As soon as I read the first sentence of The Color Purple, I knew this book was quite unlike anything I had ever read before. The narrative voice is absolutely unique, and rather difficult to get used to at first. But I was immediately captivated by Celie and her incredibe tenacity.
This passage calls to mind one word: oppression. Taken out of context, this exerpt could be interpreted many ways, because Celie is oppressed by many different "thems." But in this case, "them" is men, and it's clear that, for Celie, her gender is an enslavement. Her survival is dependent upon relinquishing her own independence and will to the male race, subjecting herself to needs of husband, father or son. In this passage, Celie's sister-in-law tells her to fight back. Yet Celie's sad life has given her a bleak, survivalistic view of her place as a black woman in this society and the impossibility of changing her status. "What good it do" to fight back, when her enslavement is so ingrained into her own mind and the minds of her male oppressors? The beautiful trajectory of this story is how Celie gradually learns to shake off these shackles.
I'm approaching The Color Purple from a gender perspective, but it's quite clear that this book addresses multiple issues, including race, class and sexuality. For the purpose of this blog, I'm going to select several passages that I deem significant for the discussion of gender.
Page 22: "You got to fight them, Celie, she say. I can't do it for you. You got to fight them for yourself.
"I don't say nothing. I think bout Nettie, dead. She fight, she run away. What good it do? I don't fight, I stay where I'm told. But I'm alive."
This passage calls to mind one word: oppression. Taken out of context, this exerpt could be interpreted many ways, because Celie is oppressed by many different "thems." But in this case, "them" is men, and it's clear that, for Celie, her gender is an enslavement. Her survival is dependent upon relinquishing her own independence and will to the male race, subjecting herself to needs of husband, father or son. In this passage, Celie's sister-in-law tells her to fight back. Yet Celie's sad life has given her a bleak, survivalistic view of her place as a black woman in this society and the impossibility of changing her status. "What good it do" to fight back, when her enslavement is so ingrained into her own mind and the minds of her male oppressors? The beautiful trajectory of this story is how Celie gradually learns to shake off these shackles.
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