Literary
Criticisms: The Color Purple
KOMAL
MEHTA-1313277-IIPSENG
The novel
goes beyond the confines of gender and race in relation to religion. Celie
represents Alice walker who overcomes the ideas of God and religion inorder to
interpret the higher power that inspires characters in the book. The author
draws attentions to the fact that how people are forced to live by established
ideologies that exclude individuals rather than including many. The protagonist
walks through the path of self-discovery. It is the vision of God that directs
each scene and it is also seen that the characters as well as the God
constantly change for the better. The notion of God is redefined everytime
Celie interacts with people and then writes her observations in a diary as
letters addressed to God. The vision of God helps Celie to survive. As it is
seen that Celie is infused with the capacity for growth, it can be said that
the author acts as a spiritual guide throughout the novel. The heart of the
book is “the disconnection between people and the world”. This advances the
structure of the novel that relies on showing how people change for the better
when they demand for a loving God and a place in the World. The book also acts as an example of how to go
about doing things. Its epistolary form enables Celie to develop a sense of
self and a sense of God. She starts writing letters to God first out of fear
but it soon leads to the process of self-discovery. The need for justice that
comes from Celie’s mind is a part of the process of her spiritual awakening. A
number of steps concerning Celie’s interaction with Shug awaken Celie on many
levels. First, the letters depicts Celie’s progress towards spiritual peace. Second,
the assertion that Shug makes that all women are not the same motivates Celie
to think about the world for the first time. Sofia’s words make Celie realize
that Shug makes her feel alive. Her capacity to love and identify with Shug
allows her to come out of the shell. Their relationship also culminates with
Shug sharing the same vision of God. On the other hand, Sofia might be subjected
to the control of the white man’s world but her spirit enables to overcome
that. Walker successfully balances the structure of the novel by writing about
Celie crossing the spiritually fulfilling life by Nettie’s letters that Mr.____
had hid. Nettie’s letters also bring forth some hypocritical issue that Celie
initially was unable to put it into words. Eg-
“It is the pictures in the bible that
fool you” (Walker 140-41). Nettie’s letters act as a tool to broaden her
concept of God in relation to her experience in Africa in contrast to Celie’s
limited understanding. Walker demonstrates the problems to racial lines. Nettie’s
correspondence enlightens Celie’s situation and also acts as device that brings
about Celie’s dismissal of the God she writes. Celie remains in a conflict over
worshipping a God that seems not to care about her. It is not that Walker does
not believe in the teachings of Bible but infact she provides space for
progress in the lives of her characters that do not follow the Bible alone. The
author’s vision is both inductive and deductive but she also places importance
on the role of personal interpretation. Walker once also said that this work of
hers would remain a theological work examining the journey from religious to
spiritual. It is a representation of Celie and Walker’s struggle to develop an
encompassing theology within the confines of restraining theology. Walker
writes as a womanist and her philosophy reflects the part of feminism and it
demands answers for past action and it also looks towards the capacity that all
people need to grow and change. She believes that to reduce herself to devoid
herself of atheism, it would deny her the joy and suffering that she found in
exploring religion. The turning point of the novel is when Shug starts sharing
the same understanding with Celie. This scene acts as a wake up call for Celie.
For the first time in the novel it is shown that Celie gets the power to
actively change and better her life. The purpose of Walker’s structure is
brought to the forefront by the idea of simple joy of being in the world. What
comes next allows Walker to show the result of coming to terms with religion.
There is a scene that is blasphemous and comical at the same time. The scene
goes on when Celie smokes pot while talking to God. The reader’s reaction is
reflected by the shock served by Harpo and Sofia. The overall effect of the
novel is convincing only because of the authenticity of folk voice.
The Color purple in short reaches out
to people who are not sure about the role of religion and God in their life.
This novel offers an alternative approach. Celie’s last letter completes the
full circle of the spiritual structure of the novel. Her last letter is
addressed not solely to God but to all creations. It is also highly appreciated
by feminist’s writers as it clearly portrays the brutality faced by women all
these years, but some also argue that the happy ending of the novel reduces the
effect of the offences suffered by the female and it also contradicts the
reality. Lastly the ending can be looked positively because it propagates the
idea that a woman particularly the one surrounded by the community of nurturing
women can overcome adversity.
CITATIONS
"Alice Walker Essay - Walker, Alice (Contemporary Literary Criticism) .com." eNotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.
Bloom, Harold. Alice Walker. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. Print.
Lewis, T. W. "“Moral Mapping and Spiritual Guidance in The Color Purple.”." Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 73 (1990): 483-491. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.
http://www.enotes.com/topics/alice-walker/critical-essays/walker-alice
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