Symbolism in the Color Purple by Alice Walker

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Symbolism is one of the major elements in "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker. The woman's search for something she has never experienced is the symbolization of the mankind's search for love and happiness. The meaning of names, occupations, power, pants, cloth, words, eyes, frogs, starts, shell, stamps are only few examples of the symbols used by the author and are very important in understanding not only the characters of the story, but also global values such as love, power, mutual understanding, and authority over another person's life. The purple color itself symbolizes love in the story. When Celie is shopping for the first time in her life for new clothes, she wants to get something purple. However, she cannot find any purple garment while seeing a lot of people wearing purple. This is a symbol of her search for love: she sees so many people who are loved and happy, yet no matter how long and hard she looks, it seems impossible to find love and happiness for herself . From the beginning of the letters, Celie herself is a symbol of complete powerlessness herself. She is so powerless that the only person she can talk to is God. She lost the ability to control her own life when her mother died . She is forced to assume the duties of her mother and is treated like a slave by Pa, who constantly rapes and beats her. Nettie is the only living creature who provides Celie with friendship and love. Sex is also very important symbol which is an element of disempowerment. Celie seems to have inability to resist her Pa. Sex is described by her as something which is done to her, but never enjoyed on her side. Even though sex is a symbol of disempowerment of Celie, it becomes a symbol of empowerment for other... ... middle of paper ... ...hat enslaved many black people. The symbolic meaning of God cannot be under-estimated in the novel. God for Celie associated with a white man and white people in general who should be treated with special reverence and respect. God is passive in Celie's perception. She believes that in order to be part of God it is necessary to do work for him such as feed the preacher. In her mind, God is blind to her troubles and glorifying in being deaf. "The Color Purple" is full of symbols which provide a deeper insight not only on the characters but the society of that time as well. If roundness and rose are truly feminine symbols, the teeth, stars, stamps have historical meaning in depicting the slavery. Some objects serve to portray the emotional conditions of the person: needle, names, pants and occupations represent an economic independence and power.

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