The Color Purple

“You’d bet not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” (Walker 1). These are the first words written in the novel which embody the struggle that the main character, Celie, withholds throughout the novel in trying to differentiate her surroundings as good or evil. At this instance, Celie had been raped by her own father and is being told by him to never tell anyone but God, especially her mother. From this point on, Celie begins to write letters only to God, pouring her soul into this only form of communication she feels comfortable with, thus letting the reader easily look into the roots of Celie’s thoughts through this first person point of view. Living in a time where Celie, an African American woman, is being abused by not only
Walker makes numerous references to the racial segregation Celie and her family experience from white dominance as well as the historical connections that are made regarding the story’s time period. It is evident in the book that almost all colored characters have experienced racial judgement in one form or another. During one point of the book, Sofia, the wife of Celie’s stepson, fights against the normal Southern black and white relations as she shows defiance to the white mayor’s wife who consults her. She is victimized and she is arrested and given a stiff jail sentence for her actions (Averbach, 1). INSERT QUOTE IF
Although the novel is not a cookie cutter example of a heroic journey, the story does follow the structure of a general epic. For example, in studying Beowulf, the readers can see that he comes across many thresholds, forming allies and enemies, and later, goes through transformations, making him a character free to live in any way he desires. Although the story of Beowulf seems to have more comparison to that of a superhero that regularly fights battles on a day-to-day basis, Celie can connect with this as well as she changes all things in her life, including her personality, spirituality, and connections with