The Color Purple - Fenneuff

In most fiction books, no matter what the tale is about, there always seems to be the same few characters throughout the story. There’s the protagonist, who usually needs a slight (or not so slight) push in order to reach their full potential. There’s the secretly insecure villain, who actually does have more depth than others suspect. There’s the hero, who comes along and shows the protagonist what they’re missing in life. The characters in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple fit these archetypes to a T.

                Right at the beginning of the story, we’re introduced to the protagonist: Celie. It doesn’t take long to learn that Celie has very little faith in herself and what she can do with her life. In general, she’s much less concerned with her wellbeing; her main focus is the wellbeing of her sister. She tries her hardest to protect her sister from the atrocious acts that her father does to her, but she is soon shipped off to live with the villain due to the wishes of her father. Celie doesn’t necessarily think that her life is horrible or boring, as most of her life (that we know about) has been a rocky road. However, in her letters to God, there is an underlying tone which can be translated into her knowing that her life could be much more enjoyable and introduces her subliminal longing for a better life.

                Shortly afterwe meet Celie, the villain is introduced. Celie does not name this man, instead calling him “Mr. ____” in her letters to God. Mr. ____ seems intimidating, as all villains do, and he certainly is in some aspects, such as how easily he can throw punches at Celie, his wife. Now, this type of behavior is certainly not uncommon in the time frame that this story is set in, but that does not make Mr. ____’s behavior any less horrible. However, like all villains do, Mr. ____ has a secret weakness: Shug Avery. We learn that as evil as Mr. ____ can be, Shug is able to convince him to (mostly) cease the beating of Celie and brings out the happiness in Mr. ____ that causes him to stop being so cruel towards Celie.

                Not only does Shug bring out the good in Mr. ____, she teaches Celie that life can be enjoyable. Shug is the hero: throughout the novel, she teaches Celie what life is about and how to enjoy herself more. She teaches Celie that she can find joy in the midst of her seemingly miserable and monotonous life and marriage. Shug is both a motherly and a friendly figure to Celie: she teaches Celie about the things that Celie never learned from her mother, as well as consoles her and provides advice when she needs it. Shug invites Celie into her world of fun and pleasure, and as she does this, Celie beings to learn about the wonders that the world can hold.

                While authors use archetypes to create a familiar cast of characters that readers can recognize throughout stories, they also use allusions to deeper the reader’s interpretation of the texts. Authors allude to many other ideals, other pieces of literature, or events in order to help the reader connect their works to countless others and make their pieces more meaningful.

                The Color Purple has an abundance of allusions throughout the text. The most prominent one is the allusion to the racial prejudice that occurs in the book. Walker never explicitly explains that during the time period of the book, there is still immense racism going on. Instead, she uses the actions and words of the characters to provide the feelings of racial inequality that are happening in the time that the story is set in.

                Walker alludes to the time period that the story is set in, without ever giving a specific year. She uses Celie’s experiences as a black woman, as well as the traditions of marriage to allow the reader to infer when the story takes place. The way that Celie is treated as a woman and a black person are the biggest hint to when the story takes place. She is made to do much of the work in taking care of children and keeping up with the house, and is also regarded as lesser of a person due to her skin color. While these things are not necessarily rare or untraditional nowadays, they are less common than they were in the 70s and 80s, which is when the story likely takes place. Celie is also handed off by her father to a man that she has no romantic feelings for and has no desire to be with, yet she goes quietly, another thing that is highly uncommon nowadays, but was less uncommon decades ago when the story assumedly takes place.

                Throughout her story, Walker uses classical allusions and archetypes to tell her story. These strategies help the reader obtain a deeper meaning from the story and relate to characters that they can recognize throughout literature.