"Whitenized" Woman for Improved Realtions

"Dear God,
Us dress Squeak like she a white woman, only her clothes patch. She got on a starch and iron dress, high heel shoes with scuffs, and a old hat somebody give Shug. Us give her a old pocket book look like a quilt and a little black bible. Us wash her hair and git all the grease out, then I put it up in two plaits that cross over her head. Us bathe her so clean she smell like a good clean floor." (Walker 93)

A theme exemplified in this passage is how the white race is seen to be better than all other ones. Squeak is dressed up to be a white woman, showing the belief from Celie's family that it's easier to get what you want when you're white. Even if they don't realize it, they are revealing that they need to depend on their ability to get as "white" as possible to reach their goals.

 Even when Squeak gets cleaned up, she is compared to a floor, thus revealing that minorities are still below the white race. Squeak looks nicer than ever, but is nothing more than a floor. The bible also helps to represent the idea of white superiority because, at the time, Christianity was considered a European religion, and the racial minorities are conforming white people.

Dehumanizing Power Structure

“Dear God,

They put Sofia to work in the prison laundry. All day long from five to eight she washing clothes. Dirty convict uniforms, nasty sheets, and blankets piled way over her head. Us see her twice a month for half an hour. Her face yellow and sickly, her fingers look like fatty sausage.

Everything nasty here, she say, even the air. Food bad enough to kill you with it. Roaches here, mice, flies, lice and even a snake or two. If you say anything they strip you, make you sleep on a cement floor without a light.

How you manage? us ast.

Every time they ast me to do something, Miss Celie, I act like I'm you. I jump right up and do just what they say.

She look wild when she say that, and her bad eye wander round the room” (Walker 88).

This passage exemplifies a shift in characterization in Sofia. Sofia is no longer the defiant, outspoken individual that managed to get arrested for just that reason. One can tell that Sofia is out of her element when Celie mentions that Sofia looks "wild". There is irony in that because prisons are intended to punish for wrongdoings and hopefully make the individual realize that they may need to make changes in their life. Prisons are an establishment of civilization. Uncivilized, wild societies do not have prisons and thrive on instinct and human nature. And yet, Sofia has turned "wild" while in prison. The author may be hinting at how prisons of that degrading nature do nothing for an individual but make them feel less than human.

The imagery here hints at the similarities of a food warehouse, a dark storage room, that is quite often unclean and has vermin infested with it. The description of "food bad enough to kill you", "roaches here, mice, flies, lice, and even a snake or two", and "sleep on a cement floor without a light" describes an abandoned food warehouse. Humans don't live in food warehouses, so it is almost as if the whites place black "criminals" in a place that dehumanizes them. The simile of "her fingers look like fatty sausage" furthers this analogy.

The food warehouse analogy has the effect of presenting this idea of power structure between blacks and whites to the reader. Whites, in the time period in which this novel takes place, definitely have the upper hand in society and pride themselves on keeping it that way. In some cases throughout the novel, white actions seem rather unconscious, as if they act this way because its normal and see no wrong in it. But on the other hand, degrading actions such as beating Sofia to a pulp must somehow resonate with white law enforcement that this is inhumane. However, they choose to do it anyway. This power structure is a constant battle that blacks have to live with, and passages such as the one above present just how awful it is to the reader.

Portrayal of the Genders

A theme that is frequently explored in The Color Purple is the idea of gender roles. This is analyzed in multiple ways such as power, violence, sexuality, and stereotypes. The overwhelming control that men have over women is shown through the quote, "He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn't wink. I don't even look at mens. That's the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I'm not scared of them." (Walker 5) It is as if women are not allowed to have a mind or body of their own; men are able to control them to whatever extent they wish. Evidently Celie is already afraid of men so I don't understand why would she feel the need to 'wink' at one. But since her Pa interpreted her action as a wink, he can exert his power on her. Not only does this exhibit power but it exhibits the stereotype of women being the weaker sex. Gender roles are also proved through the use of sexuality. "I tell him I can fix myself up for him. I duck into my room and come out wearing horsehair, feathers, and a pair of our new mammy high heel shoes. He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway." (Walker 7) is plays into the idea of living up to the expectations of men in any way possible. Whether or not the women enjoy it, they will do whatever it takes to please the men in their lives.
Despite having been beaten and put through hell, Celie is still so afraid of men that she even stoops to the level of telling Harpo that it is okay to beat Sofia. "Wives is like children. You have to let 'em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating." (Walker 35) As I mentioned earlier, she is giving this advice to Harpo even though she endured the same horrendous pain. Sofia is not even doing anything that is worthy of being beat. Rather, Sofia acts as an exception to the stereotypical gender role. "But not Sofia. She do what she want, don't pay me no mind at all. I try to beat her, she black my eyes." (Walker 63) When Harpo tries to beat Sofia, she proves that women can be just as powerful as men if they want to. Instead of taking the beating, she fights back because she realizes that she has not done anything to deserve it. She takes care of the children and the house; she may not always listen to her husband but she doesn't have to. Sofia embodies everything that Celie wants to be- exertive and powerful.
Shug is another example of a character defying the stereotypical gender roles. "He ain't beat me much since you made him quit" (Walker 109) Shug came into Celie's life and became her voice. She told Albert (Mr. _____) that he should not be hitting Celie because she is a good wife and does everything that is asked of her. Since she never had the courage to stand up for herself, the fearlessness displayed by Shug is exactly what she needed. She shows Celie that you don't have to fall to the helpless stereotype given to women. Men are powerful, but women can be powerful too.

Stevens' Childish Actions

            "But Miss Kenton had departed, and sure enough, as I continued with my work, an occasional footstep or some other sound would serve to remind me she was still there outside the door. I decided therefore to occupy myself with some further tasks in the billiard room, assuming she would after a while see the ludicrousness of her position and leave. However, after some time had passed, and I had exhausted the tasks which could be achieved with the implements I happened to have at hand, Miss Kenton was evidently still outside. Resolved not to waste further time on the account of this childish affair, I contemplated departure via the french windows." (Ishiguro 58)

            Stevens' language in this passage attempts to maintain his formal stature. He uses words like "departed," "exhausted," and "contemplated" in ways similar to his normal statements throughout the novel. They are used out of habit. However, Stevens' formality is broken by the words used to describe his feelings towards the situation between him and Miss Kenton. The words "ludicrousness" and "childish affair" portray the idea that Stevens' is attempting to persuade himself into being upset with Miss Kenton. These descriptions overemphasize the mistakes made by Miss Kenton in a way that it seems that Stevens is trying to force himself to look down upon these mistakes. As Stevens attempts this it represents the fact that while he would usually simply see this behavior as unprofessional, his feelings for Miss Kenton prevent him from looking down upon her, and so he tries to force himself to.

Breaking the Mold

"'I'm gitting tired of Harpo, she say. All he think about since us married is how to make me mind. He don't want a wife, he want a dog.'"


Sofia's complaint about Harpo breaks the stereotype of women conforming to the will of men especially in the African American community. Her misgivings about Harpo continue the characterization that Walker provides her with throughout the novel as a strong-willed woman. She takes charge of her relationship with Harpo and acts in the traditional male role in the marriage. Harpo is threatened and frightened by this role reversal because it is not something he has experienced in his life.
Walker is attempting to contrast the character of Sofia and Celie. Celie embodies the stereotype of women in that era as someone who lets men and society in general walk all over her. She has been raped, impregnated by who she thought was her father, and given away in marriage to a man she didn't love. A marriage in which she is expected to care for children that aren't her own and provide them with the things that she wished would be going to her own children. Celie's place in the novel is important for Walker to break the stereotype with a character like Sofia. Without acknowledging that the stereotype is there, Walker would have been unable to shatter it.

The Hierarchy of Love

page 76

         Most people assert that Celie has a strong attraction towards women. A reader is able to pick up on this because of the tone that Walker sets in several passages, particularly on page 76. The tone on page 76 in The Color Purple is regretful. Celie's underlying tone in her voice is rueful and it presents itself as if Celie is trying to hide something.
         The purpose of the regretful tone is to show that Celie suppresses her emotions on a regular basis. When Shug asks Celie if she minds that she is sleeping with Albert, Celie tells herself, "I think, I don't care who Albert sleep with. But I don't say that." Her tone indicates that she is both suppressing herself and regretting what she doesn't say. In fact, it is not that she minds that Albert is sleeping with another woman, rather she minds that Shug is sleeping with a man. Celie's whole life has been full of mistreatment from the man. Celie even admits to Shug, "I don't like it at all" when she sleeps with Mr. _______. Walker uses the element of hiding the full name of any man in Celie's life in order to depict the hierarchy that is embedded in Celie's mind. She hides men from God out of fear, out of a feeling of inferiority to them. Celie was her father's servant and now she is her husband's servant. Celie has become numb to the world because all the men in her life have implanted her to not feel anything. Thus, she feels nothing for Mr. _______.
       In conclusion, Walker's use of a regretful tone and Celie's inability to express true emotion serve to portray the suppression of women and their roles in many societies. Unfortunately, we are often forced to conform to a patriarchal society. Walker's creation of character like Celie is solely to help understand the suppression of women that has been going on for years, for that, Celie falls in love with another woman, Shug.

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.