Register No.: 1313227
Class: 2nd Year PSEng
TOPIC: THEME OF CHANGE, TRANSFORMATION AND SELF DISCOVERY
Transformation was a
common thread in the lives of the people of twentieth and twenty first century.
There was a constant engagement with self discovery as a repercussions of the unrest
that was taking place during those ages. The novel The Color Purple is an authentic fusion of transformations of
people. The play between opposites, light and shadow marks the life of the
protagonist, Celie.
Religion, in this respect, is always said to have paved a road for
transformation. This way that leads humans through transcends the mundane. But this
aspect of change is paradoxical which ranges from self-denying to
self-affirming, world affirming to world negating. Celie’s world in the novel
is a miniature of this paradox. Her immense suffering and pain are the results
of a disjunction between her inner and outer life. However, when these paths
become one, her suffering becomes liberation.
Many a times, the
change comes from within, i.e. the innate desire to improve yourself. While the
other times, change is directly the result of outside influences such as a
significant event or inspiration from other individuals or role models. The latter
is the case in Alice Walker’s novel. In the novel, Walker uses the inspiration
and influence of other strong female characters to act as the change stimulants
in the journey of Celie’s transformation. Highly inspired and influenced by
Sophia, Celie is able to establish her independence from her abusive husband. Celie
understands the fact that she is manipulated and controlled by Mr. ___ and
acknowledges this when she ”think ’bout how every time (she) jump when Mr.____ call(her)” (Walker, The
Color Purple, 38) we can justify Celie’s weakness considering that male
domination has always been a part of her life. However, when she witnesses the
relationship between Sophia and her son-in-law, Harpo, makes Celie realize that
such abuse is not necessary and the desire to stand up for herself crops up. This
is evident in the jealousy she has of Sophia’s strength, "I say it because
I'm jealous of you. I say it because you do what I can't" (Walker, The
Color Purple, 42). Celie longs for the courage that she finds in Sophia. Years
of physical and emotional abuse made her feel that she cannot assert her own
independence, and that she is powerless against her husband's manipulating ways.
This desire to improve, coupled with the encouragement of Sophia, encourages
Celie to assert herself. Sophia persuades Celie to stand up for herself;
"You ought to bash Mr.___ head open, she say. Think about heaven
later" (Walker, The Color Purple, 44). She explains Celie that she needs
to start caring about the life she is presently living and that she need not
get scared of Mr.___.
Celie’s transformation
was accomplished through the processes of rebellion though that is not
immediately obvious. Letter writing, the means to Celie’s liberation and the
reader’s understanding into the inner workings of her life, constitute her
rituals of rebellion. Celie’s writing to God puts her into a symbolic life which
results in her repudiation of the life she has been leading and a desire for a
more expensive daily existence.
The novel is the
journey of self discovery for Celie and for other characters. Celie starts the
novel as a latent, calm young person, confounded by her own particular
pregnancy, by her assault on account of Pa, and her sick treatment by Mr.
_____. Gradually, in the wake of gathering Shug and seeing her sister flee,
Celie develops practical skills: she is a hard laborer in the fields, she figures
out how to manage a house and raise children, and she meets other inspiring
ladies, including Sofia, who has dependably needed to battle the men throughout
her life. Further, she discovers her own particular sexuality and capacity to
love through her creating sentiment with Shug. Eventually, Celie discovers that
her sister Nettie has been keeping in touch with her from the beginning, and
this, coupled with Shug's backing, permits Celie to stand up to Mr. _____, to
move to Memphis with Shug, to start her own particular pants organization, and,
eventually, to profit to be independent. Celie's fortunes starts to transform:
she inherits her organic father's domain, permitting her more noteworthy
budgetary flexibility, and she manages to repair her association with Mr. _____
(he. provides for her a purple frog as an image of the distinguishment of his
prior awful conduct), and make a sort of family with Mr. _____ Shug, Harpo,
Sofia, Squeak, Nettie, and her own particular children.
Nettie's arc is likewise
one of self-discovery. Nettie received a greater number of years of schooling
than did Celie, and Nettie has seen the world, working as a preacher in Africa,
and eventually marrying a kind and wise man. Anyhow Nettie additionally
understands that she can adjust her independence, and her desire to work, with
an adoring married life that likewise incorporates two stepchildren—Celie's
children, Olivia and Adam. Without a doubt, it is the landing of this extended
family on Celie's territory at the end of the novel that indicates the last
stage in both Celie's and Nettie's adventure of self-discovery. The sisters
have discovered one another.
True transformation in
this sense is not only the recognition of the external change but the change in
making of choices in the light of those changes that affect the track and route
of one’s life. The initial impetus for change may be thrust upon us by the sad
happenings of life as seen in Celie’s life. However, to move beyond this
threshold, it is important to discover in the midst of exterior transition to a
link to an interior. Therefore, human transformation needs consciousness
because unconscious selection may provide momentary levels of adaptation but
not true transformation which leads to self discovery.
REFERENCES
"Tell
Nobody but God": The Theme of Transformation in The Color Purple. Web. 27 Aug. 2014(accessed). http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Cross-Currents/174012210.html.
"Celie's quest for self discovery." Color Purple Essays. Web. 27 Aug. 2014(accessed).
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