What Does Celie's Pants Mean

741 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in alice walker the color purple

Margarida Ndlovu Literature Essay Celie’s Pants

In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple the main character Cellie, was initially objectified by her step father Alphonso and her due respect was denied. In the novel the main character Celie turns to God. The opening line of the story starts with “You better not never tell nobody but God” which Celie’s stepfather tells her after he rapes and abuses her at the age of 14.She was a downtrodden,objectified young girl who was robbed of her freedom.Notwithstanding throughout the novel we witness her character growing and changing as a result of finding uplift and comfort from making pants.This activity with the help of Shug and her sister Sophia influences here life drastically.

For Celie pants symbolises independence. Back in Celie’s time women putting on a pair of pants was a paramount statement. The pants are also her source of economic success. Page 146: "Well, …show more content…

Yet she discovered that it wasn't the consistent yet empty moments she forcefully shared with Mr Albert that she discovered that her only redemption could not be physically touched. Her redemption came from making pants. Celie starts sewing pants to balance her emotions and calm her anger. Page 258: "How you make your living up there? he say."Making pants, I say."He say, I notice everybody in the family just about wearing pants you made. But you mean you turned it into a business? "That's right, I say. But I really started it right here in your house to keep from killing you." Sewing pants is the main reason Celie did not hurt or alternatively kill Mr Albert. When she was making pants she would neglect her problems and focus soulfully on making pants. This action is her happy place. Making pants is her stress reliever and it is what keeps her sane despite her triumphs.This quote also breaks the boundaries of gender

Show More
Related

  • Shug Avery Quotes

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    Shug also reflects her independence onto characters by explaining how they have control of their own lives. Celie is afraid that she is going to be looked upon badly by God because of the abuse that she has endured. When Celie confesses this to Shug, it is explained to her that God will only be angry if someone does not take time to look and admire what is around them. As Well as this philosophy, Shug also teaches Celie that only she can govern her own self and that no one can take away her self-image. By explaining God's ways, Shug teaches the other characters to hold a sense of independence and self-value.

    Read More

  • Exploring Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in 'A New England Nun'

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of these compulsive tendencies involves Louisa constantly sewing to the point of perfection in the sense that she often rips out her sewing in order to remake it again. Elbert reaffirms this notion by stating, “…Modern psychologists would look askance at such compulsive, fetishistic behavior, especially as it deteriorates into meaningless repetition without any obvious purpose: ‘Louisa dearly loved to sew a linen seam, not always for use, but for the simple, mild pleasure which she took in it. She would have been loath to confess how more than once she had ripped a seam for the mere delight of sewing it again’” (Elbert 199), thus reinforcing the idea that Louisa has a propensity to partake in various senseless compulsive activities that are simply pleasurable to her, which only further confirms the fact that the character is exhibiting signs of obsessive compulsive disorder. Furthermore, another compulsion that is seen as a contributing factor to the characters condition is Louisa having to wear three separate aprons depending on what activity she is involved with. For instance, when gardening outside, Louisa will wear a green apron, when sewing, she will wear a pink and white apron, and when having company over, she will wear a white linen apron

    Read More

  • Red Silk Stockings Langston Hughes Analysis

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    This theme is evident in the doubling of stockings with the girl’s natural black legs. The red stockings, which represent sexual, material desires, are contrasted with the natural, elegant beauty of the legs of the black girl. The stockings highlight only the legs, separating them from the girl as a whole and allowing for easier objectification, specifically by young white males. However, the girl knows this, as she has put the stockings on and is being told so by the narrator, who represents the black community. The narrator also clearly recognizes the girl’s beauty, and her beauty is further highlighted in the fact that she is clothed in silk, which relates to royalty and comfortability.

    Read More

  • Strength Grown by Celie

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within The Color Purple by Alice Walker, women are treated as inferior to men therefore they must obey them. Through the strength and wisdoms Celie gains from other women, she learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman. The women she has met throughout her life, and the woman she protected since young, are the people that helped her become a strong independent woman. Sofia and Shug were there for Celie when she needed someone to look up to and depend on. Nettie was able to push Celie to become a more educated, independent person. The main source of conflict in this book is Celie’s struggle with becoming an independent woman who needs not to rely on a man. Throughout the book we see her grow as a person and become independent in many ways through her experiences with the powerful women in her life.

    Read More

  • How Does Mrs. Hale's Motive To Kill Her Husband

    543 Words  | 2 Pages

    She had some sort of annoyance built up inside and while she was sewing this quilt, she got so angry that she tore it.

    Read More

  • Madness In A Streetcar Named Desire

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her husband rejects the idea of her having any social interaction and does not allow her to have contact with anyone other than himself and Jeanie. She attempts to write for entertainment but she becomes too tired and soon the only source of entertainment for the Narrator is the wallpaper. She begins to look for patterns to ease her

    Read More

  • Alice Walker’s The Color Purple And Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty, emotionless shell. In men’s eyes, this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: The Color Purple

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Color Purple by Alice Walker, numerous symbols influence and drive the plot of the novel. One of the most important symbols that Walker incorporates into the plot is the letters written by Celie to either God or Nettie, signifying the power of voice. The epistolary format of the novel itself enables readers to understand Celie, whose letters are initially addressed to God. After being raped by her stepfather at the age of fourteen, he tells her to “never tell anybody but God” (Walker 1); thus, Celie’s original letters are presented more as confessions and prayers. This first letter itself “initiates the story of Celie's unrelenting victimization” (Bloom, and Williams 77-88), and the audience notices that the way in which Celie narrates the events occurring in her life over the course of the next several letters lacks sentiment and opinion....

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Women’s Clothing

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. Meza, Jessica, and Acacia Echazarreta. "A Brief History of Skirts and Pants." A Brief History of Skirts and Pants. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker and Push, by Sapphire

    3221 Words  | 7 Pages

    Baga, A. (2010, June). Celie's Emancipation Process in Alice Walker's "The color Purple". Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://www.umc.edu.dz/theses/anglais/BAG1207.pdf

    Read More

  • Intersection of Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality define Social Positions in Alice Walkers The Color Purple

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sedgewick observes, one’s social position is affected by various axis of classification such as gender, sexuality, race, class and the interplay of these social identities. In The Color Purple by Alice walker, Sedgewick’s observations ring true. Celie, the main character in Walker’s novel, is a perfect example of these observations put forth by Sedgewick. Celie’s social position is indicative of her gender, sexuality, race, and class; as a Black woman living in Georgia in 1910 to 1940, one can expect to witness the general ‘acceptable’ racism present within the novel towards people of color. Despite the ‘acceptable’ racism, the novel accentuates the hardships and struggles the women of color in this novel have to go through. The social positions of the characters, more so Celie and Sofia, in Walker’s The Color Purple are based on the social identities of their gender, race, class, sexuality, and ethnicity.

    Read More

  • The Power of Female Friendship in The Color Purple by Alice Walker

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout The Color Purple, Alice Walker conveys the importance and the power of female friendship in all forms. It shapes and forms the strong bond of female companionship as means of refuge from oppression, male dominance and a world full of violence perpetrated against women which the female protagonists wish to break free from. Walker constantly reminds the reader of the gruelling pursuit of identity that all are in search for, both in Africa and America. For females to gain equal recognition as individuals who deserve fair and just treatment in a patriarchal society where, as Albert states “Men suppose to wear the pants” in society. In conclusion, not only leading Celies personal growth as an independent woman but also to the extraordinary establishment of a female solidarity network within the novel.

    Read More

  • Beauty and The Color Purple

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the majority of the novel, Celie was never told she was or could be beautiful by men, she was told how much of nothing she was to them. Beauty was something Celie learned was for women who enjoyed having sex, something for women who had confidence, which was something she could never feel for herself. She was constantly mis treated and told what to do by men like her father and Albert. The book opens with her being raped by her father. He tells her to tell nobody but God, and she begins to be scared of saying “no” to men, she feels she needs to take the abuse, Celie would “be wood” because wood does not feel pain. Her father dominates and makes Celie feel like she was bad, like she did something to deserve this. She felt she was worth little because she should allow her father to do thing like this to her. She felt controlled, dominated and therefore subordinate to men. Her self worth had gone from little down to nothing, and she was told by her father how ugly she was.

    Read More

  • Female Empowerment In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    1840 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alice Walker's use of characterization in her novel The Color Purple depicts her main theme of female empowerment and the importance of maintaining an assertive voice. The tyrannical male characters, the victimized female characters, and the development of the protagonist, Celie, express Walker's firm views of female independence in a male dominated society. Her feminist views have been influenced by her experiences with discrimination as an African-American woman as well as her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. These experiences serve as an inspiration for developing the character Celie, a young black woman discovering her own sense of self while battling a male dependent environment. The progression of civil rights for black women that existed throughout the twentieth century mirrors the development Celie makes from a verbally debilitated girl to an adamant young woman. The expression of racism and sexism that evidenced itself during the postmodern era presented Walker with an opportunity to compose a novel that reveals her strong animosity toward discrimination. Without these outlets, Walker would not have had the ability to create a novel with such in-depth insights into the lifestyle of an immensely oppressed woman.

    Read More

  • Celie's Transformation in Alice Walker's Color Purple

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    If we analyse the story instead of the narrative perspective can we see that the main reason of Celie's insecurity is caused by the way she is treated by men. She is sexually abus...

    Read More

More about What Does Celie's Pants Mean

Open Document