Analysis of The Theme Through Female Protagonist Using Feminist Approach in 'The Color Purple'.
ABSTRACT
Tugas akhir ini ditulis untuk memenuhi persyaratan kelulusan di Jurusan
Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Kristen Maranatha.
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya memilih novel karya Alice Walker yang
berjudul The Color Purple.
Melalui karya ini, Alice Walker menggambarkan tentang seorang wanita
yang bernama Celie, pada saat dia masih kecil, Celie mengalami pemerkosaan
yang dilakukan oleh ayah tirinya, dan akibat pemerkosaan tersebut Celie
melahirkan dua orang anak, yang kemudian dijual oleh ayah tirinya. Celie juga
dijual oleh ayahnya kepada seorang tuan, untuk dinikahi dan diperlakukan dengan
sangat buruk. Celie selalu dipukuli jika ia tidak melakukan apa yg diperintahkan
oleh suaminya, tetapi Celie tidak berani melawan terhadap suaminya karena Celie
merasa pantas diperlakukan seperti itu. Sampai Celie bertemu dengan Shug, Shug
membantu merubah cara pandang Celie bahwa suaminya tidak seharusnya
memukul dia dan Celie tidak pantas diperlakukan seperti itu.
Melalui The Color Purple saya mendapatkan gambaran bahwa penindasan
terhadap kaum wanita terjadi karena para wanita hanya diam dan pasrah pada saat
kaum pria memaksakan kehendak mereka untuk diikuti oleh kaum wanita. Hal ini
dapat berakhir apabila para wanita sadar dengan apa yang dialami oleh mereka
selama ini dan memiliki tekad untuk merubahnya. Oleh karena itu saya
iii
Maranatha Christian University
menyimpulkan tema dari novel tersebut adalah “penindasan terhadap kaum wanita
baik dalam keluarga maupun masyarakat dapat berakhir apabila para wanita telah
memiliki paradigma yang berbeda tentang nilai yang dimiliki oleh seorang
wanita.”
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………….….
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………….
ii
ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study ……………………………………..
Statement of the Problem …………………………………….
Purpose of the Study …………………………………………
Methods of Research …………………………………………
Organization of Thesis ……………………………………….
1
3
3
3
4
CHAPTER TWO: KATE MILLET’S THEORY
OF SEXUAL POLITICS ...…………………….
5
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF THEME
THROUGH FEMALE PROTAGONIST
USING FEMINIST APPROACH
IN THE COLOR PURPLE ……..………….
9
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ………………...……………..
21
BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………..
24
APPENDICES:
Summary of The Color Purple ………………………………..
Biography of Alice Walker …………………………………..
25
27
v
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Summary of The Color Purple
The Color Purple is a novel about an Afro-American woman named Celie.
When Celie was 14 years old, she was raped by her stepfather, named Fonso. Celie
has two children from her stepfather, but he sold them. Her stepfather also gives her
away to be married to a man that is only described as Mr.____.
Celie also has a sister named Nettie. Mr.____ is interested in Nettie, but Nettie
always ignores him. It makes Mr.____ upset and he kicks her out of his house, but
Nettie promises that she will always write letters to Celie. Celie always waits for the
letters, but they never come to her, because Mr.____ hides the letters and he never
lets anyone open the mail box.
One day Shug Avery comes to Mr.____’s house. Shug is very sick and Celie
helps her come back to good health. Celie and Shug are always together, and this
makes Celie fall in love with Shug. Other reason for this is Shug always treats Celie
in a good way, while Mr.____ always beats her. One day, Shug finds Nettie’s letter
when she receives letters from the postman. Shug gives the letter to Celie. It really
25
makes Celie happy, because now Celie knows that Nettie is not dead, but that
Mr.____ has hidden the letters.
Her anger has make Celie make a decision that she must leave Mr._____ and
go with Shug to Memphis. In Memphis, Celie starts a business sewing pants. She
becomes a successful woman, while Mr.____’s life becomes messy.
One day Celie gets news that her stepfather dies and he has given the land and
the house to Celie and her sister. Now Celie could come back to her house. Celie also
forgives Mr.____ and they become friends. Mr.____ has learned about life and love
after Celie leaves him. One day Celie gets another letter from Nettie, who says that
she will return from Africa with Celie’s children. Finally Celie could converge with
her family, and this really makes her happy.
26
Biography of Alice Walker
Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton Georgia. She was the
youngest children of Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker and Willie Lee Walker. In 1968,
Alice’s first book of poem titled Once came out and in 1970 Alice published her first
novel after her daughter’s birth.
Alice Walker uses rape, violence, isolation, troubled relationships, multigenerational perspective, sexism and racism as themes in her books. The Color Purple
was published in 1982. This book made her a famous writer, but her book is not only
brought fame but also controversy. Alice was criticized for her negative portrayal of
men in The Color Purple.
In 1989 and 1992, Alice Walker published Temple of My Familiar and
Possessing the Secret of Joy. In these, Walker is using the issue of female
circumcision in Africa, which also brought controversy.
Alice Walker was famous as the writer about the African American woman’s
life. Her works give a big effect to women’s life. Her works also show the difference
and the similarities of women’s condition today and in the past.
Alice Walker is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Zora Neale Hurston,
and her mother. Walker uses her talent to affect all people. Her books also give a
realization that it is possible to change and that we can make a difference.
27
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
For my thesis I choose the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Alice
Walker is a feminist writer and she has written many works about black Americans.
“Her works are known for their portrayals of the African American woman’s life. She
depicts vividly the sexism, racism, and poverty that make that life often a struggle.
But she also portrays as part of that life, the strengths of family, community, selfworth, and spirituality” (Lewis). Lewis, citing Smith states, “No writers have made
the intimate hurt of racism more palpable than Walker” (Lewis).
In my opinion, The Color Purple is an interesting book because it can make
the reader really feel what had happened to the female character, because the narrator
in the book is the female protagonist herself. “The Color Purple helps us to realize
what the members of the black race have been put through in American history,
especially for the black women. Celie as the female protagonist makes us believe that
we become a member of an oppressed race” (Clarke).
1
Maranatha Christian University
Celie is a girl who was raped by her step father. Not only was she raped but
her stepfather also sold her to a man who is called Mr.___. Mr.___ is a rough person.
He married Cellie just because he needs someone to take care of him and his children,
and he always beats Celie if she does not do what he orders. Then one day, Celie
meets Shug, and through her Celie realizes that her husband should treat her better
and that he should not beat her. After this realization, Celie makes a decision that she
must leave her husband, and start her new life without him. At the end of the story,
Celie finally leaves Mr.___. Celie starts her new life; she opens her own business
sewing pants and she lives together with her sister and her daughters.
I wish to analyze the theme of The Color Purple since I find that the theme is
clear in this novel. Besides that, “In fiction the theme is its view about life and how
people behave” (Annenberg Media). Based on this meaning of theme, I intend to
analyze how Celie experiences oppression and how she faces it, until she frees herself
from the oppression and finally gets a better life.
To analyze the theme in The Color Purple I apply the feminist approach,
because I want to connect the female’s protagonist’s life to the theme. I intend to
show that the theme supports the female protagonist’s life. I also use Kate Millet’s
theory to help me understand how the theme is revealed through the female
protagonist. Kate Millet states that one’s culture has a thousand ways to operate
against the female and one’s culture assumes that a man will rule his wife as proof of
being a man (Millet 2). From this theory, I want to relate the theme to what happened
to the female protagonist in the novel.
2
Maranatha Christian University
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problems that I wish to analyze are:
1. What is the theme of the literary work The Color Purple?
2. How is the theme revealed through the portrayal of female protagonist using
feminism?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purposes of this study are:
1. To show the theme in The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
2. To explain how the theme is revealed through the portrayal female protagonist
using feminism.
METHODS OF RESEARCH
In this thesis I apply the method of library research. First, I read The Color
Purple by Alice Walker as primary text, and Sexual Politics by Kate Millet as the
theory. Next, through the references books and Internet sites I obtain more relevant
information about the novel and the theory. Finally, from the information obtained, I
analyze the novel and conclude my analysis.
3
Maranatha Christian University
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
I divide the thesis into four chapters. In Chapter One, the Introduction, I state
the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Methods of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter Two, I
present the theory of Kate Millet. Chapter Three contains the Analysis of Theme in
The Color Purple. Chapter Four contains the Conclusion of the analysis of the literary
work. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices. The Appendices
present the synopsis of The Color Purple, and the biography of the author, Alice
Walker.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having read this novel, I find that the author, Alice Walker, has successfully
conveyed the theme, which is: ‘oppression towards women which is embedded in the
familial and marital institutions can only be ended when women adopt a new
paradigm about women’s values’.
The theme is revealed through the protagonist, Celie. In this story Celie is
described as a passive and submissive woman. When Celie was 14 years old, she was
raped by her stepfather, who also often beats her. Celie does not have the courage to
tell anybody about what her father has done to her, because her mind has been
molded about the dominating role of the father in the family.
After she gets married, her husband also beats her often, and Celie simply
allows this to happen to her. Again, Celie does not have the courage to fight against
her husband because she thinks that she must obey her husband at all times and it is
fine if her husband beats her. Then, one day she meets Shug. Shug helps Celie realize
that her husband does not have any right to beat her. She helps Celie to escape from
the oppression, and suggests to her that she should leave her husband.
21
Maranatha Christian University
At the end of the story, after Celie comes to her realization, she can show her
anger and she is brave to fight against her husband and leave him. Celie changes from
a passive submissive woman into a brave woman. Celie also proves to her husband
that she can be a successful woman without him; she opens her own business sewing
pants, and she can finally live together with her sister and her children again.
I find that the theme is also related to feminism, especially when the novel
talks about the oppressed woman, how she faces the oppression, and how she can
finally find release from the oppression. The protagonist in the novel lives in a
country which adopts the patriarchal system of culture. In the patriarchal system, men
and women have been taught since childhood that men are stronger and more
powerful than women. Because of this, a woman often passively accepts it when her
husband beats her or is rude to her. For example, when Celie’s husband beats her or
treats her badly, Celie does not have any courage to fight him because she thinks that
her husband has the right to do it. Celie does not realize that her husband does not
have any right to treat her like that, or that she could report her husband to the police
when her husband is violent.
I assume that no woman wants to be passively submissive; they just do not
realize that they can have a better life and that all women can be successful if they
have the courage to change their life if they realize that they have in fact experienced
oppression. Celie is a good example for every woman who still lives under
oppression. Therefore, I conclude that oppression towards women which is embedded
in the familial and marital institutions can only end when women adopt a new
paradigm about women’s values.
22
Maranatha Christian University
After analyzing the novel, I find that this novel is an excellent work of Alice
Walker because she has succeeded in portraying a woman who experiences
oppression and how she can faces it. Walker is also successful in describing how the
protagonist changes from a submissive woman into a person who has courage to fight
against her husband. This novel also gives a new vision to women that destiny lays in
their hands, that no one can change the condition except women themselves.
Moreover, I believe that every woman can overcome the oppression and they can also
change their life, if they want to and if they have the courage to start a new life.
Alice Walker uses the first person point of view in her novel The Color
Purple, with Celie as the narrator of the story. By using the protagonist as a narrator,
it makes the novel easy to understand and it makes the readers truly feel what has
happened to Celie. The readers know the events through Celie’s perspective. That is
why Celie’s speeches are mostly used to reveal the theme of the novel. Walker also
writes her novel in a Diary form. By using this form, it is easier for the reader to
understand about Celie’s feelings, and it makes the reader become sympathetic to her.
The Diary also becomes a symbol of Celie’s oppression. Diary becomes the symbol
of how Celie cannot show her feelings openly, except in her Diary, although she
suffers so much in her life. When Celie lives with her stepfather and her husband,
Celie cannot show her feelings or utter what she wants to say. But by using a Diary,
Celie can reveal all of her thoughts and feelings. Walker has skillfully created such an
interesting story that it is worthwhile reading and analyzing this novel.
23
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Internet sites:
Annenberg Media. Theme. 1997-2007. 17 March 2007.
.
Chan, Lean Heng. Feminism and Feminist Movement. 2007. 1 June 2007.
.
Clarke, Patrick M. The Color Purple. 1998-2007. NCTE: National Council of
Teachers of English. 15 February 2007.
.
Lewis, Jone Jhonson. Biography of Alice Walker. 2007. About: Women’s History.
15 February 2007
.
Millet, Kate. Sexual Politics. 1968. 17 March 2007.
.
Millet, Kate. Sexual Politics Chapter 2. 1968. 17 March 2007.
.
24
Maranatha Christian University
Tugas akhir ini ditulis untuk memenuhi persyaratan kelulusan di Jurusan
Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Kristen Maranatha.
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya memilih novel karya Alice Walker yang
berjudul The Color Purple.
Melalui karya ini, Alice Walker menggambarkan tentang seorang wanita
yang bernama Celie, pada saat dia masih kecil, Celie mengalami pemerkosaan
yang dilakukan oleh ayah tirinya, dan akibat pemerkosaan tersebut Celie
melahirkan dua orang anak, yang kemudian dijual oleh ayah tirinya. Celie juga
dijual oleh ayahnya kepada seorang tuan, untuk dinikahi dan diperlakukan dengan
sangat buruk. Celie selalu dipukuli jika ia tidak melakukan apa yg diperintahkan
oleh suaminya, tetapi Celie tidak berani melawan terhadap suaminya karena Celie
merasa pantas diperlakukan seperti itu. Sampai Celie bertemu dengan Shug, Shug
membantu merubah cara pandang Celie bahwa suaminya tidak seharusnya
memukul dia dan Celie tidak pantas diperlakukan seperti itu.
Melalui The Color Purple saya mendapatkan gambaran bahwa penindasan
terhadap kaum wanita terjadi karena para wanita hanya diam dan pasrah pada saat
kaum pria memaksakan kehendak mereka untuk diikuti oleh kaum wanita. Hal ini
dapat berakhir apabila para wanita sadar dengan apa yang dialami oleh mereka
selama ini dan memiliki tekad untuk merubahnya. Oleh karena itu saya
iii
Maranatha Christian University
menyimpulkan tema dari novel tersebut adalah “penindasan terhadap kaum wanita
baik dalam keluarga maupun masyarakat dapat berakhir apabila para wanita telah
memiliki paradigma yang berbeda tentang nilai yang dimiliki oleh seorang
wanita.”
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………….….
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………….
ii
ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study ……………………………………..
Statement of the Problem …………………………………….
Purpose of the Study …………………………………………
Methods of Research …………………………………………
Organization of Thesis ……………………………………….
1
3
3
3
4
CHAPTER TWO: KATE MILLET’S THEORY
OF SEXUAL POLITICS ...…………………….
5
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF THEME
THROUGH FEMALE PROTAGONIST
USING FEMINIST APPROACH
IN THE COLOR PURPLE ……..………….
9
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ………………...……………..
21
BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………..
24
APPENDICES:
Summary of The Color Purple ………………………………..
Biography of Alice Walker …………………………………..
25
27
v
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Summary of The Color Purple
The Color Purple is a novel about an Afro-American woman named Celie.
When Celie was 14 years old, she was raped by her stepfather, named Fonso. Celie
has two children from her stepfather, but he sold them. Her stepfather also gives her
away to be married to a man that is only described as Mr.____.
Celie also has a sister named Nettie. Mr.____ is interested in Nettie, but Nettie
always ignores him. It makes Mr.____ upset and he kicks her out of his house, but
Nettie promises that she will always write letters to Celie. Celie always waits for the
letters, but they never come to her, because Mr.____ hides the letters and he never
lets anyone open the mail box.
One day Shug Avery comes to Mr.____’s house. Shug is very sick and Celie
helps her come back to good health. Celie and Shug are always together, and this
makes Celie fall in love with Shug. Other reason for this is Shug always treats Celie
in a good way, while Mr.____ always beats her. One day, Shug finds Nettie’s letter
when she receives letters from the postman. Shug gives the letter to Celie. It really
25
makes Celie happy, because now Celie knows that Nettie is not dead, but that
Mr.____ has hidden the letters.
Her anger has make Celie make a decision that she must leave Mr._____ and
go with Shug to Memphis. In Memphis, Celie starts a business sewing pants. She
becomes a successful woman, while Mr.____’s life becomes messy.
One day Celie gets news that her stepfather dies and he has given the land and
the house to Celie and her sister. Now Celie could come back to her house. Celie also
forgives Mr.____ and they become friends. Mr.____ has learned about life and love
after Celie leaves him. One day Celie gets another letter from Nettie, who says that
she will return from Africa with Celie’s children. Finally Celie could converge with
her family, and this really makes her happy.
26
Biography of Alice Walker
Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton Georgia. She was the
youngest children of Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker and Willie Lee Walker. In 1968,
Alice’s first book of poem titled Once came out and in 1970 Alice published her first
novel after her daughter’s birth.
Alice Walker uses rape, violence, isolation, troubled relationships, multigenerational perspective, sexism and racism as themes in her books. The Color Purple
was published in 1982. This book made her a famous writer, but her book is not only
brought fame but also controversy. Alice was criticized for her negative portrayal of
men in The Color Purple.
In 1989 and 1992, Alice Walker published Temple of My Familiar and
Possessing the Secret of Joy. In these, Walker is using the issue of female
circumcision in Africa, which also brought controversy.
Alice Walker was famous as the writer about the African American woman’s
life. Her works give a big effect to women’s life. Her works also show the difference
and the similarities of women’s condition today and in the past.
Alice Walker is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Zora Neale Hurston,
and her mother. Walker uses her talent to affect all people. Her books also give a
realization that it is possible to change and that we can make a difference.
27
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
For my thesis I choose the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Alice
Walker is a feminist writer and she has written many works about black Americans.
“Her works are known for their portrayals of the African American woman’s life. She
depicts vividly the sexism, racism, and poverty that make that life often a struggle.
But she also portrays as part of that life, the strengths of family, community, selfworth, and spirituality” (Lewis). Lewis, citing Smith states, “No writers have made
the intimate hurt of racism more palpable than Walker” (Lewis).
In my opinion, The Color Purple is an interesting book because it can make
the reader really feel what had happened to the female character, because the narrator
in the book is the female protagonist herself. “The Color Purple helps us to realize
what the members of the black race have been put through in American history,
especially for the black women. Celie as the female protagonist makes us believe that
we become a member of an oppressed race” (Clarke).
1
Maranatha Christian University
Celie is a girl who was raped by her step father. Not only was she raped but
her stepfather also sold her to a man who is called Mr.___. Mr.___ is a rough person.
He married Cellie just because he needs someone to take care of him and his children,
and he always beats Celie if she does not do what he orders. Then one day, Celie
meets Shug, and through her Celie realizes that her husband should treat her better
and that he should not beat her. After this realization, Celie makes a decision that she
must leave her husband, and start her new life without him. At the end of the story,
Celie finally leaves Mr.___. Celie starts her new life; she opens her own business
sewing pants and she lives together with her sister and her daughters.
I wish to analyze the theme of The Color Purple since I find that the theme is
clear in this novel. Besides that, “In fiction the theme is its view about life and how
people behave” (Annenberg Media). Based on this meaning of theme, I intend to
analyze how Celie experiences oppression and how she faces it, until she frees herself
from the oppression and finally gets a better life.
To analyze the theme in The Color Purple I apply the feminist approach,
because I want to connect the female’s protagonist’s life to the theme. I intend to
show that the theme supports the female protagonist’s life. I also use Kate Millet’s
theory to help me understand how the theme is revealed through the female
protagonist. Kate Millet states that one’s culture has a thousand ways to operate
against the female and one’s culture assumes that a man will rule his wife as proof of
being a man (Millet 2). From this theory, I want to relate the theme to what happened
to the female protagonist in the novel.
2
Maranatha Christian University
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problems that I wish to analyze are:
1. What is the theme of the literary work The Color Purple?
2. How is the theme revealed through the portrayal of female protagonist using
feminism?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purposes of this study are:
1. To show the theme in The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
2. To explain how the theme is revealed through the portrayal female protagonist
using feminism.
METHODS OF RESEARCH
In this thesis I apply the method of library research. First, I read The Color
Purple by Alice Walker as primary text, and Sexual Politics by Kate Millet as the
theory. Next, through the references books and Internet sites I obtain more relevant
information about the novel and the theory. Finally, from the information obtained, I
analyze the novel and conclude my analysis.
3
Maranatha Christian University
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
I divide the thesis into four chapters. In Chapter One, the Introduction, I state
the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Methods of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter Two, I
present the theory of Kate Millet. Chapter Three contains the Analysis of Theme in
The Color Purple. Chapter Four contains the Conclusion of the analysis of the literary
work. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices. The Appendices
present the synopsis of The Color Purple, and the biography of the author, Alice
Walker.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having read this novel, I find that the author, Alice Walker, has successfully
conveyed the theme, which is: ‘oppression towards women which is embedded in the
familial and marital institutions can only be ended when women adopt a new
paradigm about women’s values’.
The theme is revealed through the protagonist, Celie. In this story Celie is
described as a passive and submissive woman. When Celie was 14 years old, she was
raped by her stepfather, who also often beats her. Celie does not have the courage to
tell anybody about what her father has done to her, because her mind has been
molded about the dominating role of the father in the family.
After she gets married, her husband also beats her often, and Celie simply
allows this to happen to her. Again, Celie does not have the courage to fight against
her husband because she thinks that she must obey her husband at all times and it is
fine if her husband beats her. Then, one day she meets Shug. Shug helps Celie realize
that her husband does not have any right to beat her. She helps Celie to escape from
the oppression, and suggests to her that she should leave her husband.
21
Maranatha Christian University
At the end of the story, after Celie comes to her realization, she can show her
anger and she is brave to fight against her husband and leave him. Celie changes from
a passive submissive woman into a brave woman. Celie also proves to her husband
that she can be a successful woman without him; she opens her own business sewing
pants, and she can finally live together with her sister and her children again.
I find that the theme is also related to feminism, especially when the novel
talks about the oppressed woman, how she faces the oppression, and how she can
finally find release from the oppression. The protagonist in the novel lives in a
country which adopts the patriarchal system of culture. In the patriarchal system, men
and women have been taught since childhood that men are stronger and more
powerful than women. Because of this, a woman often passively accepts it when her
husband beats her or is rude to her. For example, when Celie’s husband beats her or
treats her badly, Celie does not have any courage to fight him because she thinks that
her husband has the right to do it. Celie does not realize that her husband does not
have any right to treat her like that, or that she could report her husband to the police
when her husband is violent.
I assume that no woman wants to be passively submissive; they just do not
realize that they can have a better life and that all women can be successful if they
have the courage to change their life if they realize that they have in fact experienced
oppression. Celie is a good example for every woman who still lives under
oppression. Therefore, I conclude that oppression towards women which is embedded
in the familial and marital institutions can only end when women adopt a new
paradigm about women’s values.
22
Maranatha Christian University
After analyzing the novel, I find that this novel is an excellent work of Alice
Walker because she has succeeded in portraying a woman who experiences
oppression and how she can faces it. Walker is also successful in describing how the
protagonist changes from a submissive woman into a person who has courage to fight
against her husband. This novel also gives a new vision to women that destiny lays in
their hands, that no one can change the condition except women themselves.
Moreover, I believe that every woman can overcome the oppression and they can also
change their life, if they want to and if they have the courage to start a new life.
Alice Walker uses the first person point of view in her novel The Color
Purple, with Celie as the narrator of the story. By using the protagonist as a narrator,
it makes the novel easy to understand and it makes the readers truly feel what has
happened to Celie. The readers know the events through Celie’s perspective. That is
why Celie’s speeches are mostly used to reveal the theme of the novel. Walker also
writes her novel in a Diary form. By using this form, it is easier for the reader to
understand about Celie’s feelings, and it makes the reader become sympathetic to her.
The Diary also becomes a symbol of Celie’s oppression. Diary becomes the symbol
of how Celie cannot show her feelings openly, except in her Diary, although she
suffers so much in her life. When Celie lives with her stepfather and her husband,
Celie cannot show her feelings or utter what she wants to say. But by using a Diary,
Celie can reveal all of her thoughts and feelings. Walker has skillfully created such an
interesting story that it is worthwhile reading and analyzing this novel.
23
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Internet sites:
Annenberg Media. Theme. 1997-2007. 17 March 2007.
.
Chan, Lean Heng. Feminism and Feminist Movement. 2007. 1 June 2007.
.
Clarke, Patrick M. The Color Purple. 1998-2007. NCTE: National Council of
Teachers of English. 15 February 2007.
.
Lewis, Jone Jhonson. Biography of Alice Walker. 2007. About: Women’s History.
15 February 2007
.
Millet, Kate. Sexual Politics. 1968. 17 March 2007.
.
Millet, Kate. Sexual Politics Chapter 2. 1968. 17 March 2007.
.
24
Maranatha Christian University