The Concept And Treatment Of God In The Novel The Color Purple- Adithya

The concept of god is prevalent throughout the novel The Color Purple and this idea or mental representation of god and his being as a dynamic or ever changing being is unambiguous from the prologue till the epilogue of the novel. This dynamic nature of god, exposed to the reader through the mindset of the several characters, is evident through their interactions with the superior supernatural being, especially reinforced in the communication between the character Celie and god. Letters are the medium of communication between the character Celie and god and it is clearly evident throughout the novel the God is the form of salvation for Celie. God and her communication with him, or “it” as the story progresses, enables Celie to maintain her sanctity and nurtures her mental well-being. Celie’s belief in god meanders in the course of the story but is reinstated through the wise words of Shug. Celie communicates with god, through writing letters, a habit influenced by the idle aggression of Alfonso. Celie chooses to write letters to as it is the only form of self expression allowed by Alfonso, who encourages this behavior to keep secret his wrong doings. She loses faith in the concept of god, viewing him as a “white man with a beard” degrading god to being a mere mortal, because she feels that god doesn’t listen to her and her troubles, like how the society treats her. The title of the novel, The Color Purple, is very significant in emphasizing on the role of god in the lives of the characters, especially Celie. The color purple, according to the bible, is the mixture of two different colors, blue and red. The color blue symbolizes law or commandment and the color red symbolizes war, blood and judgment. The color purple, hence means that Jesus Christ maintained the law and order, abolishing the evil, Satan and his heinous deeds, by shedding his blood on the cross in turn satisfying the judgment of god upon the imputed sins of his elect people. This shows Celie that there is hope and that she has to believe in the martyr who sacrificed his own life for the betterment of his loved ones. Hence god provides the understanding to Celie that no matter how much she suffers she should always be unbiased and true to herself and others. Celie’s letters to god and the way she wrote her letters gives us an insight into her personality. She used simple language and didn’t follow the rules of the English language, which shows us that she was uneducated but more importantly that she was authentic and truthful, she wasn’t fake and didn’t try to embellish things. She was simple and straight forward, as she said what she thought and felt. Celie’s personality changes as the story progresses and is very evident when comparing her initial letters to god and her final address. Celie’s last address to god is "Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God." Which portrays that Celie not only sees god in the nature but also in the people. This depicts a change in her thinking and her perspective about god and people further reinstating her higher reasoning and maturity that she possesses as the story progresses. Her letters to god and her understanding and image of god is different at different points of the novel. She learns to not perceive god as a mere mortal but rather as a supernatural, complex being whose decisions aren’t influenced by meager matters but rather always hold some significance. She re-imagines god or her view or opinion of god which shows Celie’s ability to make her own decisions, have her own opinions, and hence also symbolizes the transition of Celie to a strong independent woman. Through the letters that she has written Celie understands an important duty of a human being, which is to create one’s own story, one’s own world, through which one realizes that he or she holds the power and responsibility to change that world or criticize the world created by another or him or herself. References: 1. "Color Purple in Scripture - The color of royalty in the bible." Color Purple in Scripture - The color of royalty in the bible. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2014. <http://dentonpbc.org/color_purple.htm>. 2. Walker, Alice. The Color purple. London: Women's Press, 1983. Print. Name: ADITHYA VENUGOPAL Roll Number: 1313254 Class: II-PSENG Semester: 1