22 Feminist theory, to be specific lesbian-feminism, is used to define the
relationship between Celie and Avery Shug. This is to see how lesbian-feminism is portrayed in Celie‘s character and how deep the relationship between Celie and
Avery Shug is. After examining lesbian feminism within Celie‘s character, the researcher
goes further by answering Celie‘s rebellion against society through lesbian feminism. First, the researcher defines society through patriarchy theory. After
that, the researcher uses theory of rebellion to see the characteristics of rebellion against society‘s expectation through her relationship with Avery Shug.
22
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts; they are object of the study, approach of the study, and method of the study. Object of the study presents a physical
description of the novel. Approach of the study describes the approach used to analyze the problems presented in this paper. The third part, method of study, is
the procedure of conducting the research and the steps done in order to analyze the problems.
A. Object of the Study
The object of the research is a novel entitled The Color Purple. The novel was published in 1982 by Harcourt Brace Javanovich and has been reprinted
many times since then. This 244-page novel is a little bit unique, as the format of the novel is in the form of letters. Each chapter is a letter written by the main
character Celie to her sister Nettie and God. There are also some letters written by Netie found in the novel. There are totally 91 letters. Most of the letters to Nettie
are about Celie‘s daily activities and the unfolding events in her life, while
Nettie‘s letters to Celie are about Nettie‘s adventure as a missionary in Africa. Taking place in the southern part of America, the novel tells the story of a
woman named Celie and her endurance to go through her daily activities. Celie goes through various events, from being married to Mr. ____ who discriminates
her as a woman to meeting Mr. ___‘s mistress, Avery Shug, who has changed PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
23 Celie‘s perspective on women. Between those events, major events which affect
Celie also happen , such as meeting her stepson‘s wife Sophie and finding the
hidden letters written by her sister Nettie. As the events unfold, Celie‘s character slowly changes from a meek obedient black wife to an independent woman.
The Color Purple has received numerous adaptations. In 1985, it was adapted into a movie with Stephen Spielberg as its director. The actors were
Whoopi Goldberg, Daniel Glover, and Oprah Winfrey. Although not winning any awards, the movie was nominated in Academy Awards for 11 categories. In
20015, the novel was adapted into a musical performance in Broadway. It was produced by Scott Sanders, Quincy Jones, Harvey Weinstein, and Oprah Winfrey.
The musical performance was nominated for various categories in Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony Awards, winning Best Leading Actress for Tony Awards.
In 2008, a radio adaption of the novel was aired in BBC Radio 4, consisting of 10 episodes with the duration of 15 minutes for each episode. The radio adaption
received Silver Drama Award by Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2009.
B. Approach of the Study
For the problems presented in this paper, there are two kinds of approaches used to analyze the problems. The approaches are sociological approach and
feminist approach. This research uses sociological approach in order to analyze society‘s expectation demanded by society for Celie and see whether the
expectation influences Celie as a character. By using sociological approach, this research sees society and its expectations
as factors for Celie‘s behavior and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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
