Theory On the Color Purple..
So I had this theory on the ending of the color purple that the end was Celie’s type of heaven. It’s interesting that in the end everything ended on a happy note, shug came back to her, Nettie survives a freak accident on a boat that supposedly killed her whole family, and everyone that has played an important role in Celie’s life are arriving at the scene. It’s interesting that through the whole book Celie struggled and continues to struggle and then in the end it all comes together to make an unrealistic expectation of happiness and complete wholeness that doesn’t seem realistic. To make it more realistic and maybe even more cathartic I see the end as her wholeness coming in the form of her type of heaven. I believe that she died inbetween finding out shug left her and Nettie dying, and in the end Nettie receiving her on the other side alongside the women and even Albert, who had become close to her. i like this take on the ending alittle better because it gives the hope of a new future in heaven better than this unrealistic portrayal of everything working out in the end.
Sam, I like this theory because I was found myself wondering the same thing. I felt like a couple things didn't line up. Throughout the whole book, the reader struggles alongside Celie. I found it nearly unbearable to find out that Nettie's family died on the ship. I was afraid to turn the page because I thought I would find Celie in a mental hospital. Usually, especially during those times, difficulties could have the potential to literally drive someone crazy. In Malcolm X, you see how his mother became mentally unstable because she had to care for 5/6 kids after her husband was killed. This was not uncommon.
ReplyDeleteImagine my surprise as I read on in the book and saw that Celie not only coped, things began to turn full circle in her favor. I wondered how Nettie and her family could have just appeared out of nowhere. The book gives no explanation. I wonder, Sam, if your theory is perhaps a more accurate picture of what really took place.