WOMAN'S PROBLEMS AND THE STRUGGLES AGAINST MAN DOMINATION AS REFLECTED IN THE COLOR PURPLE
A THESIS
BY
ZEN ELVIA BR BANGUN REG. NO. 110705047
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
WOMAN'S PROBLEMS AND THE STRUGGLES AGAINST MAN DOMINATION AS REFLECTED IN THE COLOR PURPLE
A THESIS
BY
ZEN ELVIA BR BANGUN REG. NO. 110705047
SUPERVISOR CO-SUPERVISOR
Dra. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum. Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M.Hum. NIP. 195707201983032001 NIP. 196302161989031003
Submitted to Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara Medan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra from Department of English
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
MEDAN 2015
Approved by the Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara (USU) Medan as thesis for The Sarjana Sastra Examination.
Head, Secretary,
Accepted by the Board of Examiners in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra from the Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara,Medan.
The examination is held in Department of English Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara on Monday JULY 13, 2015
Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara
Dr. Drs. H.Syahron Lubis, MA NIP.19511013 197603 1 001
Board of Examiners
Drs. H. Muhizar Muchtar, MS. ………...
Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, M.A., Ph.D. ………...
Dra. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum. ……...
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION
I, ZEN ELVIA BR BANGUN DECLARE THAT I AM THE SOLE AUTHOR OF THIS THESIS EXCEPT WHERE REFERENCE IS MADE IN THE TEXT OF THIS THESIS. THIS THESIS CONTAINS NO MATERIAL PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE OR EXTRACTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FROM A THESIS BY WHICH I HAVE QUALIFIED FOR OR AWARDED ANOTHER DEGREE. NO OTHER PERSON’S WORK HAS BEEN USED WITHOUT DUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN THE MAIN TEXT OF THIS THESIS. THIS THESIS HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED THE AWARD OF ANOTHER DEGREE IN ANY TERTIARY EDUCATION.
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TITLE OF THESIS :WOMAN'S PROBLEMS AND THE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, the writer want to thank to the Almighty God for giving the health, the strength, and the ability to the writer to finish this thesis and for every bless and every answered prayer.
Secondly, the writer want to thank to the Chief of English Department, H. Muhizar Muchtar, M.S, and the secretary of English Department, Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, M.A. Ph.D who have given the writer an opportunity and support to make and to finish this thesis. The writer is also very thankful to her great supervisor, ... and her co-supervisor ... for their help, guidance, understanding, contribution, and all of the advice and the motivation that have been given to the writer to improve this thesis until she can finish the thesis properly. and then the writer want to thank to Mrs. Tika as the administrator staff of English Department for all of her help and contribution in finishing the administration matters.
Especially, the writer want to deliver a big thanks and a big appreciation to her beloved parents; Mr. John Bangun and Mrs. Tarianna Sembiring and her brothers and sister; Robert Bangun, Ardo Rado Bangun, and Sofia Bangun. Thank you so much for everything Dad, Mom, Brothers and Sister, for all your unconditional love, pray, moral support, and material support in writer's life and in finishing this thesis.
Special thanks to the writer's lover, Muhammad Jarot Prayitno, S.S. The one who is always be in writer's side from the beginning to the end of the process of writing of this thesis to help, to support, to motivate, to accompany, and to give some inspiration to the writer. Thank you so much for all that you have done and you have shared in this moment and for the love that you have given in writer's life.
Then, the writer do not forget to thank to her friends, 011 batch, especially to Shinta Dwiliana Hutabarat, Verina Afra Zahirah and Dedhad Nughraha Manurung. Thank you for your support in completing and finishing this thesis, and thank you so much for every moments and laugh that we have shared in these four years, Guys.
writer very welcome if there are critics from the reader that is sent to her to make her to be better in writing in the future.
Medan, JULY 13, 2015 The Writer
ABSTRAK
Woman's Problems and the Struggle Against Man Domination as Reflected in The Color Purple adalah sebuah skripsi yang membahas tentang kehidupan seorang wanita yang bernama Celie yang mana juga merupakan tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut. Dalam skripsi ini dibahas mengenai apa saja yang menjadi masalah Celie selama hidupnya, menjadi seorang anak yang sejak kecil dibawah tekanan dominasi laki-laki dan bagaimana perjuangan Celie menghadapi masalahnya dan bagaimana pula peran wanita-wanita disekitarnya dalam membantu dan mendukungnya untuk berjuang melawan dominasi laki-laki sampai akhirnya Celie berhasil menjadi seorang wanita yang memiliki emansipasi dan mendapatkan kebebasannya. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam menganalisis skripsi ini adalah metode kualitatif yang mana metode ini menggambarkan dan menganalisis data dari novel dan kemudian memberikan beberapa interpretasi dan penjelasan. Dari hasil analisis, penulis memperoleh kesimpulan bahwa pria dan wanita seharusnya memiliki kedudukan yang sama agar tidak ada lagi para wanita yang tertindas di bawah tekanan dominasi laki laki.
ABSTRACT
Woman's Problems and the Struggle Against Man Domination as Reflected in The Color Purple is a thesis that discusses the life of a woman named Celie which is also the main character in the novel. What Celie problem during her lifetime, being a child who since childhood under the pressure of male domination and how Celie struggles to face her problems and how the role of women around her to help and to support her to struggle against man domination until she finally successes to become emancipated woman and gets her freedom . The method used in analyzing this thesis is a qualitative method which this method describes and analyzes the data from the novel and then give some interpretations and explanations. From the analysis, the author takes the conclusion that men and women should have the same position so that no more women are under pressure of male domination.
TABLE OF CONTENT
SUPERVISOR'S APPROVAL SHEET...
DEPARTMENT APPROVAL SHEET...
BOARD EXAMINERS' APPROVAL...
AUTHOR'S DECLARATION ...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...
ABSTRAK ...
ABSTRACT ...
TABLE OF CONTENT ...
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ... 1
1.2 Problem of the Study ... 8
1.3 Objective of the Study ... 8
1.4 The Scope of the Study ... 8
1.5 Significance of the Study ... 8
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 10
2.2 First-Wave Feminism ... 13
2.3 Second-Wave Feminism ... 14
2.4 Third-Wave Feminism ... 14
2.5 The History of Feminism Theory ... 15
2.6 Theory of Feminism ... 17
2.7 Types of Feminism ... 19
2.7.1 Liberal Feminism ... 20
2.7.2 Radical Feminism ... 20
2.7.3 Socialist and Marxist Feminism ... 21
2.8 Woman's Problems as Reflected in Celie ... 21
2.9 Hermeneutics Theory ... 23
CHAPTER III METHOD OF RESEARCH ... 25
3.1 Research Design ... 25
3.2 Data Collection ... 26
3.3 Method of Data Analysis ... 26
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ... 28
4.1 Celie's Problems ... 28
4.1.2 Celie's Physical Abuse ... 31
4.1.3 Celie's Psychological Abuse ... 33
4.1.4 Lack of Education ... 35
4.2 Sisterhood and It's Role in Celie’s Struggle Toward Man Domination... 37
4.3 Celie's Struggle ... 44
4.3.1 Education ... 44
4.3.2 Celie's Struggle for Her Physical and Economic Freedom ... 45
4.3.3 Celie's Struggle for Her Spiritual Freedom ... 47
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 50
5.1 Conclusion ... 50
5.2 Suggestion ... 51
REFERENCES ... 52
ABSTRAK
Woman's Problems and the Struggle Against Man Domination as Reflected in The Color Purple adalah sebuah skripsi yang membahas tentang kehidupan seorang wanita yang bernama Celie yang mana juga merupakan tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut. Dalam skripsi ini dibahas mengenai apa saja yang menjadi masalah Celie selama hidupnya, menjadi seorang anak yang sejak kecil dibawah tekanan dominasi laki-laki dan bagaimana perjuangan Celie menghadapi masalahnya dan bagaimana pula peran wanita-wanita disekitarnya dalam membantu dan mendukungnya untuk berjuang melawan dominasi laki-laki sampai akhirnya Celie berhasil menjadi seorang wanita yang memiliki emansipasi dan mendapatkan kebebasannya. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam menganalisis skripsi ini adalah metode kualitatif yang mana metode ini menggambarkan dan menganalisis data dari novel dan kemudian memberikan beberapa interpretasi dan penjelasan. Dari hasil analisis, penulis memperoleh kesimpulan bahwa pria dan wanita seharusnya memiliki kedudukan yang sama agar tidak ada lagi para wanita yang tertindas di bawah tekanan dominasi laki laki.
ABSTRACT
Woman's Problems and the Struggle Against Man Domination as Reflected in The Color Purple is a thesis that discusses the life of a woman named Celie which is also the main character in the novel. What Celie problem during her lifetime, being a child who since childhood under the pressure of male domination and how Celie struggles to face her problems and how the role of women around her to help and to support her to struggle against man domination until she finally successes to become emancipated woman and gets her freedom . The method used in analyzing this thesis is a qualitative method which this method describes and analyzes the data from the novel and then give some interpretations and explanations. From the analysis, the author takes the conclusion that men and women should have the same position so that no more women are under pressure of male domination.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Writing with the purpose of changing people‘s pessimistic views about women of achieving gender equalities and denouncing the injustices inflicted to women became the main goal for feminist writers and activists. They aimed at creating a world, at least in literature, where women would be able to live as individuals. Women often depicted as the inferior gender, a passive object that could not survive on its own and that could do nothing for itself. Women, in literature, could only exist through the eyes, minds and lives of men but never for themselves. Beautiful and obedient, they could never think on their own. They were obliged to occupy a secondary place in the male's world not because of their capacities but rather because of imposed cultural and social forces. This representation led to deny women's dignity and even worse their identity.
The history of patriarchy reveals a variety of injustices women suffered from. They represented, in a way, the oppressed class that had always been subject to men‘s domination through male self-interest and had been prevented from full development as human beings. Sexism, under patriarchy, was the norm that ruled gender relationships for men were in control of everything.
assumption that a woman is under a man. Men are culturally different from women. Physically, men are strong while women are weak. Men’s nature is rude and women’s is gentle. Men’s idea is always authoritative and women’s is dependent. Men are always active and become determiner while women are only passive and become receiver. There are many more things that can show the women are in the secondary place. like a woman should stay at home to cook, look after the children and serve her man, and then a woman should keep in silence when a man speaking. These issues finally cause women to start questioning this kind of gender inequality and struggling to fight against the superiority of men, called Feminism.
Feminism is a phenomenon in the society. In discussing feminism, people will talk about women. Feminism is a kind of social changing which derives from women’s suffrage movements in the nineteenth century in Europe and America. It is closely related to the social changing of gender issues. Mary Wollstonecraft, the first feminist who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), encourages woman writers to insert feminism in their literary works. Finally, feminism has been widely spreading.
The term feminism can also be used to describe a political, cultural, or economic movement that is aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political, cultural and sociological theories, as well as philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference. It is also a movement that campaigns for women’s rights and interests.
from others. But all the definition is almost same in the main point. Here the writer is going to put some definition of the most popular feminist in the world.
• Estelle B. Freedman (2003:285) said in his book ‘No Turning Back’: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are
necessary to achieve equality between woman and man.”
• Rosalind Delmar (1986:13) said in her book ‘What is feminism’ that :“Feminism is usually defined as an active desire to change women’s position in society.”
• Christina Hoff Sommers (1994: 22) said, in the book ‘Who Stole Feminism’ that : “a concern for women and a determination to see them fairly treated” • Ratna (2004:184): "Dalam pengertian yang paling luas, feminisme adalah
gerakan kaum wanita untuk menolak segala sesuatu yang
dimarginalisasikan, disubordinasikan, dan direndahkan oleh kebudayaan
dominan, baik dalam bidang politik dan ekonomi maupun kehidupan social
pada umumnya." (In its broadest sense, feminism is a women’s movement
which rejects the marginal, subordinated and underestimated things by the dominating culture either in politics, economics or social life in general). • Awuy (2002:1) in his essay Feminisme di Persimpangan Jalan states:
"Feminisme merupakan sebuah fenomena kultural. alasan kemunculannya
ialah berdasarkan ketidakpuasan terhadap realitas yang dianggap sebagai
konstruksi patriarkal". (Feminism is a cultural phenomenon of unsatisfactory
Feminism has finally changed traditional perspectives in a wide range of area in human’s life. Many feminist activists have campaigned for women’s legal rights such as rights of contract, property rights, and voting rights. Nowadays they are also promoting women’s rights to bodily integrity and autonomy, abortion rights, and reproductive rights. They have struggled to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape. On economic scopes, feminists have advocated for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay. In addition to that, they also fight against other forms of gender specific discrimination against women.
The reason of why feminism exists is because the patriarchal construction has subordinated and repressed the essence of women during the last decades. In a patriarchal society, men have the power, dominate social or cultural systems, and have authority over women and children. Men’s superiority, which is also supported by the culture, finally creates significant injustice as portrayed in Alice Walker's novel 'The Color Purple' which become one of the problems of the study that will be discussed in this thesis.
Alice Walker an American author and activist who excelled in literature often emphasize in her works the importance of regaining feminine entity, self-esteem, fulfilling self-realization and achieving sexual awareness. The concern of black women, the impact of racism and sexism as well as their impact on black women were the main themes of these black writers. In their fiction, the female characters are able to change, to progress and excel in all aspects of life. (en.m.wikipedia.org)
Americans…” (Bell, 1987: 269). She is African-American writers. “This is evident in the way that Walker has passed on some of Southern heritage in her fiction” (Lauret, 2000: 96).
Alice Walker‘s epistolary novel, " The Color Purple is one of the best literary works that clearly illustrate the sufferings of African-American women from patriarchy, sexism and racism. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. The Color Purple is the story of Celie, a poor, barely literate Southern black woman who struggles to escape the brutality and degradation of her treatment by men” (Gates, Jr-Appiah, 1993: 16). Walker’s novel The Color Purple published in 1982 begins with the scene of rape. When the protagonist of the novel, “…Celie is 14…stepfather, whom she believes is her father, begins to rape her…” (Walker, 1996: 50) She cannot tell this trauma to anybody. At first, her stepfather starts to do this when her mother is not at home. Then he says “…you better shut up and git used to it” (Walker, 1985: 3). Celie’s expressions show how difficult position she stays. “But I don’t never git used to it. And now I feell sick used to it. I be the one to cook. My mama she fuss at me an look at me. She happy, cause he good to her now. But too sick to last long” (Walker, 1985: 3).
The reason of significance of the Celie’s rape scene is that there is not a race issue. Celie is black and her stepfather is black, as well. This incident displays that being a member of a black family is dangerous for a female. These facts are the representatives of a black female’s life. Celie is demonstrated “…the black woman as oppressed …”(Evans, 1984: 163)
The Color Purple does not only describe but even goes beyond that purpose. In fact, Alice Walker‘s true intention from writing this novel is not only to give voice to black women but also to provide them with a path to be followed in getting their freedom. Walker shows us the evolution of her major character, Celie, from being a sexually abused child to a passive wife and finally to an emancipated woman. Emancipation is any of various effort to procure economic and social right, political right or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emancipation
(Hooks 1984:44) Celie's relationship with these women helps Celie to achieve spiritual freedom and gain economic freedom. The Color Purple may be fiction, but it would be a very powerful and wonderful way to teach moral development as we see the main character Celie.
The analysis underlying this paper assumes that Celie, the protagonist, is able to free herself through writing letters and with the help of women around. Thus, close attention is given to sisterhood, this magic and strong female relationship that gives Celie physical, spiritual and mental strength in order to get rid of males' oppression. Her sister Nettie, her stepdaughter Sofia and her close friend Shug are of great help and support in her emancipation. In addition, the central character, Celie, expresses herself through writing letters. Pouring her sufferings down into a paper is a therapy that enables her to survive and even to liberate herself.
More importantly, the novel offers a model of inspiration for women‘s struggle against man domination.
1.2 Problem of the Study
In this analysis, there are questions that need to be answered :
1. How are Celie's problems portrayed in the novel "The Color Purple" ?
2. How are Celie's struggle for her freedom from man's domination ?
1.3 Objective of The Study
Based on the problem of the study above, the objective of the study are :
1. To identify the problems that cause Celie suffer deeply
2. To describe celie's struggle for her freedom from man's domination
1.4 The Scope of The Study
As limitation of further analysis in this thesis, scoping the main cause of the problem will be needed to prevent wider analysis in the thesis. The scope of the study is only focused to the main character problems that consist of sexual abuse, physical abuse, Psychological abuse, uneducated and the struggle of achieving her freedom without the description about any other character of the novel.
1.5 Significance of The Study
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Background of Feminism
Human civilization is made by and for both the man and woman. They both live here in a coordinated social system. Both the species have their own right and needs to live with modest admiration. But the history of human society does not tell us the equivalent existence of both man and woman. Man always dominate on women and women had no way to complaint against it. But in time gradually a change come into women’s brains and they understood that they need to be conscious about their own right. So women move up their voice against women oppression. To do so they had no way but to take some practical actions. All these actions are known as women’s movement against oppression. And the scheme to achieve the goal is called feminism.
way that it seems the women are by nature and from the beginning of the history were in this oppressed and subjugated position.
French philosopher “Rousseau” in his book Social Contract (Book I : Chapter II )said “Man is born free, but everywhere they are in chains” This comment is completely true for women in society. By nature women born free, but continue their life as a subject of men in society.
How the free and lively women turn into men’s subject, how their relation to men positioned against nature, how women become inferior to men is some unanswered questions in society which have no clear and dependable evidence. In almost all the civilizations women gradually lost their power and men took the power. Men turned all in one in the society. Men did it by a special social system known as patriarchy.
Patriarchy is such a type of society where male control of the public and private worlds and everything done according his will. Patriarchy is the structuring of society on the basis of welfare of the family and have the authority of his family. The concept of patriarchy is often used by extension (i the expectation that
first words ofEn archē ("In the beginning"). However, archē is also use things.
Different scholars defines Patriarchy from their own point of view. Allan G. Johnson said in his ‘The Gender knot’ (1997, 2005: 14) that - “Patriarchy is an obsession with control as a core value around which social life is organized. As with
any system of privilege that elevates one group by oppressing another, control is an
essential element of patriarchy: men maintain their privilege by controlling women
and anyone else who might threaten it.” Elizabeth Cady station said in her ‘The
Women’s Bible’ (1895) that - “Women was made after man, of man and, for man, an
inferior being, subject to man.” Sylvia Walby said in her ‘Theorizing Patriarchy’
(1990 : 19) that -“A system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women.”
is good for society as its definitely defined by nature and the natural relationship between men and women.
2.2
First-wave feminism refers to a period of "first-wave," was coined retrospectively after the term
2.3
Second-wave feminism refers to a period of early 1960s & lasting through the late 1980s. Second Wave Feminism has existed continuously since then, and continues to coexist with what some people call Third Wave Feminism. The second wave feminism saw cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked. The movement encouraged women to understand aspects of their own personal lives as deeply politicized, and reflective of a power. If first-wave feminism focused upon absolute rights such as suffrage, second-wave feminism was largely concerned with other issues of equality, such as the end to discrimination.
this case, Rebecca Walker published an article in a 1992 issue of Ms. titled "Becoming the Third Wave" in which she stated, "I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the third wave." Hill and Thomas’ case brought attention to the ongoing presence of sexual harassment in the workplace and reinstated a sense of concern and awareness in many people who assumed that sexual harassment and other second wave issues had been resolved. The history of Third Wave feminism predates this and begins in the mid 1980s. Feminist leaders rooted in the second wave like voice. They sought to negotiate prominent space within feminist thought for consideration of race related subjectivities. This focus on the intersection between race and gender remained prominent through the Hill-Thomas hearings, but began to shift with the Freedom Ride 1992. This drive to register voters in poor minority communities was surrounded with rhetoric that focused on rallying young feminists. For many, the rallying of the young is the emphasis that has stuck within third wave feminism.
2.5 The History of Feminist Theory
A feminist is to advocate or to support the right and equality of women. Hooks, Bell. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Pluto Press.
The history of differed in causes, goals, and intentions depending on time, culture, and country, most Western feminist historians assert that all movements that work to obtain (or do not) apply the term to themselves.
Matricentricity, as a rejection of of capitalis having a number of phases. The first she calls "feminist critique" - where the feminist reader examines the ideologies behind literary phenomena. The second Showalter calls "the language; the trajectory of the individual or collective female literary career [and] inscription and the literary effects of the model has been criticized by account of the situation for women outside the west.
2.6 Theory of Feminism
Feminism is defined diferent by different feminist. They define feminism according their own point of view. As they think differently so their definition too is different from others. But all the definition is almost same in the main point. Here the writer is going to put some definition of the most popular feminist in the world.
• Estelle B. Freedman (2003:285) said in his book ‘No Turning Back’: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are
necessary to achieve equality between woman and man.”
• Rosalind Delmar (1986:13) said in her book ‘What is feminism’ that :“Feminism is usually defined as an active desire to change women’s position in society.”
• Christina Hoff Sommers (1994: 22) said, in the book ‘Who Stole Feminism’ that : “a concern for women and a determination to see them fairly treated” • Ratna (2004:184): "Dalam pengertian yang paling luas, feminisme adalah
gerakan kaum wanita untuk menolak segala sesuatu yang
dimarginalisasikan, disubordinasikan, dan direndahkan oleh kebudayaan
dominan, baik dalam bidang politik dan ekonomi maupun kehidupan social
pada umumnya." (In its broadest sense, feminism is a women’s movement
which rejects the marginal, subordinated and underestimated things by the dominating culture either in politics, economics or social life in general). • Awuy (2002:1) in his essay Feminisme di Persimpangan Jalan states:
"Feminisme merupakan sebuah fenomena kultural. alasan kemunculannya
konstruksi patriarkal". (Feminism is a cultural phenomenon of unsatisfactory
to the reality of patriarchal construction).
From above definitions it’s clear to us that feminism is a doctrine, a thought, a movement that tell us the oppressed position of women in the world, it is such a philosophy in where women’s worked are valued and their political, economic and social rights are preserved. Feminism is for women’s equality in world. It let the women to prove their power to work in the same rhythm of men in society.
Feminism has altered predominant perspective in a wide range of areas within Western society, ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal right (rights of contract, property rights, voting rights); for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape; for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and against other forms of gender-specific discrimination against women. Simone de Beauvoir wrote that " The first time we see a woman take up her pen in defense of her "sex" was Christine de Pizan who wrote Epitre au Dieu d'Amour (Epistle to the God of Love) in 15th century. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Modesta di Pozzo di Forzi worked in the 16 century. Marie Le Jars de Gournay, Anne Bradstreet and Francois Poullain de la Barre wrote during the 17th ".
2.7 Types of Feminism
multiracial feminism, post-colonial feminism, third-world feminism, new age feminism, post-structural feminism, post-modern feminism, etc. But in this thesis, the writer only use three types of feminism in analyzing the problem of Celie; the main character in " The Color Purple". They are liberal feminism, radical feminism, multiracial feminism and socialist feminism which the definition of each will be explained below.
2.7.1 Liberal Feminism
Liberal feminism asserts the equality of men and women through political and legal reform. It is an individualistic form of feminism, which focuses on women's ability to show and maintain their equality through their own action and choices. Liberal feminism uses the personal interactions between men and women as the place from which to transform society. According to liberal feminists, all women are capable of asserting their ability to achieve equality, therefore it is possible for change to happen without altering the structure of society. Issues important to liberal feminists include reproductive and abortion rights, sexual harassment, voting, educati bringing to light the frequency of sexual and domestic violence against women.
2.7.2 Radical Feminism
responsible for oppression and inequality, and that, as long as the system and its values are in place, society will not be able to be reformed in any significant way. Some radical feminists see no alternatives other than the total uprooting and reconstruction of society in order to achieve their goals.
2.7.3 Socialist and Marxist Feminism
exploitation, oppression and labor. Socialist feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses upon both the public and private spheres of a woman's life and argues that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression. Socialist feminists think unequal standing in both the workplace and the domestic sphere holds women down. Socialist feminists see prostitution, domestic work, childcare, and marriage as ways in which women are exploited by a patriarchal system that devalues women and the substantial work they do. Socialist feminists focus their energies on far-reaching change that affects society as a whole, rather than on an individual basis. They see the need to work alongside not just men but all other groups, as they see the oppression of women as a part of a larger pattern that affects everyone involved in the capitalist system.
2.8 Woman's Problems as Reflected in Celie
expected. In this thesis will be analized about woman's problems as reflected in Celie, the main character of The Color Purple which her problems are focused on her sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and lack of education.
The use of physical force or or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation", but acknowledges that the inclusion of "the use of power" in its definition expands on the conventional meaning of the word. This definition involves intentionality with the committing of the act itself, irrespective of the outcome it produces. However, generally, anything that is excited in an injurious or damaging way may be described as violent even if not meant to be violence (by a person and against a person).
There are nine distinct forms of violence and abuse: Physical violence, Sexual violence, Emotional violence, Psychological violence, Spiritual violence, Cultural violence, Verbal abuse, Financial abuse, and neglect. But in this thesis will only discuss about the sexual abuse, physical abuse, and psychological abuse associated with Celie's problem which the definition of each will be explained below:
Physical violence is an act of a person involving contact of another person intended to cause feelings of
Psychological abuse which also referred to emotional abuse or mental abuse is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_abuse)
2.9 Hermeneutics Theory
Hermeneutics is the theory of text interpretation, especially the interpretation of very different approaches to social explanation since the nineteenth century, and they differ most fundamentally over a distinction between explanation and understanding or cause and meaning (von Wright 1971). This distinction divides over two ways of understanding a why question when it comes to social events. Why did it happen? may mean : what caused it to happen? or it may mean : why did the agents act in such a way to bring it about?.
CHAPTER III
METHOD OF RESEARCH
3.1 Research Design
Burns and Grove (2003:195) define a research design as “a blueprint for conducting a study with maximum control over factors that may interfere with the validity of the findings”. Parahoo (1997:142) describes a research design as “a plan that describes how, when and where data are to be collected and analyzed”. Polit et al (2001:167) define a research design as “the researcher’s overall for answering the research question or testing the research hypothesis”.
There are several types of research design, They are: Qualitative, Quantitative, Correlation/Regression Analysis, Quasi-Experimental, Experimental, and Meta-Analysis. But in this thesis the main source of the analysis especially the data is taken from the novel "The Color Purple" written by Alice Walker. According to the objective of the analysis, the method that the writer used in this analysis is Qualitative Method.
in which they live”. Researchers use the qualitative approach to explore the behavior, perspectives, experiences and feelings of people and emphasize the understanding of these elements.
3.2 Data Collection
In collecting the data the writer read the whole story of the novel to get more understanding about the novel. Underlined the important parts of the novel especially some information about the leading character conflicts that found in the novel. Most of the data presented in this thesis is to support the analysis that is relevant to collected sentences for the novel. Other significant information is from literature books and some other books related to the topic such as the theory of literature by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren. The writer choose this book because the writer think the story of literature by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren could support any idea in case of discussing conflict in the novel.
The primary source, the writer explains some sentences and conflict found in the novel. Secondary sources the writer collect the data from some book, article and internet to collect the data.
3.3 Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
4.1 Celie's Problems
Celie, as the main woman character in The Color Purple is an African-American woman who suffers oppressions from her patriarchal family and being sexual, physical, and psychological abuse child.
Basically, family is where people usually share love and care. The members of a family usually support each other. In this novel, however, Celie's family is more like a burden for its members, especially for Celie. She doesn't feel comfort in her own home and neither does her sister. In addition, Celie's family is patriarchal. It means that women are only more subordinated to men. Women are expected to do all the things what has been said by men while men are more superior who take the domination in their life. In this novel Celie is a very unlucky daughter because her step father has raped her twice although she is just fourteen years old. She is forced to get used to it as she can't resist it. She feels hurt. She can't do anything to save her life because she doesn't have any power to resist him. Celie's narration is focused on her own private life without any reference to the outside world. Her family however is never the safe heaven that protects its members against the evils of society, but it is a male dominated world full of domestic violence.
share every single feeling in her heart and every single moment happened in her life. And this point is important, Celie is not complaining to God. She simply needs to talk to someone, someone whom she loves and trusts and someone who she feels loves her. Celie's instinct for survival, however, is more solid than even Celie realizes.
4.1.1 Celie's Sexual Abuse
Celie is a sexual abuse child. She was victimized and raped by the man who she believed was her father in her fourteen years old when her sick mother went to see the doctor. Celie's Pa tries to find a substitute in Celie, when her mother doesn't respond to his sexual advances. Consequently when she is at fourteen year old, She is raped by her Pa repeatedly.
He never had a kine word to say to me. Just say you gonna do what your mammy wouldn.t (The Color Purple, 1992 P. 3)
Soon after, Celie‘s mother dies and Fonso rapes Celie more and more often. Her father impregnates her twice and takes away the children after they are born allowing her to believe that he killed them, and sells them in town. .
He took it (The Baby). He took it while I was sleeping. Kilt it out there in the woods. Kill this one too, if he can." (The color purple, 1982 p. 4)
be taboo. to show some kind of respect, she shortens the name as Mr. for her husband.
The word "Mr." culturally refers to higher position given to a man. It implies gap sense between position of "Mr." contra "Mrs." The word "Mrs." refers to lower sense which organizes domestic matter. home service is woman's affair while outside of home is the world of "Mr." or man. Such a contrast comes to exist because of patriarchal dominance. Man has been culturally treated as stronger creature compared to a woman. if the "Mr." is strong and rational enough, the "Mrs." is in contrast, weak and emotional. to say simply, woman is dependent on man.
Celie's narration of her moments of marital sexual involvement with Albert in which the conjugal act assumes the form of rape.
Mr. __come git me to take care of his rotten children. He never ast me nothing bout myself. He clam on top of me and fuck and fuck, even when my head bandaged. Nobody ever love me. I say." (The Color Purple, 1992, p.103)
The quotation above show us that Albert just take the advantage of Celie's body like her step father did. He do it with Celie without love. He never thinks about Celie's condition. He never cares of her. He do it just to satisfy his sexual appetite. He do it again and again and never care whether Celie likes it or not or she wants it or not.
4.1.2 Celie's Physical Abuse
Celie's disability to counter alone the dominance of man has brought her into deep misery. her step father's bestial behavior seems untouchable because he always beats and rapes her. this kind of bad action has shown kind of disrespect as an adopted father towards the adopted daughter. the father has turned into monster for the young girl, Celie. she becomes frustrated without any power to fight back. it happens so because she has wrongly been educated by misunderstanding the power of man under patriarchal system.
As the name suggests, physical abuse is a kind of torture to the body physically. It can be done through kicking, slapping, beating, punching and so on in order to make the target accept the torture naturally. it happens so because the target is regarded weak and powerless. The example of such kind of physical abuse is when Celie has been accused to wink at a boy in a church.
Dear God,
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." (The color purple, 1982 p. 7)
Celie loves other more than she loves herself. She always protects her little sister from the cruelty of her stepfather, Fonso.
I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I'll take care of you. With God help." (The color purple, 1982 p. 5)
"Dear God,
I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy sick. But he just ast me what I'm talking bout. I tell him I can fix myself up for him. I duck into my room and come out wearing horsehair, feathers, and a pair of our new mammy high heel shoes. He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway. (The color purple, 1982 p. 9)
From the quotation above we can see that Celie In order to save Nettie from the cruelty of Fonso, she quietly takes her own sexual and physical abuse.
For Celie, life with Mr._____ is not better than life with her father. Celie also gets bad treatment just like her stepfather did to her. She gets physiscal abuse. On a day that should be celebrated with love and passion, Mr._____ beats his new wife, Celie, on their wedding day. Furthermore, his violent streak has been passed onto his children, for they also taunt and beat her. One child throws a stone at her head, causing her to bleed. It can be seen from the quotation below:
Dear God,
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 breast. (The color purple, 1982 p. 14)
why his father beats Celie, Mr._____ informs him that beating a wife is a manly and husbandly duty. He beats her because she is his wife, and furthermore because he think that she is stubborn. It can be seen from the quotation below:
Dear God
Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr._____ say, cause she my wife. Plus, she stubborn. All women good for - he don't finish. He just tuck his chin over the paper like he do. Remind me of Pa. (The color purple, 1982 p. 23)
The quotation above show us that in his mind, there are proper and reasonable reasons for such brute violence. In here the oppression of women can be seen. Essentially, Mr.__ beats Celie because he has no respect for her. Patriachy system is applied here. Caught in this loveless marriage Celie is confronted with nothing more than a continuation of what she has already experienced throughout her childhood. In the face of a dominant master-like husband, she has to fulfil the role of some kind of servant or slave always being at his disposal and if not working or caring for his children, satisfying his sexual needs.
4.1.3 Celie's Psychological Abuse
violence victims exhibit long-term psychological consequences including depression, withdrawal, lack of self-esteem and affection, as well as a higher tendency to commit suicide beyond her interactions with Albert. She rarely smiles, nor does she speak to houseguests. A victim taking the inactive approach feels that the best method of dealing with the abuse is simply enduring it (Eisikovits, Pg. 846). When Albert slaps, hits, or pushes her, Celie responds by avoiding eye contact and using a lower voice.
what good it do? I don’t fight, I stay where I’m told. But I’m alive. (The color purple, 1982 p. 22).
From the quotation above we can see that Celie shows a common case in which a woman lacks the self-confidence to escape her husband’s physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. A study performed by the fact that sexual abuse causes learned helplessness. Their study supports previous work showing that, in addition to learned helplessness, sexual abuse causes low self-esteem, anxiety, and dissociation. In turn, women who develop these symptoms become more susceptible to future victimization (Breitenbecher & Gidycz, p. 19). Celie displays her own learned helplessness, saying, "I don’t know how to fight."
I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree. That’s how come I know trees fear man. (The color purple, 1982 p. 23).
can bear all the sorrows inflicted upon her just like when she talks to Nettie, before leaving from her husband's home, she says:
It worse than that, I think. If I was buried, I wouldn't have to work. But I just say, Never mine, never mine, long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along. (The Color Purple, 1982 p. 19).
From the quotation above, we can see that the life of Celie is worse than if she is buried. But she tries to always be strong to overcome all of her problem as long as God with her.
Although other women around her like Sofia and Shug Avery tell her that she has to fight in order to improve her situation and to make Mr_____ recognize that he cannot treat her that way, Celie stays passive victim of her environment.
How bad the situation is for Celie becomes obvious as she states that living this way with Mr____ and his children.
No men think that Celie is important. Celie always be a passive object that could not do something to help herself from the patriarchy. She is always abused throughout her life, being sexual abused child and passive wife make her suffering all the time until finally there are things that encourage Celie 's struggle against male domination.
4.1.4 Lack of Education
struggle to hold on despite all of the multiple horrors of her life. For the example, we can see the quotation below:
• My mama dead. She screaming and cussing. She scream at me. She cuss at me. (The color purple, 1982 p. 4)
Actually, Celie want to write My mama dead. She screaming and cursing, She scream at me. She curse at me.
• But I don't think he kilt it. (The color purple, 1982 p. 5) Actually, Celie want to write But I don't think he killed it
Celie is not allowed to go to school by her stepfather. she received education by learning what her little sister was teaching her. It was believed that if the blacks were kept uneducated then they would be ignorant about their rights and would not fight for freedom. The letter that gives a proof that Celie is not permitted to go to school is:
The first time I got big Pa took me out of school. He never care. That I love it. Nettie stood there at the gate holding tight to my hand. I was all dress for first day. You too dumb to keep going to school, Pa say. Nettie the clever on in this bunch. But Pa, Nettie say, crying, Celie smart too. Even Miss Beasley say so. Nettie dote on Miss Beasley. Think nobody like her in the world. (The Color Purple, p. 11).
From the quotation above, it is implied that Celie is one of the examples of contemporary African-American women who was not permitted to go to the school. As Olinkas stated, “A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something,” (The Color Purple, p. 140). So, it is evident that the condition of African
Fortunately, Miss Beasley and Nettie privately teach and coach Celie but it is difficult for her to learn because both her physically and emotionally beaten by her abuse.
4.2 Sisterhood and It's Role in Celie’s Struggle Toward Man Domination
In The Color Purple, women bonding and sisterhood play an important role in Celie‘s struggle process. "Feminist movement must align under a common banner, that "sisterhood" will strengthen and increase feminist exposure" (Hooks 1984:44). Ranging from her sister Nettie to her daughter in law Sofia and to her husband‘s mistress Shug, Celie is able to transform her life and free herself both physically and spiritually with the help of these women.
Female ties take many forms: some are motherly or sisterly, some are in the form of mentor and pupil, some are sexual, and some are simply friendships. Sofia claims that her ability to fight comes from her strong relationships with her sisters. Celie‘s ties to Shug bring about Celie‘s gradual redemption and her attainment of a sense of self.
In her writings, Walker always emphasizes the importance of sisterhood in black women‘s emancipation. She sees the possibility of empowerment for black women if they create a community of sisters that can alter the present-day unnatural definitions of woman and man.
Men tend to understand sisterhood as a form of rejection and retaliation by women against men. Actually, sisterhood has to do more with spiritual, physical and material help that women provide to each other. It is a way to clear away the obstacles
For the emancipation and empowering of women. As far as the novel is concerned, this common help between women tends to be incomprehensible by men. Mr. _____ also confesses to Celie that he never understood how Celie and Shug got along so well together; this shows that sisterhood is something special to women that only women can understand and share.
In the novel, we have many examples of sisterhood that link women with each other. The very first signs of sisterhood can be seen in Celie and Nettie. The two sisters live within a family where affection is totally absent. With a violent rapist father and a sick mother, Nettie is able to provide Celie with moral comfort. When Nettie notices that Celie is frequently beaten by her husband, she urges her to fight him. She also urges her to fight against Mr.___‘s children by showing them a good lesson and letting them know who is the upper hand.
Don't let them run over you, Nettie say. You got to let them know who got the upper hand
They got it, I say.
But she keep on. You got to fight. You got to fight. (The co1or purple, 1982 p. 18)
And what surprise me when a little girl opened the door and she had your eyes set in your face. (Walker, 1982 p. 114)
The lady you met in town is name Corrine. The little girl's name is Olivia. The husband's name is Samuel. The little's boy name is Adam. (Walker, 1982 p. 115)
Corrine and Samuel have a wonderful marriage. Their only sorrow in the beginning was that they could not have children. And then, they say, 'God' sent them Olivia and Adam. I wanted to say, 'God' has sent you their sister and aunt, but I didn't. Yes, their children, sent by 'God' are your children, Celie. And they are being brought up in love, Christian charity and awareness of God. And now 'God' has sent me to watch over them, to protect and cherish them. To lavish all the love I feel for you on them. It is a miracle, isn't it? And no doubt imposibble for you to believe. (Walker, 1982 p. 119)
From the quotation above, we can see from Nettie‘s letter, Celie gets to know for the first time that her two children, who she has lost when they are just born, now stay with Nettie, and that they are living a happy life with Nettie and are receiving good education. The good news of the two children provides Celie, a poor mother, with a strong spiritual strength and sustains her to survive in the especially hard time. Moreover, Nettie is always the hope in Celie‘s life.
Celie regards Nettie as the perfect model of a girl. She describes Nettie to Shug when She wants to know about Nettie.
Yes, Lord, I say. Smart as anything. Read the newspapers when she was little more than talking. Did figures like they was nothing. Talked real well too. And sweet. There never was a sweeter girl. Eyes just brimming over with it, She live me too, I say to Shug. (Walker 1982 p. 108)
from Nettie for years, she cherishes with the hope that Nettie is still alive and they can meet again someday.
Celie, in her turn, is of great help and support to Nettie. In absence of parental affection, Celie plays not only the role of a sister but also the role of a substitute mother. Celie offers herself to her stepfather preventing thus Nettie from being abused. When the two sisters are later separated from each other, this affectionate sisterhood continues to tie both sisters providing them a hope of survival during the harshest living moments of their existence, it can be proved by Nettie continuously writing letters to Celie and Celie never stopped hoping for the arrival of the news of her sister. However, upon discovering Nettie's letters, Celie finds a new desire to live because her sister is still alive.
Sofia Butler, Celie‘s step-son‘s wife, is another woman who becomes a good model for Celie. She is a fat woman with big legs. She grows up in a family of men and learns that only by fighting she can survive.
All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers; I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain‘t safe in a family of men. (Walker, 1982 p. 39)
Celie‘s first meeting with Sofia happens when Sofia comes to ask Albert‘s permission of her marriage to Harpo. At first sight, Celie is surprised by Sofia‘s strong and confident appearance
She bout seven or eight months pegnant, bout to bust out her dress. Harpo so black he think she bright, but she ain't that bright. Clear medium brown skin, gleam on it like on good furniture. Hair notty but a lot of it, tied up on her head in a mass of plaits. She not quite as tall as Harpo but much bigger, and strong and ruddy looking, like her mama brought her up on pork.. (Walker, 1982 p. 31)
From the quotation above, we can see that Sofia is not as beautiful as Harpo told to Celie. Albert rejects their request and even insults Sofia about her pregnancy, to Celie‘s astonishment, Sofia does not submit to him. She says to Harpo:
Naw, Harpo stay here. When you free, me and the baby be waiting. (Walker, 1982 p. 32)
Sofia‘s bravery moves Celie greatly. Sofia is an alien who is absolutely contradictory to the woman image Celie is familiar with. Sofia gets married to Harpo regardless of their parents‘ objection.
Sofia keeps her independent characteristics, if she talking when Harpo and Mr._____ come in the room, she keep right on. If they ask where something at. She said that she don‘t know and keep talking.. (The color purple, 1982 p. 35) But this
kind of relationship between wife and husband is not allowed in the male-dominated social system.
You ever hit her? Mr._____ ast. (The color purple, 1982 p. 35)
From the quotation above, we can see that Albert cannot tolerate Sofia‘s thinking too much of herself. He instigates Harpo to beat Sofia. Even Celie, who grows up in pain and maltreatment, being unconscious of her oppression, also suggests that he should beat Sofia when he consults her how to make Sofia become subservient to him. When Sofia learns that Celie has urged Harpo to beat her, she reveals how terribly betrayed she feels. When Sofia asks Celie why she treats her like this, Celie explains:
I say I‘m a fool, I say it cause I‘m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can‘t. (The color purple, 1982 p. 38)
This reveals that Celie admires the rebellious spirit that Sofia has. After Sofia learns that Celie always keeps silent but to tell to God about her suffering, Sofia gives her a suggestion:
You ought to bash Mr._____ head open, she say. and think bout heaven later. (The color purple 1982 p. 40)
From the quotation above, we can see that Sofia teaches Celie against the patriarchy. Sofia makes Celie realize that women can be independent, strong and courageous, which saves Celie from her humiliating position and paves the way for a new free self. So after an honest exchange of viewpoints between them, misapprehension is dispelled and the similar experiences from their families bring them closer. Since then, Celie and Sofia become friends who rely on and help each other throughout the rest of the novel.
from the one with Nettie or Sofia. In fact, if Nettie is considered as the hope that sustains Celie alive and Sofia the rebellious spirit that encourages Celie to fight, Shug is seen as the affectionate mother and sexual mentor for Celie.
Shug Avery is at first a friend to Celie, eventually a lover, but has always a subtly guiding "mothering" influence that, like the mothers of Walker‘s "generations" enables Celie to evolve into an independent, self-actualized woman, no longer accepting the conditions that have enslaved her. Celie has always been deprived of maternal affection and Shug, like a mother, protects Celie from the beatings of her husband Albert.
I won't leave, she says, until I know Albert won't even think about beating you. (The color purple, 1982 p. 72)
From the quotation above we can see that Shug stays at Albert‘ s house and does not leave until she becomes sure that he will not even think about beating Celie again. Shug becomes the angel by Celie's side that helps her pave the first steps towards independence.
Shug Avery was a women. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more prettier than my mama. She bout ten thousand time more prettier then me. (The color purple, 1982 p. 8)
Shug saying Celie. Miss Celie. And I look up where she at. She say my name again. She say this song I'm bout to sing is call Miss Celie's song. Cause she scratched it out of my head when I was sick. (The color purple, 1982 p. 70)
First time somebody made something and name it after me. (The color purple, 1982 p. 70)
From the quotation above, we can see that for the first time, Celie is aware of being respectable. At the beginning of the novel, we can notice that Celie lacked in her life a female model who would help her to assert herself. However, through her observance of Shug and their interaction, Celie gets the strength she needs to restructure herself.
4.3 Celie's Struggle
4.3.1 Education
A woman should have an education to prepare herself for a better life. Since Nettie has accepted formal education, she is deeply influenced by her teacher, Miss Beasley, who has her own independent ideas and rebellious consciousness, which helps Nettie to shape her own consciousness and ideas. To Celie, Nettie has always been like a teacher. Nettie teaches Celie how to read, how to write, how to spell and everything she thinks Celie needs to know. No matter in what kind of situation, Nettie never gives up any opportunity to inform Celie what is going on in the world.
corresponding places in order to keep Celie from being an illiterate. This ability to read and write taught by Nettie enables Celie to pour out her bitterness in letters.
4.3.2 Celie's Struggle for Her Physical and Economic Freedom
Celie who always get physical violence from the men around her getting strength from the women around her. Her sister, Nettie ask Celie to fight, "Don't let them run over you, Nettie say. You got to let them know who got the upper hand."
(The color purple, 1982 p.18), and her first letter against man domination from the
man around her. Nettie has a very important role in Celie's Life. From the beginning of the novel, Nettie is the one who loves celie so much. Nettie always says "You've got to fight and get away from Albert, He ain't no good." (The color purple,1982
p.114). But when Celie and Netie separated, she looks Sofia for her inspiration.
Sofia is the wife of Harpo who serves as an example of independent woman. She is a strong woman who at first intimidated Celie but after getting to know each other they become friends and support each other in the other. Sofia encourages herself by fighting back against men's domination. and tell her not to become like her mother who lives under her father's feet, who never fought for herself.
Virginia Woolf says in her essay A Room of One‘s Own that "if a woman wants to write novels, she must have money and a room of her own.”(Woolf : 52)
That is to say, economic freedom is the medium that enables a woman to do things according to her own will and thus is a crucial condition for her total emancipation.
From the quotation above we can see that Celie is poor and has no something to wear. Working day and night in the house and fields for several years, Celie has nothing under her name. When she is married, it is Celie and her step-son Harpo who work in the fields, but the product belongs to the master of the family, Albert. Celie's poverty makes her stay in an inferior family position. She likes wearing her favorite color, the purple or a little red in it, but she is forbidden to do so, because her husband won‘t want to pay for her.
Fortunately, Shug Avery is a great woman who has a deep influence in celie's life. She teaches Celie how to step upon her own feet. This relationship makes Celie self confident and develop her ability to appreciate her, and to discover whatever is valuable around her. It is due to Shug Avery's influence that Celie leaves Mr. ___, her husband, and by the end of the novel at this point, it could be interpreted exclusively on the ground of feminist ideology in which, Celie can strongly fight back against her husband who says: “You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman, Goddam, you nothing at all.” (The Color Purple, 1982 p. 187) when she decides to
go to Memphis. In this very moment Celie's consciousness starts growing, she remarks “I'm pore. I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook. But I am here” (The Color Purple, 1982 p. 187).
Company. Sofia also does not hesitate to help Celie in her new business. Finally Celie becomes an economically and socially empowered woman.
I am so happy, I got love, I got work, I got money, friends, and time. And you alive and be home soon. With our children. (The Color Purple,1982 p. 194).
When women obtain economic independence, they gain freedom of thinking, because they do not depend on men any more. Celie manual labor becomes a creative artistic activity, in which she discovers her wisdom and artistic beauty, and realizes her self-confidence. As she sits on Shug's dining room floor, visualizing herself made pants; she begins to trust in her own creativity and her own existence as a vital, contributing member of society.
Celie's economic freedom in The Color Purple indicates the turn-around point within her life. It strengthens her life's meaning and gives her a position within society. Moreover, her new business "Folkspants Unlimited Company" provides her with the means to go out and discover the world on her own without waiting for others to interpret it to her.
4.3.3 Celie's Struggle for Her Spiritual Freedom
In her novel, Alice Walker shows us that spiritual freedom is an important component of self-definition. In fact, throughout the novel, the naive and childlike Celie's faith is subjected to many changes and revisions as the novel progresses.
color purple, p.175) In addition, Celie is definitely obedient to Him. She accomplishes what God tells her to do but never what she wants to do. When she suffers from her stepfather‘s sexual abuse and physical violence, she is not able to tell anybody because God says to honor father and mother no matter what. (The Color Purple, p.40) She has allowed herself to be a slave, expecting God to help her through life proclaiming always "with God help".
Ironically, the fact of keeping silent and remaining always obedient are the two painful experiences that Celie suffered most from while living with her father and husband. Unfortunately, for Celie, this white God in whom she has had so much faith seems to act with her the same way. He represents men and seems to be the soul of the patriarchal society that longer oppressed her. The fact that the Christian God is fashioned as a white male becomes completely unpleasant to Celie, she must get rid of this patriarchal God in her mind so as to achieve spiritual independence.
Now that my eyes opening, I feels like a fool, Next to any little scrub of a bush in my yard, Mr._____'s evil sort of shrink. But not altogether. Still, it is like Shug say, you have to git man off your eyeball before you can see anything a‘ tall. (The color purple, 1982 p. 177)
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion
The Color Purple is a series of letters and diary entries written by God and by forming of a new black woman, Celie, who evolves from patriarchal oppression to awakening and independence. Nettie, Sofia and Shug help Celie a lot in her emancipation. Nettie, the sister, the teacher and the eternal hope helps Celie in writing her sufferings down on paper.
By the end of the novel, Celie finds the strength. She learns to fight, to stand up for herself, and she is rewarded. sisterhood helps Celie to emancipate and free herself spiritually, physically and economically. Celie's is able to open up emotionally and release the pressure and pain that had muted her throughout both childhood and adulthood. Her friendship with these women develops into a lifetime bond and accompanies Celie throughout her struggles with both Mr. ____as well as with the remembrances of her childhood hardships. Shug‘s concept of God makes Celie realize that the most important thing in life is love, admiration and enjoyment of the beauty and happiness in life. Celie becomes more confident, realizes her submissive situation and decides to fight. Women bonding and sisterhood play an important role in Celie‘s strive process. Celie is able to transform her life and free herself physically, economically and spiritually with the help of these women.
5.2 Suggestion
Literary works in general and the novel The Color purple in particular are creative works of the writers. As creation, the literary writers try to explore social phenomena to be known and understood by the readers. They communicate things that happen in society as shown in the novel The Color Purple. Sexual and physical abuses are supposed to be morally and legally wrong. It tends to break normally social beings both morally and religiously. related to this, literature is a kind of instrument to know what life is. Thus, this thesis wants to encourage students of literature to study more deeply about life matters through literary works.
This thesis analysis also offers an understanding towards the role of woman under the patriarch system. Woman position tends culturally to be lower than man in negative sense. Woman seems under the control of man dominance as a weak object to be treated unwell. thus, this study can broaden the understanding of man and woman about equal position humanly. Whatever the reason is woman and man are different creatures. Yet, mutual understanding can be traced properly by having awareness to stand together without looking at sex difference. Therefore, understanding novel is meant to know ourselves better. Alice Walker's The Color Purple is a good example for further study ever more to know who we are
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