The Color Purple
The Color Purple is a story about a poor black woman named Celie who deals with troubled times. The story was originally written as a book by Alice Walker but was later adapted into a musical and then into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. The story begins in rural Georgia during the early 20th century, and progresses through the 1st half of the century. This period of time was very different than the 21st century, and I would like to explore some of those differences.
One of the first things that occurs in the story is the forced marriage between Celie and Mister (Mister's real name is never mentioned by Celie because she despises him). Celie is only 14 at the time, and Mister is much older, and already has several children. In today's America, most marriages are not arranged. Young people now can choose who they want to marry, and also have the option to not get married. This is not the case in The Color Purple; Celie is forced to marry a man who is probably twice her age against her will. Now, someone over 18 having a relationship with a minor would be considered pedophilia, and would be illegal.
Later in the book Celie's daughter-in-law, Sophia, gets in a fight with the mayor and is arrested for hitting a white man. She serves twelve years as the mayor's maid. In today's America, if something like this happened, it would probably be on the Jerry Springer show, and Sophia most likely wouldn't end up with a 12-year sentence. Sophia's outburst was due to the way black people have been treated throughout her entire life. In Georgia during the 1930s, black people were treated as second-class citizens, who weren't given respect or even the right to vote. When black people were arrested, they could be tried by a jury of entirely white people, unsympathetic to their situation. Such racial discrimination has been virtually eliminated today.
Black women were the lowest rung on the totem pole of racial discrimination, having virtually no rights, and not being treated as real people. Celie is treated by Mister like she is dirt, and is often abused by him. Unfortunately she has no way of fighting back, because in her day and place, there was no help for a poor black woman.
In The Color Purple many things, including sexual and racial discrimination were more rampant than they are today. I find it amazing that Celie was able to survive in her day and age. I think it shows a great deal of character for her to live through everything she had been through.