I chose to respond to
Jeffrey’s question:
Standing up for
yourself and the power of voice is an influential theme in this novel. Give
examples of this theme and describe how it functions throughout this section.
Who is the character that represents this theme? Why?
Standing up for yourself and the power of voice are two
major themes in the novel The Color
Purple by Alice Walker. Throughout
the novel, I believe various characters represented these themes. Tashi,
Nettie, and most definitely Celie are three motivational and determined women
who stand up for themselves, and make themselves heard by the end of the novel.
Tashi is an African girl who is from the village of
Olinka. Due to the ongoing racial issues, Tashi had participated in African
rituals to maintain the customs of her ancestors. She had gone through
agonizing rituals such as, facial scarring and female circumcision. “She’d lost
a considerable amount of weight, and seemed listless, dull-eyed and tired,”
(Walker 242). She had made the decision to go through these traditions to separate
herself from the dominating culture. The fact that Tashi would go through such routines,
represents her passion and devotion for her culture.
Nettie was the “lucky one”, so to speak, between the two
sisters. Because she had escaped oppression while she lived in Georgia, she
encountered and witnessed hardship of others around the world. By joining a Christian
ministry team, she travels to different countries doing missionary work. But,
before she left Georgia, Mr.____ attempted to rape her. However, Nettie being
who she is stood up to him as she did not allow him to abuse her. I found
Nettie’s actions remarkably courageous because what she did was not common for
a woman to do in that time. In doing so, Nettie stood her ground and put
Mr.____ in his place. Not only did Nettie stand up for herself, she advised
Celie to battle against and run away from Mr.____. “You’ve got to fight and get
away from Albert. He ain’t no good, (Walker 126). Nettie is a great example of
a character that displays the two themes.
Last but not the least, Celie. Being the protagonist of
the novel, she had come upon multiple problems. Despite the fact that she may
have not stood up for herself or made her voice heard in the situation at
first, as the novel progressed, she gained confidence and conquered her issues
in the end. A major conflict in Celie’s life was being in an abusive
relationship with Mr.____. In the beginning she went along with the kind of
treatment she was getting. She didn’t say or do anything about it; whether she
was sexually abused by her father or bossed around by her husband, she kept
silent. “I lay there thinking about Nettie while he on top of me, wonder if she
safe. And then I think bout Shug Avery. I know what he doing to me he done to
Shug Avery and maybe she like it. I put my arm around him” (Walker 12). However,
near the end of the book, after Celie had left Mr.____, he had changed. Mr.
____ and Celie had a better relationship as they were talking just as friends,
things were going smoothly. When Mr.____ had asked Celie to marry him again,
Celie refused. She knew what the best was for her and stood her ground. Though this
example was not as physical or harmful as Nettie’s, in my perspective, when
Celie refused to marry him, I viewed it as her standing up for herself. She did
not let him control her mind. She made her own decision as an independent woman.
All in all, the themes standing up for yourself and power
of voice are two very impactful and predominant themes in the novel. As mentioned,
the three women described above are great models of the themes, as they
encountered various issues, and conquered them in the end. Whether it was
abuse, racism or discrimination, these women stood their ground and made their
voice heard. “A saga filled with joy and pain, humor and bitterness, and an
array of characters who live, breathe and illuminate the world” –Publishers Weekly.
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