Literature Analysis #3

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1. Celie is a poor, uneducated, black 14 year old living in Georgia. Her dad Alfonso constantly rapes and beats her. Celie had two children with her father and he supposedly killed both of the children. A man named Mr.___ wants to marry Celie's younger sister Nettie, but Alfonso gives Mr.___ Celie instead.Nettie runs away and lives with Celie and Mr.___ but after discovering that Mr.___ still wants Nettie, she runs away from them as well. Mr. ___ sister felt bad for Celie and told her to fight back against the abuse and unhappy marriage. Mr. ___'s son Harpo marries Sophia and they have a kid. He tries to abuse her, but she eventually ends up leaving and taking the kids. Shug, Mr. ___'s lover becomes ill and stays at their house. Celie takes care of her and they become very close and intimate. Harpo has a new girldfriend named Squeak. When Sophia comes to visit she gets in a fight with the mayor's wife and is forced to be their maid for 12 years. Shug is now married but continues to have a relationship with Celie. Shug tells Celie that she's seen Mr.___ hide numerous letters, which turn out to be from Nettie. Nettie is on a misionary trip with Samuel and Corrine in Africa. They have two children that to Corrine, look a lot like Nettie. The two children turn out to be Celie's biological children; Alfonso never killed them. And Alfonoso is really their step-dad pretending to be their dad to inherit their house and property from their mother. At first Corrine doesn't believe Nettie that she is their aunt but finally believes her right before she passes away. Alfonso confirms this story to Celie; she losses her faith in God. Celie is done putting up with Mr.___ and she, Shug, and Squeak move to Tennessee. Celie starts a tailoring business. Celie returns to Georgia, gets her land back, and becomes friends with the new Mr.___. Nettie and Samuel get married and Samuel's son, Adam, marries a woman from Africa; he must face African rituals. Celie and Nettie are reunited and even though they are old, Celie has never felt younger.
2. I believe that the main theme of this book is the power of a voice. Throughout the majority of the book, Celie didn't use her voice. She didn't believe she had one. Celie let people walk all over her. She believed that to get through something she just had to be quiet. Celie didn't know how to assert herself. Her actions and words, or lack of, displayed that she didn't feel like she had the power to change her life. By the end she established that her voice did matter and she used it to take her life into her own hands.
3. The author's tone is very serious. The book is written from the point of view of Celie in her letters to God. They are very confessional. The tone of this book is very honest, bringing up hardships and struggles that Celie had to face.
4. Symbolism: Shug tells Celie that God does little things for people, like creating the color purple, just to make people happy and give them pleasure in their lives. The color purple represents all the good in the world that Celie didn't see at the beginning of the book.
Allusion: "It's time to leave you and enter into the Creation."
Point of View: It is clear in the letters between Nettie and Celie that Nettie is quite educated while Celie's letters lack proper grammar and spelling. Having the story narrated by Celie shows that even the point of view of an uneducated, victimized woman is still important.
Syntax/Diction: Celie's writings prove that she is uneducated as well as unhappy. By the end of the book, her letters get longer and more developed, showing that she is much more happier with her life.
Personification: "For six months the heavens and the winds abused the people of Olinka. Pain came down in spears stabbing away the mud of their walls."
Imagery: "The looking glass hang crooked, the curtains torn. The bed look like the stuffing pulled out."
Motif: "Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear everything. Dear God."
Anaphora: "By time I git back from the well, the water be warm. By the time I git the tray ready the food be cold. By the time I git all the children ready for school it be dinner time."
Oxymoron: "Hm, she say, look like a little fat white woman was on one."
Epigraph: Stevie Wonder's song "Do Like You"
Characterization
1. Direct: "I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl."
"Samuel is a big man. he dresses in black almost all the time, except for his white clerical collar. And he is black. Until you seen his eyes you think he is somber even mean, but he has the most thoughtful and gentle brown eyes."
Indirect: "He beats me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church."
"I talk to myself a lot, standing in front the mirror. Celie, I say, happiness was just a trick in your case. Just cause you never had any before Shug, you thought it was time to have some, and that it was gon last. Even thought you had the trees with you. The whole earth. The stars. but look at you. When Shug let, happiness desert."
The author uses both direct and indirect characterization approach to make the story deeper and more diverse. It allows the reader to know exactly what the authors wants them too as well as allowing the reader to make an opinion of the characters on their own. The indirect characterization allows the reader to form their own understanding.
2. In a way I believe the author's (or narrator's) syntax/diction changes over time. At the end of the book, Celie's letters were longer and more detailed; she seemed happier with her life. In Nettie's letters, her education showed while throughout the whole book, Celie proved to be uneducated. Also, when Celie was talking about certain characters, she talked about them in a happier tone. When talking about Shug or Nettie, Celie's diction and syntax was the complete opposite of the darkness she was overwhelmed with when talking about Alfonso or Mr.___.
3. Celie is a dynamic character. In the beginning of the story she was someone who took orders and didn't question what people did. By the end of the book Celie was someone who stood up for herself to pursue the life that she deserved. Celie is also a round character because she is developed.
4. After reading this book I felt that I met a real person. There are a lot of women in real life that have been abused and continue to take it. Once they break free from this life they can find happiness. Celie tells her story as if she is talking to someone she knows. Getting a look inside something was personal feels like there is an understanding and connection.