Essay Introduction
The Color Purple is a journey of a woman named Celie, an African American woman living in the rural area of the state of Georgia in the United States of America. The novel is written in the form of letters, and the recipient of them is God. It focuses on the main character, Celie, whose life is abused physically and emotionally by her stepfather. Her life is filled with much sadness and injustice. She still tries to have a relationship with God by writing him letters that can be more fully analyzed in depth throughout her life that educate us about women’s rights, oppression, gender disputes, racism, and injustice.
Research Paper on The Color Purple
Most African American women at that time in the US had no opinion and couldn’t do anything about the difficult and unjust situation they were put in. This can be read on page 21 of the novel, where Celie says: “I don’t say nothing. I think bout Nettie, dead. She fights, and she run away. What good does it do? I don’t fight, and I stay where I’m told. But I’m alive.” This quote shows us how most African Women were treated by society at that time.
Argumentative Essay Examples on The Color Purple
Celie, throughout the beginning of the novel, has no voice as she does everything that was told to her to do. From page 35: ‘Well how you spect to make her mind? Wives are like children. You have to let ’em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating.’ Celie was not able to express herself and be in control of her life because of her unloving and abusive husband.
For most of her life, Celie was beaten, sexually assaulted, and treated in an unfair way. Alphonso did not allow her to go to school, and he kept telling her that she was too ugly and stupid to go to school and learn. She never understood the fact that she was a beautiful woman, an intelligent human being, capable of realizing personal love until Shug Avery became her advocate. Her husband, Albert, whom she refers to only as Mr., continued to abuse her physically, mentally, and emotionally by making her live a life of a slave until she abandoned him to live with Shug in Memphis, Tennessee. Through her relationships with strong, independent women, she began her mission to find a life where she would be free from everything she experienced in her life, physically, sexually, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Shug taught her how to love herself and how to enjoy romantic love. She also mentored her on how to defend herself from male dominance and violence toward her.
Thesis Statement for The Color Purple
Celie’s husband, Albert, or how she refers to him in the novel as Mr. He, is a dominant man who believes that a married woman is nothing more than her husband’s object or good and should be beaten into submission if she doesn’t obey him. Since his father did not allow him to marry Shug, the woman he truly loved and wanted to marry, he took out his anger on poor ancient Celie. After Celie abandoned him and Shug left him, he fell into a deep depression and almost died. Despite all he did to Celie, he transformed into a thoughtful man. He searched to find answers to life’s Why questions. When Celie returned to town, he initiated a civil relationship with her that evolved into an abiding friendship.
Ideas: The impact of oppression on humanity
In this novel, the character of Celie does not only represent her, but it represents the living status of the whole community of black women living under the oppressive situation. It shows how women together can make a huge difference to better their lives from fairness, and we can see this in the novel/movie when the author tries to show harmony by bringing all of the characters together towards the end of the novel.
Shug, also known as Queen Honeybee to the people who follow her singing life, and as Sugar to Celie, Shug is an African American Woman who loved male attention. She acts very hatefully towards Celie because Albert chose to marry Celie instead of her. Celie took good care of her while she was sick, and Shug sincerely appreciated her care and love and became really angry that Albert cruelly dominated her all these years. Shug encroached on Celie to find intelligence, beauty, and value in her body, mind, spirit, love, and heart. She taught her that her emotions are a very important strength and that once she frees them, her confidence will grow. She is Celie’s true friend and dependable supporter, and also the lover that showed her what romantic love is. She is such a great mentor.
Overcoming oppression and finding peace
From this novel, the thing we should highlight is that we learn that domination and oppression destroy peoples’ humanity by erasing their worth and value. There is nothing worse than making someone feel unworthy or unavailable for any kind of reason. Throughout the novel, the author shows how oppression, injustice, and disrespect make their targets invisible. These negative actions erase peoples’ humanity and individuality by treating them as worthless beings.
Conclusion
People accomplish a fulfilling and peaceful life when they grip an understanding of themselves, the world they are in, and the personal stories they go through. Celie, Mr. Harpo, Sofia, and Shug all tolerate oppression from inner and external sources, and surprisingly, they all struggle to overcome the mistreatments they suffer from others and from their own choices. Celie’s empowerment and realization begin with Shug’s belief in her strengths and grow by witnessing Sofia’s struggles with Harpo and the town’s racism they were living in. It was very powerful to see Mary Agnes finding her voice, developing when she sees God’s love in His every creation, and she found this out in herself first. By confessing to some poor choices, accepting them, and most importantly, choosing to forgive themselves and others, Celie, Mr. Harpo, Sofia, and Shug can finally embrace the good in themselves, their families, and their friends. They all understand that to live a fulfilled, peaceful, loving life, and they need to love themselves before anyone else can love them.
