man she referred to as Pa took everything from her including Nettie and her two children.  It is a shame that any person would have to go through this alone, especially a young teenager, who does not have a motherly role. 

            Celie finds her “motherly” role as the novel continues.  She meets Shug.  Shug is this beautiful woman who Albert basically has an open affair with.  Celie does not seem to care because Albert would not abuse her when Shug was around.  Shug and Celie were practically inseparable.  Shug gave Celie the confidence she needed to see that she really was beautiful, not ugly like her father said she was, when he married her to Albert.   I remember the part in the movie when Shug came to town.  Celie and Albert both jumped out of bed so fast to run and greet her, little did they know that she was married.

            My absolute favorite part of the book is when Shug and Celie are walking through a field of purple flowers, talking about God.  I really like it when Shug tells Celie “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it” (Walker 196).  I think this is a pivotal point in the book where Celie realizes that she has the strength and the courage to make something out of herself because she knows that God will be with her every step of the way.  Even though she might have been mad at God in the past, when he did not help her, I think she begins to trust God again because she trusts Shug and values her opinion.

            Gender roles are extremely skewed in this book.  Women have no power whatsoever.  Men have the upper hand and feel like they can beat women whenever they want to.  Sophia might be the exception to this rule.  She seemed to wear the pants in the family when she was married to Harpo.  Harpo did everything she said.  I think he might have been afraid of how determined she was.  She was the kind of woman that I wished Celie would have been more like.  I wish Celie would have stood up to Mr. _______ and fought for what was right.   If Celie had stood up to him, perhaps she would have been reconnected with Nettie and her family sooner.         

Please refer to the Works Cited page for my sources.

Posted by zers.

The Color Purple promotes feminism through the women in the book. First I will talk about Celie. Celie struggles through sexual abuse with the man she thought was her father, and then physical abuse from her husband. She even believes that abuse is okay. She encourages Harpo to beat his wife Sophia. In these cases, Celie gives into male dominance and thinks that it is normal and all right. It is not until Shug comes into her life, that Celie begins to notice how wrong abuse is. Shug helps teach Celie about feminism. Shug teaches Celie that she deserves equality. She can even make her own living selling her pants. Celie then becomes a feminist and an independent woman. She is happier than she has ever been.

Shug is a feminist. She is an independent woman; she supports her own living as a singer and owns her own property. She promotes feminism when she guides Celie in the right direction, away from her abusive husband and into her own life. According to Celie’s Search for Identity: A Pyschoanalytic Development Reading of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple by Charles L. Proudfit, Shug serves as the “good enough mother” that Celie unfortunately never had when she was a child. This is demonstrated when Shug leads Celie into the right direction in her life, like her mother would have. Shug believes that all women and all races deserve the same opportunities as men. She does not let race get in the way of her success, she steers clear of the white people and makes her own way in life. Most of the characters have it in their heads that the white people are always going to be richer and there is nothing the black people can do. Shug does not seem to care; she proves that black people can make plenty of money also. She invests her money in property, the same way white people would. Shug’s view on religion encourages that everyone, despite gender and race, can find God. All they have to do is find something beautiful. This is a very feminist view on religion because everybody has a chance at it, some other religions are exclusive. All in all, Shug is a feminist and teaches feminism to others, wanting equality for men and women, no matter if they are black or white.

Nettie is a feminist. She proves this with her work as a missionary. She travels to Africa to help her people out and educate them. Nettie grew up smart. She has always succeeded in school. She brings her studies to Africa to help her kind. This is a struggle for her, but she is always looking out for the Olinka people. The women in the Olinka village do not have any sort of equality; the young girls are not even allowed to go to school. Nettie tries changing this and she sort of serves as the example for the women there that she is independent and can do anything a man can do. This is shown because the women there are outraged that she is not married to Samuel, she is her own women. Nettie promotes feminism to Celie when she is always teaching her things and telling her she deserves the world. The movie presents this when Nettie is always teaching Celie new words. She taught Celie how to read. She also taught Celie good grammar. Nettie and her fellow missionaries want equality for everyone and therefore support and promote feminism.

Sophia is perhaps the most influential character in the book when it comes to promoting equality for men and women. This is shown in the movie and in the book. She does not take crap from anyone. She does not allow Harpo to beat her and leaves him when he continues to do so. She also does not agree with blacks being inferior to whites. She easily stands up for herself when the mayor’s wife asks Sophia to work for her. One of the reviews from Barnes and Noble found this a very empowering scene in the book. Sophia is in her own little world where she allows herself to have all the same opportunities as men. She would not even be the housewife that Harpo wants, which is against the social norm. She is definitely my favorite character in the movie, because she is shown as a strong woman. Sophia is definitely a feminist.

These are the three main women characters and they are all feminists. None of the men have feministic qualities except for Albert in the end. He realizes after Celie leaves him that he has treated her horribly and that she can succeed also. It is then that he becomes a feminist. He knows Celie deserves better and that men and women can be equal. Therefore, the Color Purple is a feminist text because it promotes equality for white and black people as well as men and women. The book shows the transformations of Celie and Albert from non-feminists to feminists with the help of Shug and Nettie.

Posted by renee:)