Cindy+Choi's+Summer+Reading

  The Color Purple B y Alice Walker

**Essay #1: Sewing Together**

More than any other pieces about color, women, and domestic violence, Alice Walker fills //The Color Purple// with seamless motifs that serve as comforting and connecting mechanism to the characters as well as offer moments of respite to the reader. As Foster suggests in his book //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, everything can be seen as symbols but Walker carefully places the symbols of quilt and sewing throughout the book as if to literally sew her pieces together. The book is in epistolary form, allowing Celie, the main character, to have a voice that seems not usually allowed her as she writes freely to God.

Lost as how to handle a tough woman like Sofia, Harpo, Celie’s step-son, asks Celie for advice on how to better manage his wife. Celie, shockingly, tells Harpo to give Sofia a good beating, resulting in a fight between Sofia and Celie after Sofia gives Harpo a good beating. As they fight, the curtain in Harpo’s house is ripped but as Sofia and Celie begin to sew the curtain back together, they develop appreciation for each other. “What the world got to do with anything, I think,” states Celie, “Then I see myself sitting there quilting tween Shug Avery and Mr. _. For the first time in my life, I feel just right” (Walker, 62).

Sewing is viewed as a feminine endeavor. Mr. purchases a dress for Celie as he confesses that he never knew she had such a need. Every woman delights in getting a new dress and Celie was seen as an entity devoid of such desires. Perhaps she herself saw women as beings inferior to men when she tells Harpo to beat up his wife as something that needs to learn submission. However, as Celie and Sofia join hands together to mend the ripped curtain, they do more than recycle unusable curtain into quilts, they seam together peace and friendship. Sewing seems to be the only time when there is peace in this novel, perhaps the only offer of positivism. It is a feminine task and sewing together literally and figuratively is offered as a solution to all the troubles laid out in the book.


 * Essay #2: Female Relationship **

Although the male characters bring no comfort in her life, the female relationships Celie forms with Shrug and Sofia offer comfort and perhaps a passage to mend the injuries Celie suffered in Alice Walker’s // The Color Purple .//

Even in the female relationships, Celie did not have a good beginning. As a young girl, Celie stood next to a deathly ill mother who could hardly ever come out of bed. Celie’s mother passes away at a young age before any special motherly daughterly conversations are made. As Celie grows into a woman, she is repeatedly raped by her step-father and receives not even a hint of love. As she marries Mr. _, she lives through a similar routine as her childhood consisting of unwanted sexual interactions and violence. Shrug Avery, a woman that Mr. _ used to truly love comes to visit. As Shrug and Celie talks with one another, their conversation starts off from small talks to adulthood, talking about the beauty of womanhood. “Us sleep like sisters, me and Shug” Celie would say (Walker, 89). What made these two women connect was their honesty, love, and respect; the three traits that Celie had never encountered in another human being. Shrug played a motherly role, teaching Celie things she’s never known and filling her with comfort.

The psychological explanation of Celie can be explained from Thomas Foster ’s //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, a chapter concerning that “...More Than It’s Gonna Hurt you: Concerning Violence.” The violence that Celie endured made her feel unloved to such an extent that she does not have any respect for herself. It is through the asexual relationships she has with other women that she learns to love not only others but herself.

** Essay #3: The Step-father **

Alice Walker paints the most pathetic of victims in Celie in //The Color Purple//, as she repeatedly becomes a victim of incestuous rape by her step-father. Alphonso, Celie’s step-father rapes Celie because her mother was ill and could not serve as his sexual partner. From this “relationship” Celie has two children, who are sold. Although he is not Celie’s father’ by blood, the relationship she has with Alphonso is legally of that between a father and daughter. Alphonso’s need for sex seems to justify all of his actions as Foster says “it is all about sex.”

Not only does Celie become the victim of rape, she is a victim of her own step-father, who is supposed to protect and guide her. To make things worse, the children she has from this unasked for relationship get sold like pieces of livestock. Nothing can justify Alphonso’s action but Celie seems to accept the situations because she has no power to question and no power to act against. Celie just succumbs to Alphonso’s male sexuality as Foster states in his book //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//. His sexuality and his desire are of primary importance. “I don’t like to go to bed with him no...it like that make me want to kill him,” states Celie (Walker, 15). She cannot disobey him and the situation seem even more terrible since she does not become emotional as she relays the story. It is like as if the story is not about herself but another being. Her own sexuality and desire is of no interest to anyone perhaps including herself. Celie is also robbed of her chance to realize the other female role: that of a mother when her children are literally snatched from her and sold reminiscent of practice during slavery.


 * Essay #4: The Title “Color Purple” **

The title of Alice Walker’s novel, //The Color Purple// serves multiple purposes as representative of suffering and pain endured by Celie, the ugly swelling and color of beatings as well as sexual organs. However, the color can also present positive connotations as a beautiful color embedded in flowers strewn out in fields and perhaps the lovely sheen of dark hair.

Purple is known as a hue which represents nobility, sensuality, spirituality, wisdom, and enlightenment. The readers can easily envision the enlightenment of Celie throughout Walker’s novel. In other words, Celie’s whole life span can be defined by the color purple. Celie mentions this particular color in nearly all her letters as she describes her dreadful situations. When Sofia, Celie’s daughter-in-law is beaten up by her husband, Sofia’s face is described as looking like an eggplant, ragged and purple. However, violence and gloomy representations were not the only things the color purple portrayed. Celie opened her eyes to real beauty when Shug had dragged her to a field of beautiful purple flowers. “Oh, Celie, there are colored people in the world who want us to know! Want us to grow and see the light,” Shug would say (Walker, 67).

This vivid hue prevails throughout the pages, mostly to depict uneasy situations but also to suggest hope with its beauty. Just like Thomas Foster mentions in his book //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”. Foster makes an important point that “It’s never just rain.” Celie’s life had always been in shades of purple; Celie withstood rape and incest from a young age and was forcefully sold to a dangerous man with bad tempers. However, as Shug appears in the novel, she begins to change Celie’s pessimistic view of the world of gloomy purple into bright and exuberant shades.(Walker, 156). The shade of purple never actually changes, however Celie’s view of the color shifts as does her life.


 * Essay #5: Mistreatment by Men **

Alice Walker focuses on the role of women who serve under men in her brilliant novel, //The Color purple//. Celie, the main character, is mistreated by many of the men in her life starting from a young age. Through rape and incest by her step father as well as endless beatings by men, Celie is absolutely and repeatedly violated not only as a woman but as a human being.

Celie meets new men in each phase of her life but new does not necessarily mean better. As Celie’s mother is infected with a deathly disease, Celie’s step-father turns to her for his special desires. This was the beginning of Celie’s mistreatment by men. As Celie is sold to a man named Mr. _ she is used as a slave, serving his every desire starting from house work to sex. "He start to choke me, saying “You better shut up and git used to it. But I don't never git used to it. And now I feels sick every time I be the one to cook”” (Walker, 33). By this point it is evident that Celie tolerates fear and fails to question why she is treated in this particular way. The sufferings that Celie had to withstand was what made her believe that her step-son should give his wife a good beating when the wife did not follow his wishes. To a woman who was constantly beaten, beating of another woman by men was a norm.

As Foster states in his book How to //Read Literature Like a Professor//, “Violence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings, but it can also be cultural and societal in its implications. For Celie who had not power to question the violence she suffered, it became an accepted norm for her to accept the violence for herself and perhaps for other women as well. Walker is perhaps sending the most shocking message of all when she portrays Celie in this light, that with enough repeated violence, violence can be an everyday accepted practice.


 * Comment #1: Alice Ahn**

Hey Alice, I've read the same novel for my summer reading assignment and I was excited to read what you had to say as well! Overall, your essay succeeds in telling the reader your point of view as well as Foster's about the usage of weather through plot devices. I've noticed that Alice Walker used the color 'purple' through out the whole book whether good things or bad things happened to the main character, which could have been emphasized in your essay. Your thesis was good but I believe that it could have been a bit stronger to grab the readers attention and introduce your topic for the essay since the first sentance is when the readers are in focus the most. Furthermore, you could have put in some more exclusive examples from the book that could have pertained to the symbols of weather. For your sentace fluency I applaud you since the essay as a whole flows well from the first word to the last. I also compliment your usage of voice since it is strong and sincere through out the essay. Good job on your essay and see you in school! :)

-Cindy Choi


 * Comment #2: Alena Koo**

Hello Alena, :)

To start with your essay, I must say that your use of vocab and sentence structure was written really well. However, as a whole, the essay has weak transitions of sentences. You seem to move on to the next point before explaining your idea that you are focused on at the moment. For example, you can expand on why the charm represents conflicts further before you move on to your next idea. Also, I believe that you could have stated a stronger thesis in your essay since the thesis statement in essays are what makes the readers interested to carry on. Lastly, don't forget to write the authors name along the book title. I'd also like to see your thoughts about how this book relates to the book //How to Read Literature Like a Professor// by Thomas Foster since it is essential. Your essay delivers your point successfully and seems straight forward and I applaud you for that. Good job and see you in class!

-Cindy Choi