The Color Purple has been criticized for the way it depicts the black male characters as violent and cruel[ 4311] PDF

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The Color Purple has been criticized for the way it depicts the black male characters as violent and cruel[ 4311]...

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The Color Purple has been criticized for the way it depicts the black male characters as violent and cruel. Explore the way Walker presents male domination over women in the novel The controversial novel was written by the African- American Civil rights activist Alice Walker. After the publication of Walker’s novel in 1982, came a storm of controversy and many critics disapproved of her representation and portrayal of black male characters and argued that in fact Walker only presented black males in a negative light. The Los Angeles Times quotes a black reader as saying “ It is degrading to black men, makes us all look like wife beaters and rapists” [1] Moreover it wasn’t just men who believed this, Tony Brown who was the host of the television program “Tony Brown’s Journal” called the film of the story “the most racist depiction of men since ‘The birth of a nation’ and the most anti black family film of the modern film era”[2]. Furthermore Trudier Haris who could be argued to be Walker’s harshest critic said; “Walker's portrayal of black men, the dysfunctional black American family and the immorality of many of the characters mean that to people ignorant of the novel’s author, the whole novel can be viewed as a decent attempt by a Southern white male to "reinforce the traditional sexual and violent stereotype”[3] From the beginning of the novel the reader is exposed to the mercilessness brutality and sexual abuse of the character ‘Alphonso’ who is Celie’s stepfather. The epistolary style of the novel makes Celie’s story particularly shocking and powerful. Walker uses vivid, harsh language to describe‘Alphonso’s’ actions which shocks the reader from the first page; “Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy, When that hurt, I cry”. The use of this unexpected startling language not only alarms the reader but grips them into continuing reading. Words such as “push” and grab” sound quite harsh to the tongue and Walker used to stress the violence. “ He start to choke me sayin ‘You better shutup and git used to it’” The phrase; “You better” comes across to the reader to be quite threatening and shows Alphonso’s’ dominance and sense of control towards Celie, emphasising his expectation for her to conform to his masculine needs. Yet again Walker uses words like “choke” ,with the hard ‘k’ sound and “shutup” to emphasise the aggression. The repetition of the ch/sh sound alerts the reader of the hostility of his behaviour. Walker presents Alphonso to be a vile, inconsiderate creature as he rapes his step daughter for his own sexual fulfilment and pleasure disregarding any emotional or physical pain caused. From the beginning of the

novel this forms a negative image of black males in the readers’ mind which may explain a lot of the criticism. The character Alphonso denies Celie of any relationship with any other male yet takes advantage of her when he is in need of sexual gratification. “ 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” The fact that Celie justifies herself by saying she had something in her eye makes the reader pity her. Walker may have used the repetition of the word “I’ in order to remind the reader that she in fact still a child which shocks the reader even more. It is clear to the reader that extreme violence is used to control women.. It also appears that the males characters will beat the females using any excuse “ He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway”. Once again, the reader is exposed to the cruel and violent treatment of Celie. Furthermore when Celie marries Mr _ the lack of respect for Celie is apparent. On Celie’s wedding day, Walker describes and delivers horrific imagery to the reader. “ He pick up a rock and laid my head open. The blood run all down ‘tween my breasts, His daddy say Don’t do that! But that’s all he say”. The gruesome imagery makes the reader sympathise with Celie once again. The imagery created of the blood running down in between her breasts completely challenges the customary tradition of a normal wedding. A woman’s wedding days is known to be the most important day of a woman’s life yet Celie is being abused by her step children. The reader may be shocked at Mr_’s lack of interest “Don’t do that” whilst “his wife to be” has her head split open by his children. It becomes apparent that Celie is only there to fulfil her role as wife- satisfying only him and his family, when they first marry Celie says; “He beat me like he beat the children ‘cept he don’t ever beat them”. This line yet again supports the fact that Mr_ treats Celie not only like a child- who did not have many rights as today but worse. The repetition of the word “beat” is used to emphasise the violence and pain caused. This idea is further emphasised by the lines; “Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr._______ say, Cause she my wife. [..]All women good for— she begins to see the link between her step father and husband.” Yet again Walker shows how men have such a negative idea of women and how Celie begins to group men together. She begins to see the link between her step father and husband and how their ignorance towards women is similar. The use of the word “my” emphasises the idea that Mr__ believes that he owns Celie. This

again highlights the idea that men feel justified in their use of violence. Men were in control, women were merely there to satisfy men, suggesting that they were worthless. Moreover, the fact that Celie only refers to him as Mr_ may indicate the emotional distance between them. To some critics this is seen as a reference the way white People controlled black slaves and plays on the idea that black men were trying to reassert their authority after slavery by dominating and mistreating their women. However, it could be argued black males are not only portrayed to be violent and cruel but are also shown to be able to be affectionate and caring. When ‘Squeak’ was hurt after fighting ‘Sofia’. Harpo is described to “reach down and cradle poor little squeak is his arms” The words ‘cradle’ is associated with parenting a child and in the same way Harpo is showing he cares and wants to comfort her. Similarly Mr_ admits his love for Shug, “I love Shug Avery. Always have, always will. I should have married her when I had the chance” This emphasises that in fact Walker is not trying to show men in a negative light but that in fact men are capable of loving and caring towards women. Moreover by the end of the novel, Even Mr_ takes a more conciliatory approach towards Celie and seems to be more willing to listen to her views and appreciate her needs. Furthermore, “Harpo” who is Mr _’s son is portrayed to be different to other male characters in the novel to a certain extent. Some may defend the novel and agree that Harpo was an example of males who were under pressure by society to act in a certain way in order to fit in. Sofia who is Harpo’s wife is depicted to be a strong independent black woman who stands up for herself. Harpo is shown to be intimidated by her and wants to gain control like other males have over their wives regardless of his love for her. When Mr_ asks Harpo if he has ever beaten Sofia “Harpo look down at his hands. Naw suh, he say low, embarrass” It appears to the reader that Harpo is feeling humiliated and de-masculinised having to admit to the fact about not beating his wife. The word “low” shows how embarrassed he feels about not conforming to the society’s norm .His father Mr_ advises him to beat her in order to gain control in the relationship. Harpo felt the need to dominate and be in charge in order to be like other men. The reader may be able to sympathise with Harpo as he clearly loves Sofia and appears to be pressured by societal expectations Many people have applauded Walker for her novel and believe that she was merely revealing the reality of this black American society at the time. American Journalist Richard Weasely

applauded Walker for being able to “create such a furore highlights the power she has. as Wesley writes, exposed a “country’s dark secrets.” He wrote in his article authors like Alice walker “ are hounded from coast to coast for reminding men of their own failures” However it makes the reader think that because Richard Wesley writes for Ms Magazine which is a feminist magazine it may alter his opinions in order to appeal to the audience he is writing to. [5] In conclusion it is easily able to understand why some black males may feel that this is an attack directed at them because of all the negative connotations about black males within the novel. However, based on the reality of the society of the time it could be justified that Walker was just painting a picture of what reality is actually like. I think the most important theme in the novel is the oppression against females. Walker’s novel has brought attention to this global issue and I think that resolving that issue is more important than criticizing Alice for her interpretation of what goes on in the world today.

References [1] 'The Color Purple' 25 years later: From controversy to classic By Ronda Racha Penrice Last seen: 18.41 14/04/2013 http://thegrio.com/2010/12/17/the-color-purple-25-years-later-from-controversy-to-classic/ [2] Black women's responses to The Color Purple by Jacqueline Bobo Last seen 18:42 14/04/2013 http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC33folder/ClPurpleBobo.html [3] New Found Growth- The Color Purple Interpretations http://homepage.ntlworld.com/matt_kane/interpretations.htm [4] Black women's responses to The Color Purple by Jacqueline Bobo Last seen 18:44 14/04/2013

http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC33folder/ClPurpleBobo.html [5] New Found Growth- The Color Purple Interpretations http://homepage.ntlworld.com/matt_kane/interpretations.htm...