The Concept of Shades of Gender Discrimination - Research Paper Example

English 112 September The Color Purple: Shades of Gender Discrimination Modern times may not be complete without seeing both men and women going to the office, driving their cars, or simply strolling on the streets. Another is the fact that crowds nowadays have people from other nations, making our communities, our cities, and our state seem like the world has gotten smaller. Pictures and descriptions of different kinds of people are not unheard of, and the influx of cultures is already an established norm. Even people that have not met before recall good old times like old friends do, and this just shows that nobody, and nothing can ever be too far away. This is something we can all be thankful for, in this modern age of technology. The truth be told, this phenomenon of globalizing just about anything was anything but ordinary, as Alice Walker tells through her story The Color Purple. Written in such a way that highlights the most-likely unheard-of situations in Georgia during the 1940’s, this kind of setting was very much near to what Walker had experienced when she was growing up in Jim Crow South (White). Being the daughter of a sharecropper, and living in a place that has a strong discrimination against African-Americans, she got engaged with the need to be free, just like any other person, regardless of the color of their skin. Through these eyes, Walker was able to show many readers the feelings and situations of African-American women that, aside from the color of their skin, were also looked down upon by their own people too, because they were females. She herself was a witness to such injustice, because she grew up seeing her father doing it to her mother and her female siblings (Bates). Although many women were already starting to awaken and realize their potentials, their contributions as well as the power of their own thoughts, they were still considered as deviant, in being different from what is considered normal (“Deviant”). This form of deviance from the picture of being an obedient, quiet and dutiful wife fueled many African-American women’s need to be recognized more or less an equal of men, and thus need a redemption from the common norms, as portrayed in some of Walker’s stories (Bloom). The Color Purple delves into the thoughts and feelings of two sisters, Celie and Nettie, whose bond was so strong that even if their only connection for a very long time was through their letters to one another. Even if they have gone through so much hardship, it was like they never were separated. The whole story was written in such a way that it was narrated through letters exchanged between the two sisters, during the time when Nettie, the younger sister decided to work as a missionary-teacher in a remote part of Africa for a long time, and when her sister Celie was starting to recognize what she actually wants in life. Even though it took a very long time for the two sisters to reconcile, in the end everything came in full circle upon their much awaited meeting. Aside from the struggles of being women in a male-dominated world, the story also shows the different kinds of relationships among kin, friends, and lovers that eventually shape a human being’s personality as a whole. The story began as Celie’s letter to God, because she mustn’t tell anybody about what happened to her, lest she gets killed (Walker 1). She wrote to God how her mother was getting sicker and sicker, how she got raped twice by their Pa Fonso, the man whom they thought was their real father, how she bore him a daughter then a son, and both were taken away from her when they were still a few months old. Since what happened, she never had a good relationship with her Pa, or any other man. She just stayed quiet and submissive, even after her Pa had her married to a certain Mr.____, which she chose not to give a name (Walker 6). Although Mr.____ would have wanted to marry Nettie, Fonso decided that since Celie was already spoilt (she already had two children), she would be a better wife for him and a mother for his kids, and that he would be better off with her. Nettie got a good amount of schooling, but eventually ran away from their Pa, and was never heard from again. Celie could not have a peace of mind after Nettie left her, aside from the problem that Mr.___ actually just collects all of Celie’s letters from her sister and just telling her that she died. Meanwhile, Nettie came to meet the a couple named Samuel and Corrine, who were both missionaries. Incidentally, they were the ones who adopted both of Celie’s children, which did not get revealed until much later. Along with the couple and their adopted kids, she was able to get a missionary work to different parts of Europe, South America, and eventually Africa. As the story progresses, other people started to enter each of the two sisters’ lives. For Celie, she had a chance to meet Sofia, the girl that her stepson Harpo went crazy about. Sofia was a big, strong woman that did not let anyone put her down. Despite being forced to submit to the males, she kept her ground, even taking her children to live with her sisters, and leaving Harpo back in town. Celie actually was jealous of Sofia, for being able to choose what she wanted in life (Bates). Celie also met Shug Avery, the only woman that Mr.___ ever loved, even after marrying twice. At first, Shug has an aversion from Celie, but eventually warms up to her, and even staying longer after learning that Mr.____ beats her up a lot. Unlike her, Shug is quite liberated, and even goes to many places to sing, and meet men. Because Celie couldn’t have a normal relationship with other men, she develops feelings for Shug, which left her confused. Meanwhile, Sofia returns for a visit, and instantly creates headlines. One is that she got into a fight with Harpo’s new girlfriend Squeak, and she broke her front teeth (Walker 88). The other one is that in blatantly refusing to be the mayor’s wife’s maid, and punching the mayor’s face after being slapped, Sofia suffered the consequence of going into jail, getting beaten up, and being sentenced to become the mayor’s maid for 12 years (Walker 91). Shug still gets to visit once again, this time with a new husband named Grady. At this time, she was able to awaken Celie’s body by telling her about its parts, and what she should feel (Walker 81). In spite of this, Celie’s feelings were still for Shug, and not Mr.____. Eventually, she told Shug why she just couldn’t see men as people she could have an intimate relationship with. Apart from this, Shug opened up the topic about Nettie (Walker 123). Celie assumed she was dead, but deep inside of her she knew that she was not. Through Shug, Celie later found out about Mr.___ intercepting all of Nettie’s letters, and lying to Celie that she was already dead (Walker 124). With this knowledge, poor Celie had a strong urge of killing Mr.___ and at the same time trying to stop herself from doing it. Upon reading her letters, Nettie’s life as a missionary was unfolded (Walker 133). She tells Celie about their encounters with the Olinka tribe, their customs, rituals, as well as the people they live with. During the time that they did ministry work, they encountered many problems, like the natives being rather narrow-minded about the roles of the girls in the village, and how they only have to work either at home or in the fields, instead of studying with the boys. She also relates how the couple’s two children, Olivia and Adam seem to resemble her, and this makes Corrine very suspicious of her. Due to this, her association with the whole family got limited. After a few years, Corrine got sick, but her suspicion towards Nettie and her husband Samuel just grew. In order to have a closure, Nettie asked Samuel how he happened to have Olivia and Adam. Upon revealing how he had them, Nettie realized that the two children were in fact, Celie’s missing and presumed to be dead children, her nephew and niece. Not only that, she also realized that Fonso, their Pa, was not really their father, but rather he married their real mother in order to inherit the land. On Corrine’s deathbed, Nettie and Samuel told her the truth as to why the children looked very similar to Nettie. At first, Corrine was hesitant to accept the truth, but eventually she did, just before she died. Meanwhile, Celie returned to Fonso’s house, upon learning the truth form Nettie’s letters. Fonso admitted everything, and that he was supposed to inherit the house and the lands upon the death of their real mother. With this, Celie started to lose her belief to God, but Shug helped her snap out of it by changing how she should see Him. Sofia was finally released from her service as a maid, and came home to reconcile with her husband and her children, whom she haven’t had a chance to watch over. After sometime, Celie decided to stand up and told Mr.___ in his face all of the bad things that he did to her, especially telling her that her sister was dead. She went to live with Shug in Tennessee, bringing Squeak, who was now called by her real name, Mary Agnes. Celie worked as a seamstress, making pants for her family and friends, and eventually made a living out of it. Mary Agnes, along with Shug, sang in many parts of the state. Celie decided to go home to Georgia, and found that her Pa, Fonso already died. She suddenly had a house of her own. Also, her husband, Mr.___ became a very changed man, who now actually loves her, and wants to marry her (Walker 290). But she still didn’t want him that much, just as a companion who, like him, loves Shug very much. Meanwhile, before returning to America, many things happened to Nettie. First, she married Samuel, then they had many unfortunate encounters with a businessman who stole the land they have as a home for themselves and the Olinkas. Also, after hard trials, her nephew Adam decided that he wanted to marry his childhood friend Tashi, despite having her face scarred from a ritual. Eventually they all got to go to America, where Celie and Nettie finally had a chance to reunite after so many years, and that the whole family was complete. In this novel, Walker was able to show the readers the life she had back then in Georgia. She was able to relate to the settings of the characters, their hardships, about being poor and being black in a country of white people (Lauret). This was the environment that fueled not just the story The Color Purple, but in many of her other works as well. It can also be noticed that unlike women writers of her time, her style is very much straightforward, in the sense that there isn’t much romanticizing in her works. This is because of her experiences as well as her parents’ experiences of working to their deaths, being oppressed and called inferior by the white men, being swindled, being judged overall based on their gender, among others. Also, her style of using how a black community generally speaks brings the subject closer to the reader, to help them relate to what a typical woman in the 1940’s would think and act, and at the same time showing them the map as to how a woman’s resistance to patriarchy builds up (Bloom). The development of the character Celie was very gradual, since her beliefs of being the quiet and submissive wife was somewhat deeply rooted, but eventually she chose to resist what is persisting not just within their group, but in other places as well (Resistance). This was particularly evident when Celie said to Albert that they have to start somewhere in order to become better (Winchell). Nettie, on the other hand, though getting a somewhat better treatment than her sister, was not blind to injustices being experienced by ladies in Africa. But her difference from Celie is that she has hopes for herself, and by being educated, she not only gains knowledge but also a powerful thought: of changing what is the norm (Bates). The portrayal of sexism and gender discrimination within the groups was vividly described by Walker, as well as their search for true equality (Bloom). In Celie’s case, she experienced it for herself, at a small-scale level. On the other hand, Nettie had watched it happen to many of the tribeswomen in the Olinka tribe, as well as in other places in Africa, in a large-scale. Because the society dictates that men can always let the animal inside them to rule, they were still able to abuse their loved ones and not feel guilty about it (Winchell). Despite taking all of the abuse, however, Celie is a very good example of the resilience of the woman’s spirit, despite the norm (Bates). Meanwhile, Nettie, Shug and Sofia were able to portray what a woman should be able to do not just for herself, but for her children as well. Nettie took the risk of leaving Fonso’s house and was rewarded greatly by being able to express herself, and being able to take care of her sister’s children, which gave her happiness despite being far away from home. Shug is a wild and adventurous spirit, who was also aware of her sexuality, and expresses it very well despite being reprimanded by her mother. As for Sofia, aside from being strong mentally and physically, she was able to show Celie that they can choose to voice what they truly want and get beaten, or just keep quiet about what they want and still get beaten. She is a good example of a person strong enough to challenge the existing system, and win (Bates). And despite every painful and devastating event that happened, both Celie and Nettie chose to bring to themselves that much courage to stand up and resist the patriarchal influence of sexism. With this, Walker brings the idea to readers that for women to become successful in their battle for true freedom, every one of them must make their stand, and become united (Bates). Works Cited: Bates, Gerri. Alice Walker: a critical companion. Greenwood Publishing Group. Connecticut. 2005 Print. Bloom, Harold. Alice Walker. Infobase Publishing. New York. 2007 Print. “Deviant.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster Inc. 2011 Web. 09 Sept 2011. Lauret, Maria. Alice Walker. Palgrave Macmillan. New York.2000 Print. “Resistance.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster Inc. 2011 Web. 09 Sept 2011. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Simon & Schuster Inc. New York. 1982. 1985 Print. White, Evelyn C. Alice Walker: A Life. W W Norton & Co. Inc. 2006 Print. Winchell, Donna Haisty. Alice Walker. Twayne Publishers. 1992 Print. Read More