The Interpretation of Motifs in The Color Purple

Du Juan

【Abstract】Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God and Alice Walkers The Color Purple are concerned with African-American womens self-awareness and fighting with the patriarchy. Therefore， Alice Walker inherits the motifs of from Zora Neale Hurston and she develops the motifs in three aspects： the depiction of womens economic independence； the development of womens self-awareness and the improvement of relationship between women and men.

【Key words】The Color Purple； economic independence； womens self-awareness； relationship between women and men

【摘要】美国作家佐拉.尼尔.赫斯顿的《他们仰望上苍》与黑人作家爱丽丝.沃克的《紫色》关注的都是黑人女性的觉醒以及她们与父权社会的抗争。因此，爱丽丝.沃克在佐拉.尼尔.赫斯顿的主题思想的基础上，在其作品《紫色》中阐述了三方面的主题，即：女性的经济独立、女性自我意识的觉醒和两性关系的发展。

【关键词】《紫色》 经济独立 女性自我意识 两性关系

Their Eyes Were Watching God is written by Zora Neale Hurston which describes an African-American womans fight against patriarchy and shows the sprout of the African-American womens self-awareness. Enlightened by Zora Neale Hurston， Alice Walker creates the well-known novel The Color Purple which focuses on female black life in the 1930s in the southern United States and their exceedingly low position in American social culture. Both Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple are concerned with African-American womens self-awareness and fighting with the patriarchy. However， Alice Walker not only inherits the motifs of womens self-awareness but also develops the motifs.

In Their Eyes were Watching God， Zora Neale Hurston creates Janie as the representative for the oppressed women who gradually become to aware of the necessity of fight. The first marriage to Janie is nothing but only submission. Under the pressure of her grandmother， Janie marries Logan killicks and works like the mule. Hurston realizes that African-American women are under the double oppressions and points out that African-American woman should get rid of the destiny like a “mule”. （Sun Wei， Chen Xilin 63） Having realized she is repeating the life of a mule， Janie decides to get out of her first marriage and pursue the life she wants. She elopes with Joe Starks to a new place and longed for a happy life. However， Joe who embraces patriarchy regards Janie as his belongings and derives Janie of the rights to speak and dress up instead of respect Janie. Janie escapes from working like a mule but she is still a reared mule. In the novel， Alice walker spends a lot of ink on an episode that Joe once bought an old mule not for work but to let the mule rest. Janie， who is just like a black female “mule” Joe bought for rest not to work does not get the real respect and freedom from Joe. Oppressed by Joes big voice， Janie begins to fight back with words and she tore off her hair piece and put down her beautiful hair after Joe died. The first two husbands never really respect Janie as an individual while the third man in Janies life knows how to love. Janie defies the conventional opinion and follows Tea Cake who is much younger than her. When her life is threatened by Tea Cake， she chooses to protect herself and kills her husband. From submission to fight， Janie shows that women begin to grow and have self-awareness.

Alice Walker wrote a famous essay “Looking for Zora” in 1970s and acclaims that “Zora Neale Hurston is one of the most significant unread authors in America”. Alice Walker inherited womens awareness and fights from Zora Neale Hurston and develops them in her novel The Color Purple. Both Janie and Celie experience from silence and submission to fight in their life and finally get their own rights in different ways. But compared with Their Eyes were Watching God， The Color Purple develops in the following three aspects.

1. The Depiction of Womens Economic Independence

In Their Eyes were Watching God， Janies fight is limited in her three marriages and she never gets the real independence from men. Janie escapes from Logan and runs away with Joe who she loves. From being forced to marry to make her own choice， Janie makes the first progress in self-awareness. Nanny forces Janie to marry rich Logan because in Nannys idea， wealth is the protection for black woman. Nanny is the representative of most black women at that time， so Janies elopement with Joe without worrying about material insurance is other progress she makes. Janies second husband Joe is competent and Janie has to rely on Joe on economy and this is one of the reasons that Joe regards Janie as his property and shows no respect to Janie at all. What hurts Janie is Joes offense towards her in public without considering her feeling. The desire of being respected by others is getting stronger and stronger and she rises up against Joes patriarchy and wins her temporary freedom. Janie understands it is patriarchy that oppresses her however she does not realize the reason why she cannot be respected by Joe and speak freely as she wants is that she does not get the economic independence. Thus living on Joes property and after enjoying the single life for a short time， she meets Tea Cake and depends on her third husband again. Deep in her heart， she needs to rely on men. When Tea Cake disappears for two days， she is worried and upset. Though she does not need Tea Cakes money but she is never real independent from her husband. In her marriage with Tea Cake， she works with her husband for a short period not for money but for fun. For Janie， earning bread for home is mans business and all she needs to do is within the housework. Janie struggles at home to get her rights and respect but she does not think about to win the basic economic independence for herself. Thus， Janies self-awareness is far from enough； her fight is not complete and thorough； and her victory cannot bring her the happy life as she used to expect.

In The Color Purple Alice Walker not only points out womans awareness and necessity of fighting but also shows that only with economic independence women can win their real rights and respect.

Celie used to be the submissive girl and wife under the patriarchic society. At the first beginning of the novel， her step father tells Celie “You better not never tell nobody but God. Itd kill your mammy.” （Walker 3） Celie has to write letters to God to pour out her miserable life. Though works hard， she has to put up with her husbands beat and constrain her impulse to kill Mr- after she finds Mr- hid her sisters letters. Under Shugs help， Celie leaves away from her husband Mr- and builds up her own pants factory in Memphis. Holding with the patriarchal concept that women should listen to men， Celie has been submissive to her stepfather and her husband for thirty years. However the other barrier that impedes Celie from getting rid of oppressions is finical problem. When Celie happened to meet her biological daughter Olivia in a cloth store， she wants to buy the girl something but she feels poor. Celie works as the maid in Mr—s house having no money. Helped by rich Shug， Celie can solve the problem of basic living after her run-away which encourages Celie to leave. After Celie begins to make a living on her own factory and helps others with their life she writes to her sister Nettie. “I am so happy. I got love， I got work， I got money， friends and time.” （Walker 194） Celie gets her freedom， her lover and her economic independence from men which determines the relationship between Mr—and her.As a singer， Shug earns herself much money. She wears beautiful clothes， drives luxury car and lives in the big house. Even men need to rely on Shug. Mr— is weak and he is obsessed with her； Harpo needs her to sing in his bar to attract more customers； Grady calls her as mother and gets everything he wants from her. Shug does not depend on man and wins mens love with her unique charm.

Both Celie and Shug have been independent on economy to win mens respect and love. Celie does not use her verbal words for respect but strives for others admiration with her effort： leaving Mr— ， setting up the factory and finally realizing her value and winning peoples respect with her careers. Shug， with the reliable economic security， can be the owner of her life and never surrenders to the patriarchic society.

Zora Neale Hurston indicates that women need to find themselves and fight for themselves but she does not point out the key factor to struggle—economic independence. Without economic independence， just like Janie， women cannot get the thorough victory. In The Color Purple Alice Walker develops Hurstons idea， proposes the importance of the economic independence and shows women a proper way to fight for themselves.

2. The Development of Womens Self-awareness

In Their Eyes were Watching God， Janie is the only woman who has the self-awareness and the courage to fight. Nanny tries hard to buy a hut to protect Janie and herself but still she yields to the social oppression. When tragedy happens， Nanny watches God for help muttering “Ah done de best Ah could do. （Hurston 24）” Nanny bows to God and gives up her fight against the unfair society. When Janie is 16 years old， Nanny strangles Janies looming love in the cradle and forces Janie to marry old Logan. Her behavior is the helpless struggle to protect Janie under the double oppression of patriarchy and racism but also indulges the rise of the patriarchy.

Like Nanny， phoeby wants to help Janie as well. As Janies only friend， when she hears about Janies plan to go away with Tea Cake， she persuades Janie to consider it seriously. Phoeby is one of the victims in the patriarchic society and she listens to her husband， does what her husband tells her. Even her persuasion as a good friend to Janie is the order from her husband. Phoeby goes to Janie and talks with Janie what the others say about Janies love with Tea Cake as her husband tells her. Janie tells phoebe her story and ideas， Pheoby feels that “Ah done growed ten feet higher from jus listenin tuh you， Janie. Ah aint satisfied wid mahself no mo ” （Hurston 192） Janie is the pioneer of womens self-awareness to fight against the patriarchy and her story and behavior are not accepted by the others except Phoeby. The others judgment towards Janie is the common opinions of the society towards womens fights. Hurston sets Phoeby， the only one who understands Janie and has the desire to learn from Janie， among the gossiping people to offer the hope of womens self-awareness movement.

Hurston makes Phoeby as a potential follower of Janies fight while in The Color Purple， Alice Walker characterizes more female images with self-awareness and fighting spirit and to Alice Walker sisterhood plays a more important role in womens struggle. Shug is the sharpest image to fight against patriarchy. She has her own career and does what she thinks is right. Never constraining her feelings， Shug helps other black women to realize their dreams. In the patriarchic society， women like Shug is unique. Fortunately Shug influences Celie and they two black women help each other to fight back and win the freedom. Except help Celie set up self-awareness and discover potential ability for clothes， Shug also helps Squeak who once is the Harpos docile girlfriend， listens to Harpo and is afraid of singing in the public. Shug suggests Squeak to let the others call her by her real name Mary Agnes and encourages Mary to sing. Gradually Mary realizes her as an individual person and begins to protect her individuality. When Harpo asks “Squeak， Mary Agnes，what difference do it make？” （Walker 183） She retorts immediately that “It make a lot. When I was Mary Agnes I could sing in public.” （Walker 183） Name is the symbol of ones identity. By insisting on using her real name， Mary Agnes get to realize herself as a person and gets tired of being the timid girl. Being no more a docile girl， Mary Agnes starts to ask for respect from Harpo and achieve her singing dream.

Celie gradually becomes strong in mind but Sofia， Harpos wife is strong at the very beginning. She likes to do mans job and fights back no matter who hurts her： Harpo， Squeak and the mayor who cannot take an advantage of Sofia. Though Sofia is strong， racial pressure is stronger than her. When she is in prison， Celie， Shug and Squeak help her and after she live with Harpo again， Celie does her a lot of favor. As black woman， Nettie far away in Africa shows her pity on Sofia in her letters as well. Nettie gets the chance to go to school from Celie and they two sisters love and encourage each other deeply. Being educated， Nettie understands that she will not be like her sister and persuades Celie to rise up against step father， Mr- and the entire unfair treats.

Zora Neale Hurston uses Janie as speaker and forerunner of the womens self-awareness. From a sinlge rebellious Janie to Celie， Shug， Mary Agnes and Nettie， more and more black women begin to realize self-awareness and they unite together to strive for their rights and ask for respect from men. With the sisterhood between them， black women become stronger and their fighting is getting more thorough and complete. Alice Walker developes Hurstons idea and encourages black women to continue their fight.

3. The Improvement of Relationship between Women and Men

Both Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple encourage women to resist mens control and gain their rights and independence. Nevertheless， Alice Walker explores deeper than Zora Neale Hurston on how to deal with the relationship between women and men and what is the perfect goal of womens fight.

Hurston arranges Janie to win her fights along with the endings of her marriages. Old Logan treats her as the free labor and never regards woman as equal as man； Joe keeps Janie as his own capture to show his charm and ability； Tea Cake loves Janie but never considers her as the free individual person so when Tea Cake thinks that Janie does not like him anymore， he tries to kill Janie. Men in Eatonville do not show their respect and pity on women. The attitude of Janies husbands towards wife is reinforced by the other men in the novel and furthermore these men not only want to control their wives but also want all the women to comply with their conventions. Hicks and his friend chase after Janie to compete with each other showing their competence as me； the villagers sitting in front of the store blame the old poor woman—Mrs. Tony for making her husband embarrassing when Joe teases her with very little meat； the husbands set up rules for their wives to obey and judge women by their standards. Men in Eatonville do not like Janies rebellion so they help Joe to conquer Janie. For these men， Janies fight is the resistance to the whole society and will threaten their prestige which is not allowed because their opinions of womens obedience and inferior position are deep-rooted and will never change. Only young Tea Cake teaches Janie doing mens work and treats her equally. Janie always wants to have freedom and rights but she wins all these in price of her marriage. Hurston encourages women to get rid of mens control but she does not show women how to handle the relationship between men and women and what is the best way for women to get along with men.

It should be noticed that men in The Color Purple are more tolerant to women and their attitudes towards women are more liberal. Mr— marries Celie to look after his children and work for him. He takes his lover Shug home for Celie to look after and sleep with Shug ignoring Celies feeling. Divorced with her husband and having her own career， Celie gets independence finally and her efforts and fights deeply affect her husband Mr-. Mr- accepts Celie as a new individual and wants to marry Celie again out of love and joins in Celies factory which is seen as the job only for women. Celie works hard to realize her value， changes mens attitude towards women around her and establishes a good relationship with men.

Harpo used to beat and wants to tame Sofia to be another obedient Celie. In order to be a real man like his father， he makes every endeavor to conquer Sofia even at the price of losing his wife. When he and Sofia finally get together again， he learns his lesson and gradually tries to respect Sofia. When Celie asks if Harpo minds she invites Sofia to her store， Harpo answers “what Im gon mind for？ It seem to make her happy. And I can take care of anything come up at home.” Harpo and Sofia show us a wonderful relationship between man and woman. They break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia is strong and working outside while Harpo accepts Sofias decision and “likes cooking， cleaning and doing little things round the house.” （Walker 57） Besides Harpo， Mr— can accept wear Shugs dress and he likes to see Shug wear his pants. From Harpo and Mr— it can be seen that men are more liberal in The Color Purple. Shugs boyfriend Grady relies on Shug； Sofias boyfriend Henery Broadnax said： “I do not fight Sofia battle. My job to love her and take her where she want to go.”（Walker 78） Alice Walker writes a group of men who learn how to respect women and treat women. With mens respect， women and men find a good way to get along with each other.

Hurston shows and encourages women to have self-awareness and to fight against mens control and oppression but in her novel mens attitudes towards women do not change and womens victory is not thorough and cannot lead a happy life to women. Alice walker brings not only more female images but also male images to indicate that womens relationship with men has been improved and womens self-awareness movement has made a further progress than that in Hurstons times. Womens fights against patriarchy cannot be completed by womens solo strength and mens attitudes towards women also play an important role in the struggle and they can help to promote womens social position as well. Alice Walker realizes this point and shapes theses more tolerant men based on her experiences to declare that women have already made the breakthrough and the future for women is promising.

4. Conclusion：

Being prominent black female writers， both Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker concerns with the black womens self-awareness and fights encouraging black women to resist on. Living in a more complex environment and having borrowed the experiences and motifs from Hurston， Alice Walker touches deeper and more complicated issues about black women and achieves a wider effect in more aspects.

Hurston confirms Janies struggle and enlightens womens self-awareness to rouse more black womens consciousness to fight against patriarchy. Awakening from mans oppression and it is also essential to know how to fight back effectively. Alice Walker uses her distinct female images to show black women an appropriate way to fight—only get independent on economy can black women get real independence from patriarchy. However personal independence is not enough for black women in a man-dominated society. Black women live in the bottom of the patriarchic society under the double oppression from both men and white people. A better way for them to get freedom and rights is mutual help and mutual promotion. They have to unite together—helping to comfort each other， affecting more women to fight and achieving more successes as Celie， Shug， Mary Agnes， Nettie do. Most men in The Color Purple are not as stubborn and conservative as men in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Because of their liberal attitude towards women and womens efforts， the relationship between women and men has been improved greatly which is also an indication that womens awareness movement has made a big progress. Compared with Zora Neale Hurstons ending， Alice Walker uses the happy endings to encourage African-American women to fight on for their promising future.

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