All over the world, many different races have experience persecution and discrimination, but the racism felt by African-American throughout the history of the United States has been a topic of close discussion, debate, and study. In the novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker discusses the connection between religion and the African-American experience in the 1930s, also the topic of the poem “Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen. While Cullen seems to put aside the questions his experiences raised, favoring the traditional blind acceptance of a divine will, Walker’s characters develop a greater understanding of their faith as a result of their trials, and become stronger for it. After surviving a life of pain and abuse, Celie, the main character
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Nettie traveled for many years in Africa, and after experiencing many joys and sorrows and terrors with a close-knit village, and ultimately began to view God in a way similar to her sister. She claims to be free from an image of God, describing Him as “more spirit...and more internal” than she previously believed (Walker 257). While Nettie didn’t experience the same racism and power ploys in Celie’s life, she saw more natural horrors, such as disease and violence. Yet, the girls developed their faith in almost the same way, viewing God as a natural, parental sort of figure rather than an all-powerful and “awful” being, as said by Cullen (11). This view helped Nettie to cope with all that happened in Africa, and aid the tribe with their trials and endeavors under European Colonization. It seems to be Walkers belief that Africans all over the world, from many backgrounds, do not need an image to follow or praise, but rather a loving and powerful force to guide and protect them. By detailing the personal experiences and religious growth of her characters in The Color Purple, Alice Walker reveals a new way of approaching Catholicism based upon the struggles of African-Americans, while Countee Cullen approaches this same topic with traditional beliefs in God’s great and indeterminable will. These varying points of
Nettie traveled for many years in Africa, and after experiencing many joys and sorrows and terrors with a close-knit village, and ultimately began to view God in a way similar to her sister. She claims to be free from an image of God, describing Him as “more spirit...and more internal” than she previously believed (Walker 257). While Nettie didn’t experience the same racism and power ploys in Celie’s life, she saw more natural horrors, such as disease and violence. Yet, the girls developed their faith in almost the same way, viewing God as a natural, parental sort of figure rather than an all-powerful and “awful” being, as said by Cullen (11). This view helped Nettie to cope with all that happened in Africa, and aid the tribe with their trials and endeavors under European Colonization. It seems to be Walkers belief that Africans all over the world, from many backgrounds, do not need an image to follow or praise, but rather a loving and powerful force to guide and protect them. By detailing the personal experiences and religious growth of her characters in The Color Purple, Alice Walker reveals a new way of approaching Catholicism based upon the struggles of African-Americans, while Countee Cullen approaches this same topic with traditional beliefs in God’s great and indeterminable will. These varying points of