The Underlying Themes In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

Life is not always fair, and in The Color Purple the main character, Celie, writes out her brutal life experiences in the form of letters to God and her sister Nettie. Set in the early 1900’s of the deep South, Alice Walker details the inspiring redemptions that embody the power, for black women especially, to be heard and respected during a time period where racial and gender discrimination were at its peak. Cause and effect, dialogue, and characterization support the underlying theme that Alice Walker conveys throughout the entirety of her work. The theme is that you have the right to live a happier ending in spite of a troubling past. These literary devices illuminate this theme by showing how unbreakable many of these characters turn out
Celie’s confrontation with Mr._ in front of everyone at the dinner table can be seen as one of Celie’s most inspiring moments. Although ironic in the end, this moment is very defining for her because she finally spoke her mind. “Took me long enough to notice you such good company, he say. And he laugh He ain’t no Shug, but he begin to be somebody that I can talk to.” Her ability to come face to face with self-actualization occurred when she finally stood up for herself after an entire lifetime of domestic abuse. Also, the fact that he is now somebody that she can connect with shows how much they were both able to grow without resentment. Considering the fact that men were people that she once hated, she can now see eye to eye with one that gave her so many reasons to dismiss him. Shug is a friend that Celie shared endless memories, lessons, experiences, and intimate moments with and although she cannot say the same about Mr._, she, at least, looks him as a decent guy. Another character who stood up for herself is Harpo’s new wife that he nicknamed “Squeak” who he used as a doll to regularly practice domestic violence on prior to his reconciliation with Sophia. In spite of that, Squeak made an unsuccessful attempt to release Sophia from prison. Instead, she returns home broken and defeated since the prison warden beat her and raped her. Squeak showed a huge amount of strength by resisting male oppression when she back talked Harpo at dinner. “ Harpo say, I love you, Squeak. He kneel down and try to put his arms around her waist. She stand up. My name is Mary Agnes, she say.” Clearly, Squeak was tired of Harpo belittling her with an offensive nickname such as that, but there is more meaning among her words and actions than what is on the surface. She stood up not only to Harpo,