The Color Purple by Alice Walker touches on gender roles, sexism, racism, domestic violence, and sexuality. Although the book was published more than thirty years ago, all of it’s themes are still relevant today. The most pertinent theme of The Color Purple is sexuality and how it relates to Celie and Shug Avery. Without Shug, Celie would never truly learn about herself and would never know her sexuality.
Until more recently, a woman’s worth was often decided by their husband. In other words, women were often involved in a situation where they could only follow the decisions made by their significant other. The men in Celie’s life used her only for sexual pleasure and household work. Sexual assault is a huge portion of Celie’s life. Celie’s story immediately opens with her being raped by Alphonso, the man …show more content…
Foster’s book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor uses chapter 17, …Except Sex, "When they 're writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they write about sex, they really mean something else," (Foster 152). Alice Walker takes a feminist empowerment approach when showing the change in Celie’s lack of courage. She expresses the theme of men versus women, trying to inform other women that men are committing wrongdoings. Men and women live in the same communities but history shows that men have mistreated women especially within families. Walker emphasizes this part of the relationship between Celie and Shug in order to express to women that it’s beneficial to communicate abuse instead of hiding it. Celie is told to explore her body and upon her exploration becomes excited about her sexuality. Eventually their relationship leads to sex, but it is very evident that the relationship between Celie and Shug is more than just a sexual adventure. It is through their relationship that Celie learns to love not only others but
Until more recently, a woman’s worth was often decided by their husband. In other words, women were often involved in a situation where they could only follow the decisions made by their significant other. The men in Celie’s life used her only for sexual pleasure and household work. Sexual assault is a huge portion of Celie’s life. Celie’s story immediately opens with her being raped by Alphonso, the man …show more content…
Foster’s book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor uses chapter 17, …Except Sex, "When they 're writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they write about sex, they really mean something else," (Foster 152). Alice Walker takes a feminist empowerment approach when showing the change in Celie’s lack of courage. She expresses the theme of men versus women, trying to inform other women that men are committing wrongdoings. Men and women live in the same communities but history shows that men have mistreated women especially within families. Walker emphasizes this part of the relationship between Celie and Shug in order to express to women that it’s beneficial to communicate abuse instead of hiding it. Celie is told to explore her body and upon her exploration becomes excited about her sexuality. Eventually their relationship leads to sex, but it is very evident that the relationship between Celie and Shug is more than just a sexual adventure. It is through their relationship that Celie learns to love not only others but