The Colour Purple Theme

The title of the book is a very important symbol. Celie goes through life having a hard time noticing the beautiful aspects and appreciating them. She had a nasty life and was maltreated as an adolescent. The coloring purple is continu every(prenominal)y equated with suffering and pain. Sofias swollen, beaten face is described as the color of eggplant. Purple is the color of Celies hugger-mugger parts the site of her inner violation. However, later Shug points out to her that life must be enjoyed. When they were in a field of purple flowers, Shug tells Celie to look at the flowers and grok their beauty. You must look at all the good and acknowledge them because perfection placed them all on earth. After learning this, Celie has a break up respect for life and everything it has to offer. Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Power of Narrative and Voice perambulator emphasizes throughout the figm ent that the ability to express ones thoughts and feelings is crucial to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is completely unable to resist those who abuse her.Remembering Alphonsos warning that she break-dance not never tell nobody but deity nearly his abuse of her, Celie feels that the and way to persevere is to remain silent and invisible. Celie is essentially an object, an altogether passive party who has no power to claim herself through action or words. Her letters to God, in which she begins to pour out her story, become her only outlet. However, because she is so unaccustomed to articulating her experience, her narrative is initially muddled despite her best efforts at transparency. In Shug and Sofia, Celie finds sympathetic ears and learns less(prenominal)ons that enable her to find her vocalization.In renaming Celie a virgin, Shug shows Celie that she dismiss create her admit narrative, a new interpretation of herself and her history that counters the inte rpretations forced upon her. Gradually Celie begins to flesh out more of her story by telling it to Shug. However, it is not until Celie and Shug discover Netties letters that Celie finally has enough knowledge of herself to form her own powerful narrative. Celies forceful assertion of this newfound power, her cursing of Mr. ______ for his eld of abuse, is the novels climax. Celies story dumbfounds and eventually humbles Mr. _____, causing him to reassess and change his own life. Though pushchair clearly wishes to emphasize the power of narrative and speech to assert selfhood and resist oppression, the novel acknowledges that such resistance can be risky. Sofias forceful outburst in response to Miss Millies invitation to be her housemaid costs her twelve years of her life. Sofia regains her freedom eventually, so she is not totally defeated, but she pays a high price for her words. The Power of Strong Female Relationships throughout The Color Purple, Walker portrays female friend ships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories.In turn, these stories allow women to resist oppression and dominance. Relationships among women form a refuge, providing reciprocatory love in a world filled with male violence. Female ties take many forms some are m separately or sisterly, some are in the form of mentor and pupil, some are sexual, and some are simply friendships. Sofia claims that her ability to fight comes from her strong relationships with her sisters. Netties relationship with Celie anchors her through years of living in the unfamiliar culture of Africa. Samuel notes that the strong relationships among Olinka women are the only thing that makes polygamy bearable for them.Most important, Celies ties to Shug bring about Celies gradual repurchase and her attainment of a sense of self. The Cyclical Nature of Racism and Sexism Almost none of the abusers in Walkers novel are stereotypical, one-dimensional monsters whom we can dismiss as purely evil. Th ose who perpetuate violence are themselves victims, often of sexism, racism, or paternalism. Harpo, for example, beats Sofia only after his father implies that Sofias resistance makes Harpo less of a man. Mr. ______ is violent and mistreats his family much like his own tyrantlike father treated him.Celie advises Harpo to beat Sofia because she is jealous of Sofias lastingness and assertiveness. The characters are largely aware of the circular nature of harmful behavior. For instance, Sofia tells Eleanor Jane that societal influence makes it almost inevitable that her baby boy will grow up to be a racist. Only by forcefully talking back to the men who abuse them and showing them a new way of doing things do the women of the novel break these cycles of sexism and violence, causing the men who ab utilise them to stop and reexamine their ways. The Disruption of Traditional Gender RolesMany characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofias strength and sass, Shugs sexual assertiveness, and Harpos insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a characters 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. Disruption of gender roles sometimes causes problems. Harpos insecurity about his masculinity leads to marital problems and his attempts to beat Sofia.Likewise, Shugs confident sexuality and resistance to male domination cause her to be labeled a tramp. Throughout the novel, Walker wishes 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. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes. Letters Walker uses the novels epistolary (letter-writing) form to emphasize the power of communication. Celie writes letters to God, and Nettie writes letters to Celie.Both sisters gain strength from their letter writing, but they are saved only when they receive responses to their letters. Therefore, although writing letters enables self-e-xpression and confession, it requires a willing audience. When Celie never responds to Netties letters, Nettie feels lost because Celie is her only audience. Nettie grows disillusioned with her missionary work because the imperialists will not take heed to her and because the Olinka villagers are stubborn. Only after Nettie returns home to Celie, an audience guaranteed to listen, does she feel fulfilled and freed.The Rural Farm Community Walker sets most of her novel in a rural farm community that has few visitors, and she focuses on colorful portraits of each of her characters. By focusing on the personal lives and transformations of her characters, Walker renders public events almost irrelevant. When Shug an d Celie adjudicate news of current events from the outside world, it all just sounds crazy to them. The unspecific time and place broaden the novels scope, making its themes more universal. colours Throughout the novel, the appearance of brighter colors indicates the liberation various characters experience.Walker uses color to signal renewals and rebirths at several points in the novel. When Kate takes Celie shopping for a new dress, the only color options are drab onesbrown, maroon, and dark blue. Later, Celie and Sofia use bright yellow fabric from Shugs dress to make a quilt. When Celie describes her religious awakening, she marvels how she never noticed the wonders that God has made, such as the color purple. Upon Mr. ______s transformation, he paints the entire interior of his house fresh and white, signaling his new beginning. Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.Sewing and Quilts In general, sewing in The Color Purple symbolizes the power women can gain from productively channeling their creative energy. After Sofia and Celie repugn about the advice Celie has tending(p) Harpo, Sofia signals a truce by suggesting they make a quilt. The quilt, composed of diverse patterns sewn together, symbolizes diverse people coming together in unity. Like a patchwork quilt, the community of love that surrounds Celie at the end of the novel incorporates men and women who are bonded by family and friendship, and who have different gender roles, sexual orientations, and talents.Another important instance of sewing in the novel is Celies pants-sewing business. With Shugs help, Celie overturns the idea that sewing is marginal and unimportant womens labor, and she turns it into a lucrative, empowering source of economic independence. God In the early parts of the novel, Celie sees God as her listener and helping hand, yet Celie does not have a clear understanding of who God is. She knows deep down th at her image of God as a white patriarch dont seem quite right, but she says its all she has.Shug invites Celie to imagine God as something radically different, as an it that delights in creation and just wants human beings to love what it has created. Eventually, Celie boodle thinking of God as she stops thinking of the other men in her lifeshe git man off her eyeball and tells God off, writing, You must be sleep. But after Celie has chased her patriarchal God away and come up with a new concept of God, she writes in her last letter, Dear God. Dear stars, god-fearing trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God. This reimagining of God on her own terms symbolizes Celies move from an object of someone elses care to an independent woman. It also indicates that her voice is now sufficiently empowered to create her own narrative. Previous Section Analysis of Major Characters beginning. The Color Purple This color, the color of royalty, exemplifies the endless possibilit ies available to Celie and other black women if they stand up for their own rights. Rightdock 1 year ago The book is entitled Color Purple because Purple symbolizes hope which is largely given importance in the story. It was written by Alice Walker and released in 1982.