The Development of Clothes as symbols in The Color Purple:

           

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on the society”. - Mark Twain

It is rightly said by mark twain that clothes make a person’s personality, but not only do clothes become one’s identity they are also used to protect one. Initially clothes were made by man so as to survive the weather conditions, for protection from wild animals by wearing earthy coloured clothes or animal skins, the purpose of surviving and protecting oneself by using clothes still remains but we now seek protection from our own kind, to survive in our own society to cope up with the fashion trends.

In Alice Walker’s novel ‘The colour purple’ we see the usage of clothes in the same way. In the beginning of the novel clothes are being used for protection. For instance, celie dresses up to try to protect Nettie from Alphonso so that Nettie’s life isn’t spoilt the way hers was. Not just protection but clothes are also used so as to improve celie’s physical appearance. For instance when Mr. _____‘s sister- Kate visits him she convinces Mr. _____ to let her buy cloth to make a dress for celei because she felt that celie deserved it. At the same time she chooses the colour blue upon not being able to find purple and here the colour of her dress symbolises her life as a slave for Mr._____.  Later, in the novel Nettie is forced to wear Corrine’s old clothes and this is portentous of her marriage to Samuel.

The novel begins with clothes being used for protection, but as the novel progresses, celie slowly removes herself from all the ties, she starts focusing on sewing. In the novel, the kind of clothing Celie chooses to wear upon is influenced by the kind of clothes Shug wears which make Shug look beautiful and sexy. Her choice of clothes is thus a very strong symbol of liberation from patriarchal societal ways as well as being an independent woman. Before freeing herself Celie had always worn dresses, it is only after she breaks free from Mr._____ that she simultaneously breaks free from her identity as an oppressed woman. The change in her identity is connected to the change in her clothes as she starts to wear pants, which was an item of clothing only worn by men. Not only does celie wear pants but also starts a successful business herself of making pants for not just men, but for women as well, showing the way that she refuses to be afraid and intimidated by the sexual stereotypes of her society.

Clothing (wearing pants) therefore becomes a symbol of gender and sexual liberation as they identify to the way that Celie frees herself from her gender restricted roles that society has given women and she strives for her own freedom and independence, both in terms of her identity as well as becoming financially independent.

Thus parallels can be drawn between the development of the protagonist of the novel as well as the development of clothes in it. Because not only did celie decide to wear pants or  make pants for everyone but she also went against the regular societal norms and in the processes she rediscovered herself and became a free, self reliant person and began living a normal life, a better life.

Works Cited:

Tavormina, M. Teresa. “Dressing the spirit: Clothworking and Language in The Color Purple” The Journal of Narrative Technique Vol.16, no.3 (Fall, 1986), pp.220-230. JSTOR. web (august, 2014)

“Sample Essay Outlines" MAXnotes to. The Color Purple, Ed. Dr. M. Fogiel. Research and Education Association, Inc. 2000 eNotes.com 29 Aug, 2014 http://www.enotes.com/topics/color-purple/critical-essays#critical-essays-sample-essay-outlines

Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Color Purple." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 29 Aug. 2014.

Name: Aishwaraya goud

Roll Number: 1313269

Class: 3 PSEng