Sisterhood In Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Superior Essays
From the beginning to the end of a novel, a character can go through countless changes; both physical and emotional. However, these transformations are what contribute to improvements in society, growth as an individual, and often times, the strengthening of relationships with others. Through experiencing the good and bad of life, one’s true self and beliefs are revealed. This emergence of inner values and understandings can lead to having a better outlook on life and finding oneself. In her novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker demonstrates the themes of self-discovery and bonds of sisterhood through the perspective of a young African American woman growing up in Georgia during the early 20th century. Alice Walker was born in 1944 in …show more content…
In The Color Purple, Walker uses a very unique format to tell the story of Celie and her sister Nettie; letters. Letter-writing, or epistolary writing, is often used in expressing political, sisterly, and maternal relationships that can also reveal identity and role in society (Jolly n.p.). It is also much more effective in drawing the reader into the story so that he or she understands the feelings of the characters. This is very fitting for telling the story of Celie and her sister, as their sisterly relationship is a significant theme of The Color Purple. In the novel, a majority of the letters are very personal and written to God from Celie’s perspective, and are later switched to Nettie’s viewpoint as she is writing to Celie. This change of narration exemplifies how the bond between them remains strong throughout the story, learning from and helping each other to be a better person, even as they endure hard times (Hamamsy n.p.). Both of the sisters experience problems in their own way, however their differences in interpretations and reactions to these situations are what enable them to offer advice and support one another. From the perspective of Celie, she sees Nettie as a role model and is influenced by her to approach life differently and become a more independent person; Celie’s unbreakable relationship with her sister plays a key part in her own

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In the 1980’s Walker cleverly publicized a new component of racism, one which many are eager to deny and overlook. As an esteemed, award-winning author Walker has published many books and essays dedicated to the topic of race and colorism; The Color Purple, an award winning book written by Walker which was also produced into a film, has many examples of colorism. Celie, the main character of the novel is brutally abused by both her father, and her husband. In the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg, Celie’s father is approached by a man who wants to marry her sister Nettie, instead her father offers Celie to him: “I can let you have…

    • 2014 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    While Emily gets placed in the hospital, Ziggy explains to her father that she “couldn't do anything. [She] didn’t do anything”(213). Considering Ziggy and Emily are best friends, Ziggy’s concerns lead her to believe that the assault could've been avoided if she hadn't lost Emily in the open field. Secondly, The Colour Purple showcases a sisterly bond between the likes of Celie and Nettie. After running away from home, Nettie visits Celie at Misters home and resides for a bit until Mister forces Nettie out.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Celie and Nettie had no choice but to do what they were told. They were both young and easy to coerce. They did not know what was happening to them or why it was happening. Celie adapted well to the way of life her husband wanted her to live. At first she could not cook, clean or do hair but Mister used physical abuse to “train” her.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a dystopian novel that takes the reader on a journey through a future world where books are illegal. The novel outlines the fact that books are important to civilization in many ways, whether it be content, characters, themes, or any important historical foundation that books contain. At the end of the book, the main character, Guy Montag, grabs a few books to save from the firemen, and finds himself amongst a group of homeless book lovers who each have books, or portions of books, memorized where they are safe from the hands of firemen and the government. With the idea of being in Montag’s place and having a choice of which books I would save, I would have chosen The Color Purple, The Wind in the Willows, and The Life of Pi, each for their own unique qualities that would be valuable for future civilizations for historical reference. Rich with gender and racial history, The Color Purple by Alice Walker exemplifies what life was like in the early 1900s for southern African American women.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Color Purple, there is one constant occurrence throughout this fictional masterpiece: abuse. The protagonist, Celie, endures chronic physical, emotional, mental, verbal, and sexual abuse almost her entire life. Celie's constant endurance of multiple types of abuse display the damaging affects of the average African-American woman in the early 1900s. Alice Walker tells the miraculous story of a young African-American woman's survival and journey to discover her individualality through different types of femal relationships during a time of racial segregation and female oppression.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Color frequently appears throughout Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, giving the characters comfort, joy, and satisfaction. Scenes filled with hope, despair, love, and other powerful emotions are associated with the color red. Yet, the color red represents something more significant and painful than other colors. As the characters of Beloved continually illustrate their painful memories and face the present, red represents their emotions, hopes, and loves.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Her young sister, Nettie, always acted as her protector and tried her best to lift Celie’s spirits, but she without Nettie by her side she was always afraid and beaten-down. Nettie was highly intellectual and valued education very much. After she escaped her abusive father Nettie stayed with Celie for a short period of time before she was dragged out by Albert, who did it out in spite of anger of Nettie refusing to bed with him. However in that short period of time she was able to teach Celie the basics of education and how to read. Life went back to its normal routine until Shug Avery arrived.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use” presents a pragmatic perspective of heritage and family. Taking place during the civil rights movement, while centering on the experiences of an African American family, the setting has great relevance in constructing underlying themes. This short story composes a theme which examines social structures part in shaping a person’s identity. Moreover, acknowledging family’s role as a social structure, as well as Walker’s background, will contribute to further analyzing this theme.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    While Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple, which was “the first novel by an African-American woman” to win a Pulitzer Prize which had received controversy over (Gates 2425). The Color Purple is set in the early 1900s in Georgia where a woman named Celie, who writes letters to God and her sister telling about what she is experiencing throughout her life as she finds her independence. Celie encounters several people in her life in which one is she step-son, Harpo, who has trouble stepping into the role of being the dominant male in his marriage. While Harpo’s wife, Sofia, an independent woman who refuses to yield to anyone.…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Color Purple - Historical Fiction Analysis The Color Purple by Allice Walker is a book that was published in 1982, and is set in the timeframe of 1910 to 1940 in Georgia (SparkNotes Editors). The book is written from the first person point of view from a black girl named Celie, and it covers all of the events in her life as she grows up from a little girl to an old woman. Within the book, the content is structured as letters, at first to God, and then as letters between both Celie and her younger sister Nettie. Throughout the book, Celie and Nettie are separated and one main purpose of the book is to show the events and struggle that led to the two sisters finding each other again.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many relationships are formed during the films The Color Purple and Schindler’s List that emphasize the theme of the lesser powered characters gaining power. In The Color Purple there are two major relationships formed with Celie that allow her to gain power. The relationship between Celie and her sister, Nettie, is the first turning point in Celie’s rise to power. When Mister sends Nettie away, it is the first time Celie fought for what she wanted. Also, Celie’s relationship with Shug is the reason why she decided to leave Mister.…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker describes a woman named Celie’s dreary life. Walker argues that in order to be truly happy, one must be self-confident, have love and support from others, and discover their purpose in life. Celie starts to become stronger and happier when she makes a point to be bold and confident. Shug’s love and compassion allows Celie to never doubt herself and make the most of her life. When Celie discovers an occupation that she loves and has a talent for, she feels that she has a true purpose in life and is ecstatic.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sofia In The Color Purple

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Friendships often evolve over time and can be tempered in the fires of conflict. This is particularly true for Sofia and Celie from The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Their friendship is put to the test when Celie advocates for Sofia to be beaten by her husband. When she and her husband fought, they accidentally wrecked a gift from Celie to Sofia: curtains. After reconciling, Celie and Sofia repurpose the curtains into a quilt.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Friendships can be very important to one 's sanity, as often portrayed in the movie. Having a friend will give one strength in themselves and their ideas. One can feel as though they are not alone in a cruel world, especially in a world like that of Celie’s in “The Color Purple”. Celie had two very important friendships throughout the movie that stood as a major influence for her life decisions. One of her closest friends was that of her sister.…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays