24 opinion at the beginning of the novel. Using sociological approach also helped to
understand how society‘s expectation set the standard for Celie and the reason for Celie lowering herself below others. A clearer explanation can be seen from
DiYanni, a scholar, and his statement. DiYanni 1571 states that : ―Sociological
critics emphasize the ways power relations are played out by varying social forces and institutions.‖
The second approach, which is the feminist approach, is an approach which focuses on society and how it is related to the gender assignment in society.
Feminist approach is described as ―…the ways in which literature and other
cultural productions reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women‖ Tyson. By using feminist approach, this
research will see how society in Celie‘s life can be considered as a patriarchal
society and how Celie is marginalized due to the fact that she is a woman and a housewife.
C. Method of the Study
In order to complete the analysis, I used the library research as the method to gather the necessary data for the analysis. After collecting the data, the data was
analyzed according to the theories and approaches explained in chapter 2 and previous section. The primary data for this analysis was the novel The Color
Purple written by Celie Walker, while the minor data to support the analysis were from other sources such as books, journals, internet, online articles, and others.
Some of the books used were: A Glossary of Literature Terms; Criticism and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
25 Literary Theory 1890 to the Present Longman Literature In English Series;
Rebellious Feminism: Camus’s Ethic of Rebellion and Feminist Thought; The
Rebel: An Essay of Man in Revolt; The Hurried Child: Growing Up too Fast too Soon; The Dialect of Sex; Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques
of Interpreting Fiction; Sexual Politics; Understanding Unseen; Living on You Own Terms: What is Real Rebellion; Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies; and
Theorizing Patriarchy. Two journals were used. They are: ―Compulsory
Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence‖ and ―Defining Feminism: A Comparative Hi
storical Approach.‖ An online article related to psychology entitled ―Social Norms‖ was also used in this research.
In analyzing Walker‘s The Color Purple, firstly the researcher read the novel many times to gain deeper understanding about the story of the novel.
While reading, the researcher took notes of the important things in the novel that can be used for the analysis. Second, after gathering the necessary data for the
analysis, then the researcher analyzed the main character Celie based on the approach and the theories with the gathered data as the support for the analysis.
After analyzing the problems, the researcher proposed suggestions for future researchers. Lastly, appendices were provided, containing summary of the
novel, picture of Alice Walker, and biography of the author. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
26
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
There are three sections in this chapter. The first is the description of Celie‘s character. The second is the portrayal of lesbian-feminism in Celie‘s
character, and the third section is a bout Celie‘s rebellion against society through
Lesbian-Feminism.
A. Description of Celie’s Character
This section focuses on the first research question which focuses on Celie‘s character. Celie can be categorized as a major character of the novel. From
the beginning until the end, Celie is thoroughly mentioned and goes through almost all of the events in the book. This is in accordance of Abrams‘ definition of
a main character which stated that major characters are mostly present in most of the events in the novel. For this reason, it can be assumed Celie is a major
character of The Color Purple. Due to the fact that Celie is a major character of the book, it is important to
define her. Being a major character, Celie‘s overwhelming presence in the book plays a pivotal role for both the story and the readers. This is in accordance with
Henkle‘s opinion in his book Reading the Novel. In the book, Henkle claims that major characters need to be given a special attention 1977, p. 87. After all, main
characters are the ones who can change the readers‘ perspective as they progress
through the story. For this reason, it is important to explore Celie‘s character.
