Alice Walker - The Color Purple (1982)

 Who is Alice Walker? 

Alice Walker is a widely known novelist, essayist, and poet. Her most recognized work is the 1982 novel The Color Purple, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 and was later adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg. In addition, Alice Walker is also well-known for her activism. 

·In 1982, Walker's third novel, The Color Purple, was published, marking the beginning of her career as a writer. The novel, set in the early 20th century, examines the experiences of African American women through the life and challenges faced by its narrator, Celie. Celie endures horrifying and terrible physical and emotional mistreatment, first from her father and then from her husband. This work made her earn the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983.

Important quotes from the novel:

- "He act like he can’t stand me no more. Say I’m evil an always up to no good. He took my other little baby, a boy this time. But I don’t think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man an his wife over Monticello. I got breasts full of milk running down myself. He say Why don’t you look decent? Put on something. But what I’m sposed to put on? I don’t have nothing. I keep hoping he fine somebody to marry. I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I’ll take care of you. With God help." (page 10):  Celie's complicated marriage to her husband  exposes the many levels of emotional neglect and abuse she endures. Her story demonstrates institutional misogyny, in which a woman's value is determined by her capacity to have children and comply with gender norms

- "He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them." (page 12): The way patriarchal authority aims to suppress female autonomy and expression is demonstrated by Celie's fear of retribution for an imaginary transgression. A rejection of patriarchal structures is demonstrated by Celie's preference to confide in women rather than men, which suggests the camaraderie and freedom that women can find in one another.

-"Well, next time you come you can look at her. She ugly. Don’t even look like she kin to Nettie. But she’ll make the betterwife. She ain’t smart either, and I’ll just be fair, you have to watch her or she’ll give away everything you own. But she can work like a man" (page 14): Echoing themes of commodification in relationships, this statement exposes the expectations placed on women by society to fulfill particular roles and adhere to particular physical standards. 

-"I spend my wedding day running from the oldest boy. He twelve. His mama died in his arms and he don’t want to hear nothing bout no new one. He pick up a rock and laid my head open. The blood run all down tween my breasts. His daddysay Don’t do that! But that’s all he say. He got four children, instead of three, two boys and two girls. The girls hair ain’tbeen comb since their mammy died." (page 16): Celie's dual roles as a caregiver and a victim of sexual assault highlight the connections between maternal responsibility and gendered violence. There is a cycle of violence throughout the family that places women in traumatizing situations that they must overcome by developing resilience.

-"I think what color Shug Avery would wear. She like a queen to me so I say to Kate, Somethinpurple, maybe little red in it too. But us look an look and no purple. Plenty red but she say, Naw, he won’t want to pay forred. Too happy lookin. We got choice of brown, maroon or navy blue. I say blue. I can’t remember being the first one in my own dress. Now to have one made just for me." (page 20): Shug is a symbol of empowerment who inspires Celie to see herself beyond the constraints imposed on her, and that is why she begins to explore her individuality and emotions through her relationship with Shug Avery and by developing an interest in fashion. 

-"You ever hit her? Mr. _____ ast. Harpo look down at his hands. Naw suh, he say low, embarrass. Well how you spect to make her mind? Wives is like children. You have to let ’em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating." (page 29):  In this quote we see the acceptance and normalization of domestic abuse in patriarchal systems. Here we see how women are considered more like objects to be controlled than like sentient beings. 

."Every time they ast me to do something, Miss Celie, I act like I’m you. I jump right up and do just what they say. She look wild when she say that, and her bad eye wander round the room. Mr. _____ suck in his breath. Harpo groan. Miss Shug cuss. She come from Memphis special to see Sofia. I can’t fix my mouth to say how I feel. I’m a good prisoner, she say. Best convict they ever see. They can’t believe I’m the one sass the mayor’s wife, knock themayor down. She laugh. It sound like something from a song. The part where everybody done gone home but you." (page 55): Sofia's defiance to oppression is an illustration of the spirit of feminism and defiance to social norms. When women address the systematic inequalities in their life, they can find strength in one another, as seen by her defiance in the face of oppression. 

-"My mama die, I tell Shug. My sister Nettie run away. Mr. _____ come git me to take care his rotten children. He never astme nothing bout myself. He clam on top of me and fuck and fuck, even when my head bandaged. Nobody ever love me, Isay." (page 65): Here we see Celie's statements of worthlessness, which result from the systematic abuse and neglect she has suffered throughout her life. 

-"There is a way that the men speak to women that reminds me too much of Pa. They listen just long enough to issueinstructions. They don’t even look at women when women are speaking. They look at the ground and bend their headstoward the ground. The women also do not “look in a man’s face” as they say. To “look in a man’s face” is a brazen thing to do. They look instead at his feet or his knees. And what can I say to this? Again, it is our own behavior around Pa!"(page 85): In this quote we see the cycle of violence that women suffer under a patriarchal framework. Celie's analysis of men's treatment of women reveals a profound awareness of oppressive and dehumanizing social norms.

-"You should just see how they make admiration over them. Praise their smallest accomplishments. Stuff them with palmwine and sweets. No wonder the men are often childish. And a grown child is a dangerous thing, especially since, amongthe Olinka, the husband has life and death power over the wife. If he accuses one of his wives of witchcraft or infidelity, she can be killed". (page 87): We see here the infantilization of grown men and how dangerous they become once they are accostumed to having everything done around the house for them and how they even have the power to make women get killed. 

Beautiful quote upon how Celie thinks she is worthless of love and doesn't value her physical appearance: 

-"Sometimes I think Shug never love me. I stand looking at my naked self in the looking glass. What would she love? I astmyself. My hair is short and kinky because I don’t straighten it anymore. Once Shug say she love it no need to. My skindark. My nose just a nose. My lips just lips. My body just any woman’s body going through the changes of age. Nothingspecial here for nobody to love. No honey colored curly hair, no cuteness. Nothing young and fresh. My heart must be young and fresh though, it feel like it blooming blood." (page 122)

This is due to the way she is perceived by men and the way they mistreat her and not value her:

-"You’ll be back, he say. Nothing up North for nobody like you. Shug got talent, he say. She can sing. She got spunk, he say.She can talk to anybody. Shug got looks, he say. She can stand up and be notice. But what you got? You ugly. You skinny.You shape funny. You too scared to open your mouth to people. All you fit to do in Memphis is be Shug’s maid. Take outher slop-jar and maybe cook her food. You not that good a cook either. And this house ain’t been clean good since my first wife died. And nobody crazy or backward enough to want to marry you, neither." (page 102)