Rape, incest, sex , forced labor, and a little reefer on the side. These are all of the
components of a Novel by Alice Walker. All of these views are illustrated proficiently in
Alice Walkers third novel, The Color Purple. Each one of these aspects had a lasting
impression upon the ideals and notions of the time. Walker's writing's helped to break
the racial barrier that existed in some people's minds.
One way that the barrier was destroyed was through Walker's depiction of an imperfect
black person. If a white person wrote about a less than perfect black person than it
was considered racist. Now that a black person is writing about other blacks that are
foretaking in acts that are, in their eye's, immoral and corrupt, the subject is brought
into a new light. These actions are discussed out in the open, and the idea that all
people have their own "flaws", is thought to be more fisable. Walker combines all of
these issues in her story in a deceptive way.
They all are linked together by way of a semi-believable story line with one major
overlaying theme. Prescott sums it up nicely, "Love redeems, meanness kills"(p74). This
is illustrated in many ways in Walker's novel. One perfect example of this is Mr. _____.
Mr. _____, as he is called throughout the novel, was a wife beater, who, having been
denied Celie's sister, marries Celie to look after his children. He beats her and rapes her
and is just plain nasty to her. Finally, one day, after Celie discovers another mean thing
that Mr. ____ did to her, she leaves with her girlfriend to start a new life. Mr. _____ is
left all alone. He starts to fall apart. He becomes afraid of the dark, and just gives up
on life. That was his meanness that started to destroy his life. Now, just as Mr. ____ is
nearing death, his son Harpo, starts to take care of him. Mr.___ starts to love him
again. Now Mr.____'s life t...