Dear Aspirant,

Alice Walker’s "The Colour Purple" has a lot to say about race in America. The main protagonist of the story, Celie, a quiet and passive girl is extremely downtrodden to the extent that she feels defeated. She has been made to adapt a self-perception that she is ugly because of her dark skin. She sees nothing in her race to be proud of. One major critical question she raises is that is it the whites one should blame for the disparity amongst he blacks, or should we blame the African attitude for the absence of a universal brotherhood amongst them. Have they laid the foundation for the prejudice against them? This is a case of internalised racism. It is when one holds negative ideas about his or her own culture, even if its unknowingly.

Celie considers herself not capable enough to express herself. This is clearly evident from the letters she writes to god, as an only mean to express herself. She writes about childhood incest, physical abuse and her misery in her letters. Walker, very strongly asserts that the American society is a colourist capitalist society that operates on the basis of unnatural distinctions. Celie’s journey, from being joyless and submissive to a desirable woman who is a valuable part of the universe is incredible. The other female characters, Sofia and Shug, introduce Celie to another way of living and have a very profound influence on her. The novel is a fight for liberalism to stand against the forced indentities that have originated in the name of race which compel the Africans to walk on a path they never chose. Celie’s character signifies the spirit of black women, their sexuality and commitment.

It is well established in the novel that there is no prospect for growth in the African-Americans. The Black man was not expected to excel in any field of life. Infact, Celie’s biological father was lynched for being a successful black man. For men, the main occupation is farming. Women were mainly involved in maternal activities. In rare exceptions they performed for a living, like Squeak and Shug Avery sang. Nettie lives with the ancestors of Olinka, and recalls that they sold her own ancestors to slavery. The English rubber workers displaced Olinka from their own ancient land. The Englishmen felt that since they were developing the nation, they had all rights to own the land. The African Americans were reduced to being known as “backward-natives” Nettie also realizes that the recreations of the bible are racist as all the people portrayed are “white”, when in reality they may have been “black”. Nettie opens Celie’s mind to an idea that God does not have to be a white man that everyone portrays.

Walker’s novel is a breakthrough in Black literature. It shows the sexual, mental and physical oppression that has been faced. Furthermore, it shows how those who bring about violence are usually victims themselves. They may be doing out of underlying frustration or shame of their own race and hence none of the antagonists in this novel are purely one-sided evil beings. Throughout the novel, “bright skin” is portrayed to be more beautiful. It is ironical how we human beings created more problems for our own selves by creating barriers between us. It is us who decided to be divided and it is us who will face the consequences

Hope this helps. All the best!