LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3

1) The book I chose to read was The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This novel is about a black woman, named Celie, and the difficult path that life takes her down, including a separation from her sister that spans a number of years. The opening scene is quite graphic. The man Celie knows as her father sexually abuses her one day, and many other days following, leading to the birth of two children which Celie's father takes away from her. Her sister, Nettie, is beautiful, smart, and kind and sought after by a man that Celie only refers to as Mr.________ , though his real name is Albert. Celie's father will not let Albert marry Nettie though, and instead gives him Celie. This starts the beginning of a long and unhappy period of Celie's life while she must look over Albert's children, who don't like her, and deal with losing Nettie, who has ran away. It becomes evident that Albert is in love with a woman named Shug Avery, a singer who travels town to town. When Shug is in town, Albert is gone for days and returns crying.
Albert's eldest son, Harpo, falls in love with a strong-willed girl named Sofia, and because Sofia's dad won't let Harpo marry her, he gets her pregnant so that they have to be together.
Shug becomes sick, and has to stay at Albert's house because no one else will take her in. Celie is fascinated with Shug and her beauty and fancy clothing, and though Shug is cruel to her Celie nurses her back to health.
Sofia and Harpo butt heads on every issue and eventually Sofia moves in with her sisters, taking the three kids with her. This changes Harpo, and he and a buddy build a jukejoint out of what used to be their house, where they have alcohol and play tunes. They don't get much business until Shug starts to make appearances.
Sofia returns with a man and gets in a fight with Harpo's new lady, Squeak. Still mad, she drives into town and gets in a fist fight with the mayor, landing her in jail. Her spirit is almost broken, but her family is able to get her a better job being a nanny for the mayor's family, though she detests them all.
Shug returns at Christmas with a car for Albert and a husband, shocking Celie, who has formed a tight friendship with her. Celie and Shug's friendship grows more intimate as time passes.
Celie and Shug find that Nettie has been sending Celie letters for years, but Albert has his them all. Knowing this, Celie develops a strong hatred for him. In the letters Nettie talks of how she joined with a black preacher and his family and is now a missionary in Africa.Nettie and Samuel, the preacher, piece together that the preacher's children, who were adopted, are Celie's own children. And also that the man Celie and Nettie thought was their father is actually their step-father. Celie is devestated and torn up, as well as Nettie when the preacher's wife, Corrine, dies after realizing that her children aren't Nettie's, which she believed.
Celie and Shug have many talks about God, who they say isn't really a man but a general idea and is actually made up of everything. Shug announces that she is moving to Memphis, and taking Celie and Squeak with her. Harpo and Albert are shocked, but eventually agree. In Memphis Celie starts a pant-making business and Squeak furthers her music career, with much attention from Grady. When Celie's step-father dies she inherits the house, and moves there for the summer to fix it up. Squeak and Grady move to Panama and start a marijuana plantation, and Shug develops a relationship with the 19-year-old flute player in her band, which breaks Celie's heart. Celie falls into a depression, which is furthered by a notice that the ship Nettie was on returning form Africa was sank. Time has changed Albert though and Celie and him develop a friendship based on the respect that they both love Shug. In the last scene, Nettie, along with Samuel and Celie's two children, arrive home and the sisters embrace.
I think what this novel is trying to say is that woman are independent and don't need a man to feel loved and accomplished, and can find love and success in other ways. Celie finds love in her sister and Shug, and accomplishment in owning her own home and running her own business, all after leaving her abusive husband.
2) The purpose of the novel goes along with the theme, that women are meant to be independent and the importance of female relationships. Celie finds true happiness in love, business, and pleasure after leaving her abusive husband, who uses her as a toy, punchbag, and maid. No woman in this novel is fulfilled when she gets the approval of a man, instead they reach happiness from the love and support of their female companions, who understand them and love them in ways that men can not.
3) The tone of this novel is honest and open. Since it is written in a journal-entry format, it straight-forwardly contains Celie's inner thoughts and fears about God, sexuality, and her history of abuse. "He [Pa] never had a kine word to say to me. Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. First he put his thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. (1.4)" 
"Here’s the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don’t know what you looking for. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, lord. Feeling like shit."
"He love looking at Shug. I love looking at Shug.
But Shug don’t love looking at but one of us. Him.But that the way it spose to be. I know that. But if that so, why my heart hurt me so"

4) 

#1- Setting: This novel takes place in the early 1900's in the deep south, which affected the tone because African Americans were prejudiced against in this place and time. 

" You say Us where most folk say WE, she say, and peoples think you dumb. Colored peoples think you a hick and white folks be amuse." (215)

#2- First person journal-entry narrative: This type of narrative makes the novel very personal and relatable, and makes a point that women that face abuse are individuals too. 

"Dear Nettie, 

....

Amen, Your sister, Celie" (216) 

#3- Syntax: Syntax pulls the reader into the mind of Celie and creates an idea of the style of talking and beliefs of her time.

" Woman work, he say.

What? she say.

Woman work. I'm a man." (21)

#4- Symbolism: The color purple stands for the beauty in the world that Celie does not at first see until she is true to herself. At first, she feels she is not worthy of wearing it "I think what color Shug Avery would wear... Somethin purple, maybe a little red in it. But us look an look and no purple."(21) but at the end her whole room is covered in purple. 

#5- Foils: Shug and Sofia are different in many ways, and their differences is what makes the traits of the other stand out even more. 

#6- Allusion: Celie and Shug talk about the Bible and how people interpret it different.

"Nettie say somewhere in the bible it say Jesus' hair was like lamb's wool, I say." (194)

#7- Parallelism: The novel uses parallelism to make a statement, in this case about the ways Shug affects Albert.

"He tired. He sad. He weak. He cry. Then he sleep the rest of the day and all night." (26)

#8- Stream of consciousness: This used to describe how Celie feels after she learns the real truth about her family.

"But I feels daze.

My daddy lynch. My mama crazy. All my little half-brothers and sisters no kin to me. My children not my sister and brother. Pa not pa.

You must be sleep." (177)

#9- Characterization: The way Celie describes her family and friends paints an interesting picture of her surroundings.

"He real fat and tall, look like a big yellow bear. Mr. _________ small like his daddy, his brother stand way taller." (56)

#10- Metaphor: In this passage Nettie uses metaphors to explain to Celie truly how hot it is in Afirca, though Celie has never experienced anything like that before.

"Its hot, here, Celie, she write. Hotter than July. Hotter than July and August. Hot like cooking dinner on a big stove in a little kitchen in August and July. Hot." (148)

CHARACTERIZATION: 

1) Direct characterization is used to describe Nettie and Sofia. Nettie is described as loved, smart, pretty, and sought after to contrast with the image of Celie. Sofia is described as strong-willed to explain her openness to getting pregnant to defy her father and marry Harpo.

Indirect characterization is used towards Shug Avery because her character changes over the course of the book. At first she is bitter, but in the end loving and friendly. Albert is also described indirectly through his actions. The author uses both approaches to build up a changing character and introducing a character that keeps there ideals the same the whole novel. Nettie changes because of Africa, but still stays smart, pretty, and loved, just as Sofia stays strong-willed in all she goes through. Shug and Albert seem more real to me because in the years the book spans their whole attitude changes.

2) Yes, the syntax and diction changes with characters. When Celie is narrating, the writing has many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, signs of personal touch. When Africa is narrated through Nettie's letters, you get a sense of her high education level because it is the story that natters there less than how it is written.

3) The protagonist is static and round. At first Celie is weak willed and afraid to stand up for herself because bowing down to the men in her life is all she knows. As she learns to accept love and kindness, her whole being changes and she grows more confident and positive, as well as wiser.

4) After reading the book I felt like I had met a person, obviously due to the personal style of the writing. I felt like I was the receiver of the pages of Celie's diary and I grew to understand and appreciate her.