Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two letters in The Color Purple

Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two letters in The Color Purple

The Chapter 'Joshua' in Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two

letters in The Color Purple, where Sofia returns and later gets

brutally punished for her confrontation, both explore fundamental

issues that characterize a lot of the essence of both novels as a

whole. At the heart of both of these two sections is the idea of

fighting for the truth and facing the consequences. Although Oranges

are not the Only Fruit is written in a retrospective light and The

Color Purple in epistolary and consecutively in chronological order,

there are similarities within the two styles, they use similar

techniques in getting across certain issues. The novels use the people

around Jeanette and Celie to convey oppression and hope.

Janet's church people and mother have found out about her "unnatural

passions" for Melanie. To them their opinion at its wrongs and

sinfulness is not opinion but fact. Thus for Janet's "own benefit"

they lock her up with no food or light, inflicting an exorcism on her.

They believe she is demon possessed and want to rid her of the evil.

In this period of confinement, Jeanette questions her sexuality and

its wrongs. She states: "Can love really belong to the demon." She

realizes that her feelings are not from external influences, but

rather from herself. - "If they want to get at my demon they'll have

to get me." She is controlled with the idea of the church, and at the

same time the naturalness she feels with the feelings: "Demons are

evil, aren't they?" She then goes on to say: "But in the Bible you

keep getting driven out." - "Don't believe all you read." This in

itself is addressing the idea of oppression from the chu...

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...d this gives

way to the proceedings in the novel as a whole. In The Color Purple,

we are left with Celie caring for Sofia who has been so brutally to

the ground. Sofia was imprisoned and left to face the circumstances

for standing up for what is right. She is thus a heroine in her own

right and is an example for Celie. Jeanette was imprisoned (exorcism)

and came out of it knowing that she was going to put up a fight for

her own truth and to face the circumstances.

In Oranges are Not the Only Fruit as a whole, the "Joshua" section

stands for truth and Jeanette decides to fight and this indicates the

future progression of the novel. In The Color Purple, Celie sees truth

being fought for and the result of this fight. These gives her

determination and if can fight like that, she can at least fight

against male patriarchal Oppression and her love for Slug.