LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 18:2 February 2018
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.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
         Dr. S. Chelliah, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Postmodern Prayer and Its Significance in Alice Walker’s
The Color Purple

Dr. R. Vasanathan
Dr. Khriereizhünuo Dzüvichü



Abstract

The Color Purple, the epistolary novel by Alice Walker which sprang up in the literary arena in 1982, has been celebrated since then and crowned with the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and also the National Book Award for Fiction. Though the novel has been subject to severe criticism for its explicitness in sexual descriptions, violence, and handling of homosexuality, the element of bringing in God as the addressee has given complete freedom for her as the author and thereby has limited the readers to the job of eavesdropping communication. Her inexorable and unequivocal overflow sustained from the address to ‘God’ in the context, has displayed a perception balanced with privacy for the readers. On the other hand, Alice Walker has also mentioned in her introduction to the work in the 2014 edition that the work itself has not been frequently discussed on its spiritual appeal and relevance. This study aims at analysing the freehand that the author received because of the conceived privacy while communicating to God and at the same time unveiling the postmodern attributes in her description and cry to the audience of God. Her spirit to bring the picture of God with her epistolary communication and discussion in the novel forms the base of this study.

Keywords: God, Relationship, Conversation, Postmodernism, Difference, Existence

Introduction

The study on nature by Descartes and his views on human freedom and the existence of a supreme exert a powerful intellectual pull on us even today. Descartes finds that the emblematic content of the idea of God, which he finds inside him, “is so great that it cannot have originated from inside his own (imperfect) mind, but must have been implanted there by an actual perfect being, God” (Cottingham, 8). Interestingly in the context of the novel The Color Purple, we are intended to look upon the possibility of the “imperfect mind” which forms the base for entertaining an argument related to God in the post-modern world. Francis Schaeffer in his work "The God Who Is There" proposed the term “line of despair.” Generally thought process starts with philosophy, continues with art and music, saturates the culture, and then gradually seep into theology (Schaeffer, 28). Though it remains a preferred topic to discuss, its relevance in a novel of the postmodern world, to have a universal appeal with a secular tone is not an easy task. Alice Walker has been successful in bringing about such a conversation in The Color Purple and has created a perceptible audience in the postmodern world. It was possible for her because of the following artistic maneuvers:
1. The uncomplicated reflection on God by an“ imperfect mind”
2. The portrayal of God as a friend of the oppressed and friendless
3. Keeping God above and beyond religion


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


Dr. R. Vasanathan M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Department of Humanities
Kristu Jayanti College
Bengaluru 560077
Karnataka
India
vasanthleut@gmail.com

Dr. Khriereizhünuo Dzüvichü M.A., Ph.D.,
Assistant Director
Educational Research & Training Development
RICE-MMS
Hosur 635114
Tamilnadu
India
khrienuodzuvichu@gmail.com


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