LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:12 December 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Transformation from Existing to Living:
A Study of Celie’s Progress in The Color Purple

Suma Lalit Podnolanna

Abstract

This article makes the study of Celie’s transformation from Existing to Living. Celie undergoes transformation at different levels in the novel. When the novel begins she is not even aware of what is happening with her. Slowly she understands things happening around, but is not able to react to them, because she is terrified and does not know how to fight. She just bears everything that comes her way, like a rock. Though she has met Sophia, a born fighter and also Albert’s sisters who urge her to fight back, Shug in her life acts as a catalyst. Shug’s entry into her life becomes the starting point of her transformation.

Key Words: Black Women, Female Oppression, Ignorance, Self-Awareness, Struggle, transformation.

Alice Walker

Alice Walker has created her own image as a writer in the world of literature. Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton Georgia. Her award winning novel The Color Purple, becomes controversial for its representation of abusive and generally problematic relationship between black men and women. The novel contains the torturous journey of Celie, a rural black female adolescent towards womanhood and self-awareness.

The change which is useful in life takes the people towards the path of success. The Color Purple features the transformation of individuals, cultures and worlds. The term ‘existing’ here means only being alive, whereas ‘living’ means enjoying life, being really alive. The protagonist Celie in the novel is seen as just existing at the beginning and slowly she undergoes a change and starts loving her life toward the end of the story.

A Feminist Novel

Many critics’ view is that The Color Purple is a feminist novel. The African American women felt that they were not included in the Feminist movement of the whites. Unlike the whites, the black women faced racism in addition to the sexism in the community. They were fighting against racism equally along with their men, but at the same time were treated inhumanly by their own male dominated community. The women were abused verbally and physically which made them flimsy non-entities. They had to toil hard for the house-hold as well as for the white masters. They were not educated. The female body also made them frail with many unwanted pregnancies. Poverty and the absence of freedom made them more vulnerable. The white feminist theory did not consider the unique experiences of Black women and their oppression. It leads the African American Women writers to voice out their problems and fight in their own way for these women. Celie in The Color Purple is a symbolic woman who fights for her freedom. This novel does not show a path to follow; instead it is about finding one’s own way and Celie shows it in action. More importantly, Celie’s voice represents the experiences of a generation of black women and possibly certain other women of all nationalities.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Suma Lalit Podnolanna
Research Scholar
Dradvidian University
Kuppam
Andhra Pradesh
India

Postal Address for Correspondence:

203 B Wing, Saileela Apt.
Sector 16, Plot7, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai 410206
Raighad Dist.
Maharashtra
India
suma_adamale@rediffmail.com
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