Finding Your Voice: an Analysis of the Color Purple
Finding Your Voice: An Analysis of The Color Purple
“Who do you think you is? he say... Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.” (187)
Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, focuses on the struggles of a poor and uneducated African American girl, who is verbally, physically and sexually abused by several men in her life. She feels worthless and becomes completely submissive. Her only way to express her feelings is through private letters to God. An emphasized theme in this work is that expressing one’s thoughts and emotions is essential in order to develop an inner sense of self.
In the beginning of this novel, Celie is a young and naive adolescent. She is victimized by her step-father who rapes and impregnates her repeatedly. Her letters to God are her only escape. She hides inside herself. Scared, she writes, “I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.” (1) She looks to God for support. “...long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along.” (26) A few years later, Celie is forced to marry a vicious man who beats her, forces her to have sex, and treats her like a slave. She is completely powerless and passive to those who abuse her. As her life progresses, she goes through a radical change. Her husband, whom she calls Mr. ___, intentionally keeps Celie separated from the only person that she loves, her sister Nettie. When Celie discovers that he has been hiding letters from Nettie for several years, she wakes up and wants to kill him. This gives Celie the ability to express her anger. “I curse you... Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble... Everything you even dream about will fail... Every lick you hit me you will suffer twice, I say.” (187) She finally becomes expressive. A recurring theme in the novel is that finding a voice is essential when building one’s own
“Who do you think you is? he say... Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.” (187)
Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, focuses on the struggles of a poor and uneducated African American girl, who is verbally, physically and sexually abused by several men in her life. She feels worthless and becomes completely submissive. Her only way to express her feelings is through private letters to God. An emphasized theme in this work is that expressing one’s thoughts and emotions is essential in order to develop an inner sense of self.
In the beginning of this novel, Celie is a young and naive adolescent. She is victimized by her step-father who rapes and impregnates her repeatedly. Her letters to God are her only escape. She hides inside herself. Scared, she writes, “I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.” (1) She looks to God for support. “...long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along.” (26) A few years later, Celie is forced to marry a vicious man who beats her, forces her to have sex, and treats her like a slave. She is completely powerless and passive to those who abuse her. As her life progresses, she goes through a radical change. Her husband, whom she calls Mr. ___, intentionally keeps Celie separated from the only person that she loves, her sister Nettie. When Celie discovers that he has been hiding letters from Nettie for several years, she wakes up and wants to kill him. This gives Celie the ability to express her anger. “I curse you... Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble... Everything you even dream about will fail... Every lick you hit me you will suffer twice, I say.” (187) She finally becomes expressive. A recurring theme in the novel is that finding a voice is essential when building one’s own