The Color Purple: The Fight From Domination To Self- Freedom

"But I don't know how to fight all I know how to do is stay alive." (Walker, 18) This quote taken from Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple opens the idea of struggle and fight throughout the story. Similar to many black women writers in the past twenty years, Walker is intrigued by examining black women's lives and writing about their hardships for self-determination. The Color Purple tells a story about a black woman who is sexually and physically abused, as well as verbally dominated for close the three decades. Walker has risked exploring subjects and talk about issues which are generally unacceptable to many readers. She seems to have no qualms about exposing any problems which stand in the way of people's freedoms including sexism and racism.(Jamison-Hall, 2) Walker sees and portrays a world from inside out and uses the main character, Celie to do so. This surname-less abused woman records her experiences in letters to God as well as her younger sister Nettie. This story depicts external ideas to internal ideas from male control over females to women learning to control their own lives. In The Color Purple, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1983, Walker takes a perspective or "epic" approach to characterize delineation and cultural reality (Thadious, 406). Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple uses dimensions of black women's oppression, racism, and sexism to show a young black woman's fight against domination in order to find her own independence.

Walker uses many examples of deep oppression against black women through the entire story. She is critical of black man and their abusiveness towards black women. Walker is also concerned with any oppressive behavior, even that which black women use against each other, which stands in the way of individual and collective freedom. (Jamison-Hall,2) The oppression that Walker shows comes in many different shapes and forms including sexual, physical and verbal abuse. On the topics of violence, The Color Purple is an enlightening book that approaches this social concern from many different angles. One angle Walker uses is the relationship between Celie and her stepfather, Alphonso. Not only is this relationship sexually abusive but verbally degrading.

He act like he can't stand me no more. Say I'm evil and always up to no good. He took my other baby, a boy this time. But I don't think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man an his wife over Monticello. I got breasts full of milk running down myself. He say Why don't you look decent? Put on something. But what I'm sposed to put on? I don't have nothing. (Walker,4)

This excerpt shows exactly the way Celie's stepfather used oppression and cruelty against her. At this point Celie has no or little value as a human being and beyond a sexual point, none as a woman. Walker shows the same behavior towards Celie through her husband, Albert. Albert beats her and rapes her constantly for her almost her entire life. Celie survives being a victim by recognizing that fighting back causes more problems then not. Throughout the story Walker makes it clear that anyone can use ,say and do anything to Celie and she will still say something to the effect that she is still here and still alive.(Harris,63) Celie accepts her "place" and submits to all of the violence that goes along with it. At a point she even tells Albert's son, Harpo, that he should beat his wife Sofia. With this action Walker is showing that Celie is beginning to believe that oppression against all black women from black men is normal.

She(Sofia)say, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and uncles. A girl ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I loves Harpo, she say. God knows I do. But I'll kill him dead before I let him beat me.( Walker,42)

Sofia learns early that a woman must fight the male drive to control. She is aware that any woman who loves herself will protect herself and Sofia fights all who try to oppress her in anyway. The Color Purple brings light to the historical experiences of black women and how their congregation as women form a liberating force.( Jamison-Hall,3) It is easily seen that Walker relies on sexual abuse, violence and sexual oppression to show breaches in black generations. In the letters that Celie writes she explains many examples of degradation, abuse and dehumanization which are not only morally grotesque but also invite spectator readers to simplify about black people in the same negative ways that have occurred for centuries. With the domination shown in Walker's novel is has been said that she might be trying to lessen the oppression against black women by black men. (Royster 376). This among many opinions try to explain Walkers purpose in writing and expanding on oppression in the black world.

Sexism is also one theme and controversial issue in The Color Purple. Sexual relationships between men and women along with woman and woman are a major subject in the story. ("Themes and Contructions",1) At the beginning Celie is sexually brutalized by her step father and exploited as a commodity as well as by the man she marries. Walker seems to be preoccupied with the assignment of overcoming black male sexist exploitation of black women.(Royster,375) She does this by repeatedly showing the sexual treatment against Celie through the two most important men in her life. The Color Purple sets the aura of sexual laxity which permeates the novel.(Petry,876) After almost over 20 years of long-suffering abuse, Celie somehow finds the strength to engage in a lesbian relationship with her husbands prier lover, Shug Avery. Mostly because Celie herself seems so innocent about sexual matters and so in need of the affection which Shug abundantly gives, the lesbian relationship is one of few examples of true love in the novel. This love is one of the most important because Walker shows how their love of each other brings about love for self, in which also helps break the chains of brutality and oppression from black men. Their union is not just one that fulfills sexual needs but helps them come together to find their own self- freedom, the goal in which Walker gives for Celie in the novel.

A third theme and aspect of the story is one of less importance but still impacts the idea of Walker's purpose in writing the book. Racism is part of the world of Walker's early fiction that black people make victims of other black people because of white people. Some critics even denounced Walker for her writing a novel whose central focus, they thought was one of praise for black women and the denigration of black men. This can be seen though the fact that the women