The Relationship between the Women of Alice Walker's Book - Essay Example

The of this book Alice walker who won the 1983 national award for fiction was a renowned epistolary novel writer, her book was later adapted into film and musical on the same name. The story core point is the life of a woman of the southern United States around 1930s, it addresses numerous issues in American social culture, through its themes that the writer uses in her description, she explains how women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them and also the children they care for mainly through royalty that her associates with colour purple. Towards the end of the novel, Celie says that even God is annoyed when people walk in loyalty and they are not rewarded (Breneman, pp 32-63). It is about a young woman whom the narrator is named Celie, she lives in southern America where she was raped by a man whom she believes was her father she impregnated her twice and took her child from her. After the incidence her ailing mother dies leaving her with her younger sister Nettie, a man named Mr._ wants to marry Nettie but Alphonso refuses to let her go instead marries Celie off to him to take care of his children who were left after their mother was murdered. Nettie runs away from Alphonso and joins Celie where Celie’s husband starts to make advances on her she seeks refuge from a black woman who had adopted Celie’s daughter. Celie concludes that her sister is dead after she fails to receive any letter from her. After Mr._ children grow up Harpo impregnates Sofia and marries her against Mr._ instruction they later have five other children in short order (Walker, pp 3-46). Sofia is defiant to submit to Harpo’s attempt to control her Celie advices Harpo to beat Sofia where Sofia fights is back inflicting serious injuries on Harpo. After Celie apologizes to Sofia, she starts to consider Sofia’s advice of defending herself against further abuse from Mr._ Shug Avery who is a singer and a long time mistress to Mr. comes to stay with Celie after failing sick, Sofia decides to move out taking her children with her. Harpo opens a juke point where Shug sings nightly, after Shugs observance that Mr._ only beats Celie when she is away decides to stay and their relationship grows more intimate. Sofia returns and fights with Harpos new girlfriend knocking some teeth out. She gets a job as a maid that she refused rudely and got slapped for insubordination, but she returns the blow and gets a twelve year jail sentence (Fifer, pp 155-165). Squeak a mixed race woman tries to blackmail the sheriff in releasing Sofia but instead got raped by the sheriff; she takes care of Sofia’s children. This makes them be close friends. Shug asks Celie about her sister and helps Celie too recover letters from Nettie that Mr._ had been hiding from her. From the letter, Nettie moved to Africa for missionary work and she indicated that the couple had adopted Celie’s children. Nettie asks Samuel how he had adopted Olivia and Adam when Corrine was ill, after realizing that Adam and Olivia were Celie’s children and that Alphonso was their father. Nettie at last confesses to Samuel and Corrine that she is the children’s biological aunt she even Corrine of her encounter with Celie in the store. Later Corrine dies Celie visits Alphonso who confirms Nettie’s story (Fifer, pp 155-165). Celie after realizing that she could not tolerate her husband’s abuse, she decides to leave Mr._ along with Shug and squeak, before she leaves she places a curse on Mr._ and goes to settle in Tennessee where she supports herself as a tailor. Mr_ encounter a major decline in fortunes that make him allow Celie to address him in his first name Albert. Alternatively, Alphonso dies unexpectedly and Celie inherits his land. Shug falls in love with a band member named Germaine that crushes Celie. Meanwhile, Samuel marries Nettie and prepares to return to America; Adam marries an African girl Tashi who undergo painful rituals of female circumcision and other facial scarring, to show solidarity Adam also undergoes the same facial scarring ritual. The novel ends in a rather emotional way where Shug returns to Celie after she breaks things up with Germaine additionally Nettie Samuel, Adam, Tashi and Olivia (Donovan, 205-218). The theme of racism and sexism is portrayed in the novel where the perpetrators of violence are themselves victims we see that Harpo beats his wife after his father tells him to. Celie, on the other hand, counsels Harpo due to her envious of Sofia’s strength and assertiveness. The role of male and female is shown where disparities between characters and their gender and the traits they show. Sofia’s strength and sass, Harpo’s insecurity and Shugs sexual assertiveness are major examples. There is also the sexual ambiguity between Shug and Celie. Additionally, disruption of gender roles cause problems this is where Harpos insecurity about his masculinity leads to his family breakdown due to his attempt to beat Sofia. Connectively, Shugs confident sexuality and resistance to male domination causes her to be labelled a tramp (Fifer, pp 155-165). Communication is a vital important element as depicted by letter writing. This is seen by the letter that Celie writes to God and the letter that Nettie writes to her symbolise a certain voice that Celie has she is also able to express her true desire in her letters that are personal to her. The letters she wrote to God were very private and would not have wanted anybody to see them. Additionally, the letter she got from her sister Nettie gave her hope that her sister was still alive and that her children whom she had not seen grow were still alive and in the care of her blood sister and maybe they shall ever reunite again with them (Collins, pp 34-96). Due to lack of someone to talk to about her problems that she was undergoing in the hands of her abuser that is Alphonso and Albert her sorts to write to God. She also writes to her sister because she is angry at God foe her past and all those who hurt because of it. However, she writes a letter to everyone including God saying that he had forgiven all even those who wrong her during her time as a young girl (Breneman, pp 32-63). Women can be their own enemies this theme is shown when Celie advices Harpo to beat Sofia though after they reconciled and became friends. Alternatively we see the mayors wife slapping Sofia who also returns the blow making another woman spend twelve years n prison, Corrine also does not trust Nettie after realizing that the children resembled her in a great deal. Men treat women in a rather harsh way as depicted by the novel; where Albert beats his wife Sofia, Alphonso rapes Celie and impregnates her after she gives birth he takes the children away from her and sends them for adoption. Bad culture undermines the role of a woman where they are not given the freedom to choose what they want in their lives rather we see people taking that decision from them, Alphonso decides to marry Celie to a man without Celie’s consent (Walker, pp 3-46). From Alice Walker’s, we are able to reinforce that women in their own right are capable of standing apart from men and also becoming independent and self confident as sisters, in caring and also supporting themselves instead of fighting each other while hiding ill feelings just as Celie and her friends did. These make Celie ask God to clothe her in purple (royalty) dress that she believes that it would make even God himself to notice her while she walks with it doing royal deeds to others. Work cited Breneman, JudyAnne J. “African American Quilts: A Long Rich History. Retrieved from.on 24th April 2014. Women Folk press 2014.print Collins, Patricia H. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print Donovan, Josephine. “The Silence is Broken.” Women and Language in Literature and Society. Ed. New York: Praeger, 1980. 205-218. 1980. Print Fifer, Elizabeth. “Alice Walker: The Dialect and Letters of The Color Purple.” Contemporary American women writers: narrative strategies. Ed.: University Press of Kentucky, 155-165. 1985. Print Walker Alice. The color purple Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1982, 3-46, print Read More