The peripeteia- The Color Purple

In every novel the characters go through some form of transformation, not least, in this novel.

In the beginning the protagonist was portrayed as an ugly, unintelligent and withdrawn person who was afraid to express her opinion; in her world, her job was to obey and do as she is told. However this all change in this sudden scene when she decided to move away with Shug, one of the few persons Celie love. She decides that she will not tolerate to be mistreated nor abused by her husband and she chooses to take destiny in her own hands. She learns to respect herself, and that she is worthy a life of happiness and love. This shocked everyone because were not used to see her this empowering and see her take a stand for herself.

Additionally, I think this was a change that did go on throughout the novel and reached its peak where she realized that if she did not take control over her life, no one would. I believe Shug was a source of inspiration and that she had a huge impact on her revolutionary realization. Shug was described as strong, independent woman who did not let anybody mistreat her and she was a big role model in Celie’s life.

Moreover, in the ending of the novel, Celie became friends with her husband and they actually shared a heart-to-heart conversation. This really surprised me because of how he treated her while she was living under his command. But they both had one thing in common that brought them closer to one another; they both shared the same love towards Shug.

Furthermore, one of my favorite scenes, and one of the most toughing scenes, in the novel was in the ending when Celie was reunited with her dear sister Nettie that she hadn’t seen for over thirty years. That particular scene left an emotional impact on me because it depicted the love that subsisted between them. 

To summarize, I believe this novel wants to show the injustice and racism that existed, and still exist, in some parts of the world towards black people and women. I think the book wants to portray the importance of standing up for oneself and always fight for one’s rights, just like Celie did. For many years, men have always been dominant and women have fought to gain recognition as individuals who deserve equal treatment, and Celie managed to do that. In the end, she was not seen as the weak link, but rather as an equal.

The title “The Color Purple” was mentioned several times in the novel. Shug said that God gets pissed off if a person walks past the color purple and does not marvel at it. However that statement does not help me understand why the author chose that particular title for the novel. Maybe she meant that we all have a piece of the color purple within us, that we all are beautiful in our own way and that we should take a step back once in a while and marvel its beauty.