Dramatic Irony In The Color Purple

Life is a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs. Left turns, right turns, and sometimes completely upside down loop de loops. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story about a colored woman named Celie who writes letters to God while living through extreme oppression and abuse. Celie eventually overcomes her oppressors by finding her purpose in life through friendship, love, hope, and change in faith. Discovering hope, love, and faith leads to a fulfilling life through difficult times.

The Colour Purple is a novel that was written by the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winner, Alice Walker. The Novel was published in 1982 and was later turned into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985. The book is about a young girl, Celie who was oppressed and seek to find happiness in life. Despite her inner turmoil, she had a strong belief in God, and also hopes that she would find her estranged sister, Nettie who loved her with all her heart. She got pregnant at an early age by the man she thought was her father. Celie was also a young bride who was being abused by her husband.

In the novel, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, love and the sense of self is a difficult concept for Celie, the main character, to grasp throughout the novel. The various relationships she has had, particularly with men, do not show her what authentic love is. For the majority of the novel, Celie’s sense of self is lost. The environments in which she is forced into shape her character. The time period of the novel puts into perspective the character change Celie goes through by having African Americans in general become more vocal.

As Nettie receives opportunities Celie could never fathom, their relationship comes to a halt. Celie stops receiving letters from her sister and is left to take care of her husband’s obnoxious children from a previous marriage, and is verbally/physically abused on a daily basis by both her husband and his children. Celie’s husband has a torrent affair with Shug Avery, a blues singer with a practical mentality who does not endure any mistreatment from anyone, regardless of their gender. When Shug Avery falls into Celie’s care, Shug Avery teaches Celie a thing or two about self-confidence and the strength she must find within herself to stand up to her husband. Towards the end of the novel, Shug Avery encourages Celie to leave her husband and move with her to Memphis, where she can escape the pain of her past and for once in her life be happy.

“And she just about the color of a eggplant.” (87) Finally, Celie lives her life bitterly and does not notice or appreciate anything around her. Shug tells her, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” (p. 178) Shug feels that God created beauty in the world to make humans happy. She feels that it is important that people take the time to acknowledge everything around them. From this, Celie realizes that Shug has enlightened her. She admits that she does not appreciate the world she lives in. This changes the way Celie perceives her existence. She begins to have a more positive outlook on life, despite the hardship she experiences. Celie herself can also be compared to the color purple. She has lived her life unnoticed. Once she realizes this, Celie creates an identity for herself and is finally noticed amongst her community. Another important symbol in this novel is pants. Once Celie is liberated from her marriage, she starts a pant-making business. The pants represent independence, which again is a concept that relates to the theme of the novel. Celie can finally provide for herself. In her “previous life”, Celie’s only role in society was to bear children and keep house. The pants also symbolize a change in Celie’s relationship with men. Before, the idea that men and women had anything at all in common was completely daft.

There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and

The next character that brings a feminist view to the novel is Shug. She is a loud out spoken and talented blues singer that makes her own money. When she is brought back to the house by Albert it is strange to see the effect on him. He seems to treat her like more of an equal. She first shows no concern towards Celie because of jealousy but then starts to take her under her wing. Shug brings an element of acceptance to the story. That not only is it ok to stand up for yourself (like Sophia does) but it is ok to enjoy men, women, and sex. She is a liberal in every sense of word. Her sense of herself is one of the strongest messages of the book. She does do what she wants but she is never happy because people including her father don’t accept her.

Firstly, The Color Purple (1982) is written by the African- American novelist Alice Walker. For creating such an innovative novel, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award. Walker initiated her novel by a confession that The Color Purple is her spiritual journey and the female protagonist represents her during this journey. The novel is made up of 90 letters written by Celie to God and some of these letters are written by Nettie to her sister Celie. These letters are similar to a diary that Celie finds as a way to express her feelings , emotions and thoughts in a place she is not permitted to be free. Generally, the novel portrays a life and a journey of a young fourteen -year- old black girl who is persecuted throughout her life from her stepfather who repeatedly raped her and forced her to marry a cruel man who, in turn, oppressed her.

Walker’s theme of writing is straight forward, she express through emotions and sexual conduct. Alice Walker adds, “The worse thing than being a woman is being a black woman” (282). The novel: The Color of Purple tells about the leading character Celie that writes down her deepest thoughts of unhappiness and sorrow in her diary. Celie was sexual assaulted by the man she called father, and she later conceives a child, that child was taken away from her at the age of fourteen. For example, Celie was not attending school, she felt rejected and unattractive. Celie stayed at home

“You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t” (Walker 1) stated Celie’s step father in The Color Purple. The first letter written by Alice Walker's character Celie in The Color Purple gives a brief light on how mistreated, the protagonists, Celie has been. Celie suffered through many forms of abuse and trauma. Since an early age her supposed father, Pa, sexually abused her. Celie’s husband also beat her into submission, and worked her constantly. But never the less Celie revolts against her oppressors with the help of Shug, Nettie, and life changing events. In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple the protagonists Celie is analysed through emotional and physical abuse, and hardships throughout the novel, but after many personal trials she has become a very independent character.

Within The Color Purple by Alice Walker, women are treated as inferior to men therefore they must obey them. Through the strength and wisdoms Celie gains from other women, she learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman. The women she has met throughout her life, and the woman she protected since young, are the people that helped her become a strong independent woman. Sofia and Shug were there for Celie when she needed someone to look up to and depend on. Nettie was able to push Celie to become a more educated, independent person. The main source of conflict in this book is Celie’s struggle with becoming an independent woman who needs not to rely on a man. Throughout the book we see her grow as a person and

In our everyday lives whether we notice it or not, disrespect towards gender and racism surrounds us and it begins to affect individuals not only physically but emotionally and socially as well. In Alice Walkers novel, The Color Purple, the topic of racism is strongly emphasized and shown throughout novel. Due to Celie’s race and gender roles played, she resists the urge to speak up for herself resulting in silence. In addition, it is through the love and support of other characters like Shug, in which tempts and inspires Celie to stand up for herself. Lastly, through all the troubles Celie faces, she eventually finds the strength in herself to leave Albert and start her life afresh. In The Color Purple, the author develops the idea that discrimination based on gender or race limits one’s opportunities and results in lack of independence and silence, ultimately suggesting that only through the influence of positive models for change can one develop the strength to change their life for the better.

Joyce Carol Oates, an American writer, once proclaimed, “Love is an indescribable sensation- perhaps a conviction, a sense of certitude” (QuotesGram). Love, in the most profound sense, is entirely indescribable in every aspect. Each individual has been exposed to a different sense of love that has either affected or altered their emotional or mental state of being. The feelings associated with love come from a sincere interaction, or likewise, lack of this sensation. Celie, from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, although dealt with many hardships throughout her lifetime, identified and grew effectively from her perception of the infatuation with her partner, Shug Avery. Their bond throughout the novel not only introduced readers into a dysfunctional, heartfelt relationship, but shaped Celie into a substantial, independent character, influenced her decisions for the good of her wealth, and showed her the true meaning and purpose of her place in the world.

In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Celie leads a life filled with abuse at the hands of the most important men in her life. As result of the women who surround and help her, Celie becomes stronger and overcomes the abuse she experienced. The three most influential women in Celie’s life are her sister Nettie, her daughter-in-law Sofia, and the singer Shug Avery. These are the women who lead Celie out of her shell and help her turn from a shy, withdrawn woman to someone who was free to speak her mind and lead her own independent life.

In The Color Purple, Alice Walker illustrates the lives of a female African American before the Civil Rights Movement. A novel that describes female empowerment, The Color Purple demonstrates the domestic violence women faced in the South. Walker tells the story through Celie, a young African American girl who faces constant hardships until she stands up for herself with the help of her closest friends – other women undergoing the same difficulties. Even though men controlled females in the South, the author emphasizes the strength of female empowerment because females struggled to survive during this time.