First Impressions - Sabeana Uthayakumaran

By: Sabeana Uthayakumaran 

"The Color Purple" written by Alice Walker is a novel unlike any other I have read before. By reading the first few pages, my initial thought was that this book will be a challenging and tedious read because of the weak spelling and vocabulary that Celie utilizes. However, further in the novel the story captures my attention causing me to have many thoughts and points of views on each character and the story line.

            Throughout the first twenty pages of the novel, most characters that play an important role have been introduced. This novel consists of private letters written for God by the protagonist, Celie. This shows that Celie will be writing with complete honestly since she had written these letters for her, and God’s eyes only. Celie is portrayed as an unfortunate fourteen year old who is facing sexual abuse from her own father. Celie is told to keep silent about all of what her father has done to her, which was displayed when he told her to “shut up and git used to it”(Walker 1). Celie is shown as an inferior woman that is afraid to stand up for her rights. When Celie states “A girl at church say you git big if you bleed every month. I don’t bleed no more”(Walker 5), it shows how Celie is only fourteen years old and is already pregnant with her second child. She let her father take advantage of her and did not speak up to be left alone because of being so terrified of the outcome. The father of Celie has also been looking at Nettie, Celie’s younger sister, in an inappropriate way as well. Celie’s father has gruesome intentions and is most definitely not worthy of being a father to Celie and Nettie. Soon after, a character that is unidentified named “Mr.______”, becomes an important role in Celie’s life. Mr.______ had shown interest in the younger sister Nettie, however ends up marrying Celie due to her fathers command. Mr.______ seems that he has no interest in Celie, although chooses to marry her because there isn't any negative affect to it. She would just do him justice for sexual convenience.  From what I have read, Celie wants an education and has the desire to succeed in life. Mr.______ does not seem worthy of her and her ambitions due to his lack of interest and seems to have bad intentions.

         As mentioned before, Celie lives in South Africa. If I were Celie, I would pack my bags and get away from her father as soon as I would be able to. However, this isn't the case for Celie. Celie is a young individual who lives in South Africa and unfortunately not financially independent. This demonstrates that she cannot do as she wills and desires, because she has nothing and no where to run to. The setting of this story is realistic according to the way of life in Africa. Therefore, it gives the story a realistic touch and a reassurance that these events actually occur in real life. The setting has me engaged in the book due to the fact that I constantly have in mind that this is possibly happening to someone else. Furthermore, this aspect of the story helps readers connect to the world and gives more vivid interpretation on what will happen later in the novel.

        The author, Alice Walker, had already showcased the vulnerability of woman throughout the beginning of the story line very effectively. As of now, Celie is in a challenging position. She has been sexually harassed and is forced to keep quiet or face severe consequences. Celie is also now in a relationship that she is unhappy with and has no contact with her own beloved daughter, Olivia. I believe that Alice Walker will try to portray the struggles many females are forced to face by showing Celie’s journey throughout her life. Celie gave up many hopes and dreams she had for herself, and hopefully she moves past the obstacles to show how she can be independent and is not an object.

         Celie being the narrator of the novel causes us to feel sympathetic towards her because she is depicting her side and view of the story. Celie dealing with tragic events gives readers a negative view of the story because of what she explains that occurs in her life. This causes readers to feel angry and irritated because of her feeling lonely and upset. This novel will give the audience a negative tone due to the fact that characters in the novel are not respecting Celie’s rights as a human. All in all, I believe this novel is so far engaging and will have me go through various emotions reading about Celie’s journey in life.