Journal No. 3

The Color Purple: Journal Entry #3
pages 144-216

Completed!

This section of The Color Purple contains the turning point in Celie's life. She finds spiritual and economic freedom, along with a new sense of self that no one can take from her. These pages also focus on finding truth through communication, as well as the general importance of communication.

One of the biggest steps, I believe, towards Celie's rebirth as an independent woman was the discovery of Nettie's letters. After Celie finishes the first of Nettie's letters, she is enraged and overcome with a strong desire to kill Mr.____. This can be seen as an improvement over the old Celie, who would never contemplate killing her husband, or any man, because she was too afraid of them. Now, however, Celie “begin[s] to strut a little bit,” because she knows that Nettie is alive and plans on returning to Georgia. I believe this is the first time that Celie has had any real, tangible hope for a better life away from Mr.____ and with the people she loves.

However, as Celie reads more of Nettie's letters, she discovers an important truth about her life. As Corrine becomes suspicious that Adam and Olivia are in fact Nettie and Samuel's children, Nettie confronts Samuel about from whom he adopted Adam and Olivia. As Samuel tells his tale, Nettie comes to realize that Alfonso, the man that she and Celie thought was their father, was actually their stepfather. This meant that Adam and Olivia were only Celie's children, rather than being both her children as well as her bother and sister.

I believe it is this revelation that brings about a major change in Celie because she begins to loose faith in God. Consequently, Celie begins to write her entries to Nettie instead. When Celie tells this to Shug, she in turn tells Celie her views on God. Shug says that instead of imagining God as and old white man who doesn't care to listen to Celie's troubles, that Celie should imagine God as a raceless, genderless being who only wants to be loved. This is a very hard concept for Celie to accept right away, but she works at it until eventually she recognizes that she does not have to follow the conventional view of God that has always been handed to her. Celie realizes that she can imagine God in her own way. I believe that this is another large step for Celie.

The fact that Celie and Nettie believe Alfonso to be their father is an example of a problem that resulted due to miscommunication, which is, I believe, a major theme of this novel. Another place where miscommunication causes a rift would be concerning the Olinka tribe. When the Olinka first meet Samuel, Corrine, Nettie, and the children, they are under the impression that Corrine and Nettie are Samuel's wives. Even when corrected, the pompous, self-centered Olinka believe that they are right. This in turn causes a falling out between Corrine and Nettie.

However, a more serious miscommunication pertaining to the Olinka would be the catastrophe between them and the English rubber company. This includes a “pathetic exchange” between the Chief of the Olinkas and a white spokesperson for the rubber company. Due to such a vast language and cultural barrier, both parties come to the conclusion that communication is impossible. Thus, the Olinka are forces to pay rent for the land that they had held for hundreds of years with no means of protest and no voice to be heard. I believe that Walker's sentiment that narrative can be a powerful force is true. Yet it is apparent that even she admits, through this episode, that some gaps are too large to be bridged through the use of words. However, it is through communication that Celie makes her final stand against her oppressor.

All that Celie has experienced and all that she has been taught by Shug and Nettie culminates when Celie verbally lashes out at Mr.____ while having dinner at Sofia and Harpo's. After Shug announces that she, Celie, and Grady are moving to Memphis, Celie lets loose a tirade on the opposing Mr.____. She curses him and tells him everything he tries to do will crumble. Celie also says that whatever he did to her, Mr.____ will also have done to him many times over. Everyone is shocked at Celie's defiance, but Squeak is invigorated by it, announcing that she too will join them in Memphis. This shows that one person's self empowerment can, in turn, inspire the same in others.

I believe that Celie's defining moment is when she turns Mr.____'s condescending words around, saying, “I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook...But I'm here.” This reversal completes Celie's defiance. It is here that she takes the lessons on redefinition taught by Shug and applies it to assist her great leap for freedom. She also takes a leaf out of Nettie's book and uses the power of communication to finally admit how she feels.

Once Celie moves to Memphis, she finds that she is very happy living with Shug, who encourages Celie to start her own company, Folkspants, Unlimited. This gives Celie economic independence from Shug, though she still lives with her. I believe it would also have given Celie a sense of control over her own life, as she could make her own decisions regarding her business. She even hires workers to assist her, something that she never would have had living as a poor, meek farmer's wife. Through her business, Celie now has a taste of independence.

There are a few things that I found interesting about this section. One would be the behavior of the Olinkas. As Nettie shares with Celie, they act more like white people in America than the African Americans. I had never expected that. Another thing that surprised me was the ease with which Celie departed Mr.____. When Nettie left, Mr.____ followed her and tried to rape her, yet he did nothing when Celie left. However, I suppose that the combination of being dumbstruck at Celie's defiance and the fact that Celie left on a train might have something to do with his inactivity.

Also in this section, there was a quote that I really found interesting. It's when Shug says, “Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.” This makes perfect sense to me, and it echoes what I've always believed. Shug is saying that the structure and the rituals of the Church were created to help people praise God, but that doesn't mean that one can't find God in other places as well. This is also a belief that helped Celie come to her spiritual reawakening.

These pages of The Color Purple were probably the most important in the novel, though I still have the final quarter to explore. I hope that Celie and Nettie will be reunited someday, and that Celie will continue to live independently and happily.