Racism And Sexism In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

The Color Purple, written by a black woman Alice Walker, tells the story of an African American woman who faced racism and sexism and how this woman transformed and found her self worth. Through the protagonist – Celie’s inner transformation journey, Alice Walker tries to inform the readers about womanism, how a female can overcome the fate of oppression and discrimination with consciousness, and the black communities. First of all, the novel illustrates the harsh lives of African American women at that era. In that century, women were born to be working servants of their families and sexual slaves of male. In the novel, Celie was raped by her step-father when she was fourteen years old. After she birth babies, her step-father took them away and told her not to say anything. Being powerless and helpless, Celie writes letter to God to express her grief and anguish. According to “The Color Purple”, Celie said “he beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got something in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them” (pg5). In these sentences, we can feel Celie’s fear and submission toward men.

Therefore, Nettie, Shug, and Sofia, all these three characters had rebellious psychology and behavior. These three women inspired Celie. Her transmutation and awaking up was a long journey. She eventually revolted and left her husband Albert to start her new life. This novel is not a fiction. Fiction is an imagination from the author; something that is not real. However, what is being told in the novel is real. The novel is a representation of black women in the black communities, not just Celie. The plot of gender is very prevalent in the