The Color Purple

In The Color Purple there are a number of female characters who respond in different ways to the problems of being a black, American female at a certain point in history. Analyse how Celie and Sofia cope with the problems they encounter and consider the effects on them of living in their society.

In The Color Purple, Alice Walker gives us an insight into the life of black American women who existed in a patriarchal society where domestic abuse was accepted and racism was rife. Two of her main characters, Celie and Sofia, have completely contrasting natures; Sofia strong and dominant, Celie weak and fearful. Sofia’s physical strength protects her from domestic abuse but when she is the subject of racism from the wider society she is unable to fight back. Celie, however, has submitted to abuse since her childhood, being sexually abused by the man she calls, ‘Pa’ who then marries her off to a physically abusive man called Albert, Through a series of life-changing events, Celie eventually finds, within herself, the power to break free and Sofia needs to dig deep inside herself to find the will to carry on. These two women effectively manage to deal with immense suffering, at last finding peace and self-fulfilment. I will analyse what coping strategies these women adopted to enable this and how Walker’s personal background and beliefs influence the women’s struggle.

Walker is a black American brought up in an era of mass social protest in America; active in the Civil Rights Movement, she calls herself a ‘womanist’, a stronger form of feminist. She bases her novel around 1904, about 40 years after slavery was abolished but when the black community are still being openly oppressed. Walker’s protagonist, Celie, is facing, triple oppression being black, poor and female. Celie is uneducated and uses very simple vocabulary; writing as she would speak. The structure her letters becomes more advanced as we see Celie grow in, confidence and understanding. To enable...