The Topic of Dichotomy: The Color Purple

                 The Color Purple  creates a system of dichotomy where there is a passive, shy, emotionless woman who does what she is told as well as believes herself to be lower than a man. Celie is the stereotypical passive woman. However, at the other side of  the spectrum is Shug Avery. She is a feminist, strong-willed, free-spirited woman who cannot be held down by a man. This creates a tension and helps convey Alice Walker's purpose behind this. Celie's complete passiveness when responding to Shug's departure as "I don't say nothing. Feel like I felt when Nettie left....He beat me when you not her, I say" (76) demonstrates how she wants to say something but she lowers her self-esteem and her self-image so she doesn't have to stand up for herself or say what she thinks. Walker uses this character as a medium to show the stereotypical image of an average African-American woman. However, with Shug Avery's character, Walker is able to create the polar opposite of Celie such as the response to her complaint "I won't leave, she say, until I know Albert won't even think about beating you."(77) Shug is strong-willed and very feminist but she is also extremely mean and can be over-bearing as well as irritating in some instances. With this character, Walker is able to illustrate what the ideal woman would be: defiant, opinionated, superiority complex. However, Walker, through Shug's character, shows some problems with this approach as a solution to the one that Celie is in. Thus, there is the middle ground character, Sofia. Sofia is strong-willed, however, she also respects men and their role in society. Celie describes her as "Some womens can't be beat, I say. Sofia one of them. Besides, Sofia love you. She probably be happy to do most of what you say if you ast her right. She not mena, she not spiteful. She don't hold a grudge" (66). Sofia knows that she holds power, she doesn't overestimate it, like Shug, but she also doesn't underestimate it, like Celie. She is the ideal woman and that is what Walker was trying to convey through this novel.