The Course Of Celie's Awakening In The Color Purple

Alice Walker is the one of the most noted black women writers in American Literature since 1970s. She is a prolific writer whose works include novel, poetry, essay and criticism. The Color Purple published in 1982 is her most magnificent novel which makes her win the American highest prizes:the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book critic Award. The novel was adapted for the film in 1984 by Spielberg which brings Alice Walker the honor from all over the world. He also initiated the new term "womanism" in order to differentiate it from the "feminism". The novel tells a story of how the protagonist Celie becomes an independent, confident and courageous woman from a meek, timid and submissive black woman from the perspective of womenism and sisterhood. This article analyzes how the hero Celie becomes independent in spirit and the economic and the reason of change, that is, the course of Celie's change and the causes of the change. Alice Walker embodies the womanism and emphasizes the importance of the sisterhood in the novel. There are 5 chapters as the following:Chapter One introduces the life of Alice Walker, her main works and the most famous novel The Color Purple including the plot, artistic features, social position and the praise and criticism brought by the novel;Chapter Two portrays the womanism and the sisterhood. The first part introduces the time, background, the intent and the social significance womanism is coined; the second part introduces the necessity, definition and importance sisterhood appears. The second part also analyzes the importance of the sisterhood which plays a vital role in the awakening of Celie from the novel's perspective;Chapter Three analyzes the course of Celis's change and is divided into 2 parts. The first part gives the analysis on the course of Celie's change from submission to rebellion whether in body and in spirit. The second part describes how Celie achieves the economic independence by making pants, quilting and having the house of her own;Chapter Four analyzes the causes of Celie's change. The love of Shag's, the encourage of Nettie and influence of Sophia play a vital role in the change of Celie;Chapter Five is the conclusion. Only under the help of black sisters and the efforts of the woman herself, can they change the fate of being oppressed and grows to be an independent women and have the same rights with the men so as to establish a harmonious society. The paper stresses again the connotation of womanism and the importance of the sisterhood.The paper also shows the sympathy and care about the absolute liberation of the women all over the world especially the black women. This article also aims to give a new viewpoint to the black woman literature research and the liberation of the black women.