The Color Purple is a 1982 novel by Alice Walker about two African-American sisters and their struggles against sexism and racism. Told as an epistolary novel, The Color Purple tells of Celie's oppression by the men in her life and her attempts to protect her younger and prettier sister Nettie. Like her father, Celie's husband Albert mistreats her, though she finds some redemption in her relationship with a man named Shug. Nettie travels to Africa as a missionary where she finds less racism but plenty of sexism.
Themes of sexism and racism are prevalent in the entire novel as a reflection of the social contexts surrounding the novel's setting. Celie, as the main protagonist and narrator, exhibits internalized oppression when she advises Harpo to beat Sofia, as this was how she was treated by Mister. Shortly after, however, it is revealed that Celie merely advised Harpo in doing that as she was jealous of Sofia's strong-mindedness and assertiveness. Later on in the novel, Celie also begins to find strength within her to reject the violent advances of Mister.
Racism as an issue is seen in how Sofia was imprisoned and violently beaten for rejecting the mayor's wife's "offer" to be her maid (where the offer in itself was a reflection of racism). Nettie, in her letters, also indicates her reflecting the racial stereotypes held by American Blacks against their African counterparts. Inscribing a copy of the novel for a PEN auction in 2014, Alice Walker wrote on the half-title: "I was mistaken. There is nothing more for me to say about this book."
Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia's strength and sass, Shug's sexual assertiveness, and Harpo's insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a character's gender and the traits he or she displays. This blurring of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity, as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie and Shug. Throughout the novel, Walker seeks to emphasize that gender and sexuality are not as simple as we may believe. Her novel subverts and defies the traditional ways in which we understand women to be women and men to be men. The idea of femininity among African-American women is focused around the abilities of the husband to care for the wife and family. Men's normative roles are viewed as the source of oppressive male behavior.
The bond of sisterhood is another major theme in The Color Purple . Walker places a strong emphasis in the novel on the sisterhood between the various women characters. She not only draws attention to and recognizes the importance of the literal sisterhood between Celie and Nettie, and how that relationship helps Celie get through all the hard times she has had to endure, but it also recognizes the strong relationships that form between Celie and other characters such as Shug, Squeak and Sofia. Celie could not have made all of the personal and internal advancements that she did if it weren’t for her strong relationships with Shug, Nettie, Squeak and Sofia. These women can come to understand who they are because of the ties that bring them and bond them together. Celie is able to become a fighter and stand up for herself because of the love she receives, especially from Shug. Sisterhood, or love, helps Celie to understand her worth in the world, what she really wants out of life, and that she can achieve so much more. This plays a pivotal role in the story and recurs as a major contributor to Celie’s advancements toward happiness and freedom from oppression.
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