Overcoming Prejudices and Self Acceptance-the Color Purple

Overcoming Prejudices for Self Acceptance d bingleout Alice Walkers fable, The colouring Purple, the principal(prenominal) char twister, Celie, reveals all of the hardships she has endured during her life. Celie confides in her younger sister, Nettie, and theology to express the way she feels in accredited situations. As the story progresses, Celie flattually sees her junction and breaks away from all the hands who loaded her during her life. For the duration of the novel, prejudice turn overs a reoccurring theme. not only does Celie difference with the orthogonal prejudices of sexism and racism, precisely she also struggles with the subjective prejudices toward herself.By using Celies struggles as an use, Walker teaches the referee that peerless must(prenominal)(prenominal) overcome prejudices in monastic distinguish to accept themselves. Sexism incurs wizard of the main foreign struggles throughout the novel. With the use of the name Mr. __ for Celies husb and, Albert, Walker shows the reader Celies emergence resentment towards him. The use of this name suggests afraid(predicate) effacement of an identity too severe to reveal (Heglar). She begins to show bitterness when she says, I scurry bout, doing this, doing that. Mr. __ sit by the ingress gazing here and there (Walker 43). Celie takes the traditional drift of caring for the house while Mr. _ sits by and tends to his own call for and not the needs of the family. Celies dis same towards him grows throughout the novel as he develops much selfish. Sexism occurs once more(prenominal) with the use of gender roles in Harpo and Sofias kindred. Sofia represents a strong woman who does not let men dominate her. She and Harpo struggle with these roles throughout the novel. Sophia takes on a more masculine roll and Celie describes their arguments as conflict like two mens (Walker 38). Harpo believes that he should eat Sofia because she does not act like Celie in the sense that s he does not transgress in to his e real command.Finally, the use of gender wildness is passed down through the generations. Gerri Bates stated that The act of gender violence is almost pass down from father to son (97). When the conflicts amidst Sofia and Harpo begin, Mr. __ encourages Harpo to beat Sofia so that she will give in to his ways. He uses Celie as an example because she never fights back and remains very obedient. With the use of sexism throughout the novel, Walker shows the reader all of the struggles Celie faced during this age full point and how she overcame them. Racism also becomes a major external struggle during this novel.During this sequence period, whites be the image of higher class citizens. umteen of the women in this novel aspire to case like white women in order to become more sophisticated. The white women of this period period wore an array of bright and vivacious colors that stood out from the rest. Celie describes the barrier amongst the races when she says, Us dress Squeak like she a white woman, only her clothing patch (Walker 95). This acknowledgement depicts the difference amidst the races at the time, and how even though they try to bring Squeak up in society, they couldnt quite reach that take aim because of their race.The role of racism occurs again when the city managers married woman treats Sofias children like animals. While walking around townspeople wizard day, the city managers wife approaches Sofia and her children and begins petting them like animals and saying and much(prenominal) strong white teef (Walker 87) she looks down on the family because of their race and treats them like animals. This again builds the contend between the races and shows that the white race believed that they were top-hole to the black race. The theme of racism contributes to the dapple again with the roles of blacks and whites inside society.When Sofia begins to work for the mayor and his wife, she is discrimina ted against solely for her race. This act is seen when she says, Have you even seen a white someone and a colored sitting side by side in a car, when one of em isnt showing the different how to drive or clean it? (Walker 99). This quotation demonstrates the separation between the races during this time period. The mayors family continually expect her to persuade according to their cultural representations of the black commence (Selzer). Whites and blacks could not create friendships and could not spill unless it was for business purposes.The roles of races play a major role in understanding the attitudes during this time period. With the understanding of the roles that the blacks and whites played in society, one can infer that Celie had to overcome more struggles than what she had originally dealt with in order to anthesis and become herself. In ultimately decision herself at the end of the novel, Celie had to overcome the internal prejudices against herself. With the use of Shug Avery in the novel, Walker displays the hardships Celie must face with her new found sexuality.Because this relationship uses different and new feelings it evokes so fundamental an erotic awakening that Celie believes she was still a virgin prior to it (Hankinson). When Celie begins to have feelings for Shug, they opening out innocent and then become more serious. She describes a night that they played out together when she says, Me and Shug sound asleep. Her back to me, my harness round her waist (Walker 116). Celie begins to will her feelings with Shug to become reality and shows that she does not have the unsure personality that everyone thinks she does.Celie breaks out of her inner prejudices again when she confides in her sister, Nettie. Celie begins to yell at the dinner party table one night when she could no longer take the verbal shout from Mr. __ and stated You took my sister Nettie away from me, I say. And she was the only person love me in the world (Walker 2 02). Celie believed that she could only confide in Nettie and God during difficult times, but she began to see that all of her friendships would help her out in the end to become a strong, strong-minded woman.Lastly, the growth of Celie throughout the novel is shown through all of the women that help her along the go in becoming herself. Although Celie tries to discover herself, Shug Avery and Sophia butler provide the major alternative influences that allow Celie to grow and develop (Heglar). All of the young-bearing(prenominal) relationships throughout the novel help Celie to learn that women do not need men to control their lives. She also commits that women can become self-sufficient and brave without the help from early(a)wise people.With help from all the women in the novel, Celie discovers herself and comes to realize that the support of a man is not necessary in the journey to happiness. By using Celies difficulties as a model, Alice Walker teaches the reader that se lf bankers acceptance comes over time and that one must overcome prejudices in order to find themselves. During the course of the novel, Celie struggles with both internal and external prejudices. In the end she conquers them all and becomes the person that she truly wants to be. She realizes this when she says I am so happy. I got love, I got work, I got money, friends and time (Walker 218).Walker teaches the reader that no matter what other people think, what truly matters is the beauty within and being able to handle ones self in the finish up of situations. Works Cited Bates, Gerri. Alice Walker A vital Companion. Westport, Connecticut Greenwood Press 2005. Print. Hankinson, Stacie Lynn. From Monotheism to Pantheism Liberation from patriarchy in Alice Walkers The color Purple. Midwest Quarterly. 38. 3. Gale, 2003. literary preference Center. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. Heglar, Charles J. Named and Nameless Alice Walkers Pattern of Surnames in The Color Purple. ANQ 13. 1 (Winter 200 0) 38-41. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 167. Detroit Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. inchell, Donna Haisty. Alice Walker. youthful York Twayne Publishers, 1992. Print. Selzer, Linda. Race and Domesticity in The Color Purple. African American Review 29. 1 (Spring 1995) 67-82. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 167. Detroit Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt, Inc. 2003. Print.