Education is Power

Alice Walker places quite a bit of emphasis on characterization as an essential literary tool within her novel.  The main way in which she associates specific identities with her characters is through the use of dialect and word choice.  While dialect can provide authenticity to the novel, it also molds character.  For example, Celie’s letters to God reflect how she talks.  She writes “I ast him” rather than “I ask him”.  Or she states “Stuck’em on trees tween the turn off to our road and town” (72).  Celie’s grammar, spelling, and pronunciation skills are poor, portraying that she is uneducated.  This writing contrasts and conflicts with the organized and highly developed writing used within Nettie’s letters.  Dialect is not really present within Nettie’s voice.  The words she uses to communicate with her sister are large and intelligent, such as “expertise” and “functioning”.  Celie even says herself that she was “trying to puzzle out words us don’t know, it took a long time to read just the first two or three letters” (144).  Walker creates a direct distinction between two of her characters simply based on their voices and the words they use within their letters.  What is the purpose of doing this?  Walker reveals that one’s words in both speaking and writing display education level.  Education is what ultimately grants power, independence, and strength.  Nettie is much more educated than Celie (her writing is formal and smart), that is why she figured out how to run away.  She has been able to live her own individual life in Africa and learn about divergent lifestyles/cultures.  Celie, on the other hand, never received enough education, which is obvious.  As a result, Celie doesn’t have enough knowledge for power.  She is weak.  She does whatever Albert or anyone tells her to do because she doesn’t know any better.   She thinks that she has to follow orders and do all of the work.  She doesn’t understand that she can rebel and go against the standards forced upon her.  With her lack of education, she struggles to get outside of her little world at Albert’s house.  She can’t mentally find a way out.  Also, she is easier to take advantage of; people can manipulate and control her because she is weak-minded.  Nettie’s educated letters may be enough to provide Celie with the knowledge that she needs in order to get out of the town and away from Mr.___.   Hopefully, the letters become a source of empowerment and strength for Celie.  Overall, through the use of characterization as a literary device, Walker exposes the theme that knowledge is power.  Without knowledge, people are ultimately stuck and trapped.  They can’t escape society and they can’t overcome specific challenges.  Celie is undereducated, but as she gains more information about the outside world from her sister, she will gradually come to understand her own situation and gain the strength to stand up against all of the people who have been manipulating her and pushing her around for so many years.