The Color Purple by Robinson

Although I am adamant in my belief that a book or any sort of medium that expresses ideas to an individual is best enjoyed alone, sometimes a reference is needed. Perhaps this reference comes from a friend, a dictionary, or in modern times, the almighty SparkNotes. Not all books are equally able to be understood instantly, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker is an excellent example of this phenomenon. Although I had to reread certain parts of the book many times to properly tell what was happening, I did not once have to use the SparkNotes reference for it. In addition to mere clarification of the plot, SparkNotes also offers analysis, a subject that I predict may come into conflict with my interpretation, and a subject that I plan to focus this blog post on. I am excited to dive into this famous and controversial resource's examination of The Color Purple's deeper meanings.

First off, the title: an ever so important and resonating feature of a book. In The Color Purple, the eponymous color was first brought up when Celie (the protagonist) wants a dress with the color, and later on it is brought up in the context that "...it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it" (Walker). The color itself makes few appearances, but I believe it symbolically represents Celie's desire to break out from the rigid culture of her surroundings. The commentary from SparkNotes on this subject is that "...the appearance of brighter colors indicates the liberation various characters experience" (SparkNotes) and how the concept of colors in general have a deeper meaning in this novel. The color purple itself is simply generalized as one of these brighter colors. SparkNotes does not actually contain a comprehensive title analysis as far as I can tell.

How about "The Power of Narrative and Voice?" SparkNotes first asserts that "Walker emphasizes throughout the novel that the ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings is crucial to developing a sense of self" (SparkNotes). A reasonable conclusion that almost tries to be as unquestionable as possible. And then, "In renaming Celie a “virgin,” Shug shows Celie that she can create her own narrative, a new interpretation of herself and her history that counters the interpretations forced upon her" (SparkNotes). I can see this one I suppose, but I really didn't think the novel was trying to be too overarching at this point. I've just thought it to be mostly literal and referring to sex; at most, it could mean that Celie is a virgin is controlling her life. I think SparkNote's interpretation is trying too hard to make Celie even more of a victim. The reference site concludes this topic by claiming that "Though Walker clearly wishes to emphasize the power of narrative and speech to assert selfhood and resist oppression, the novel acknowledges that such resistance can be risky" (SparkNotes), a statement that once again seems to be generalized and noncombustible. On the flipside, many actions of Celie that asserted her selfhood did not involve narrative or speech—sewing pants, having independent religious beliefs, even sexually arousing herself. And I also think that this interpretation, once again, tries too hard to force Celie as a victim; derivatives of the word "oppress" are very liberally used on the SparkNotes for The Color Purple.

SparkNotes has a lot to say about the importance of gender in The Color Purple. It was an important issue, although I do not recall the word itself ever being used in the book. In any case, what do they have to say? "Throughout The Color Purple, Walker portrays female friendships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories. In turn, these stories allow women to resist oppression and dominance. Relationships among women form a refuge, providing reciprocal love in a world filled with male violence" (SparkNotes). Hmm. I suppose I never considered how many female relationships existed in the book, and I do agree that they seemed to generally be socially uplifting. But I think SparkNotes may be a little too anti-male here. Sure, "a world filled with male violence" is a phrase intended to be powerful and relevant, but leaving it at that does not do the novel justice. Male to female relationships in the story were not all malevolent, such as Celie and Harpo's, Nettie and Samuel's, and arguably Shug and Grady's. And neither was all the violence done by males, although the only physical violence by females that I can remember involved Sofia, a character that is a stereotypical masculine woman. SparkNotes champions this as "The Disruption of Traditional Gender Roles", and goes on to describe "Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity" (SparkNotes) as examples. But is this really that much of a disruption? The archetypes of a strong woman, a sexually independent woman, and an insecure man seem to have their roots from hundreds of years ago. Many of this book's characters are agreeably not culturally "normal," but I am hesitant to praise the book's progressiveness in this aspect.

All things considered, I can (for the most part) align myself with SparkNotes's analysis of The Color Purple. While reading the book, I thought many of the same things, but with considerably less gusto than SparkNotes seems to have. I also think that the SparkNotes analysis may try to be more feminist than I think it should be. Regardless, it was interesting to see what SparkNotes had to say. That being said, I do not plan to use it again, as the non-literature content on the right-hand side disgusted me greatly. So long, SparkNotes; I hope you have legitimately helped those in need.