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The Purple Flower | Introduction

The Purple Flower, by Manta Bonner, an African-Amencan writer of the Harlem Renaissance, is a short, one-act play first published in Crisis magazine in 1928 and is, as noted by Joyce Flynn in Frye Street and Environs: The Collected Works of Marita Bonner, "generally regarded as Bonner's masterpiece." Although it was never performed m her lifetime, Bonner was awarded first prize for The Purple Flower in the 1927 Crisis magazine literary awards.

The Purple Flower is an allegory for racial relations in the United States, although it could be applied to the conditions of oppressed people anywhere in the world, at any point in history. The play includes two sets of characters. First there are the Us's, who represent African Americans Then there are the White Devils, who live on the hill, located "Somewhere," atop of which grows The Purple Flower-of-Life-at-Its-Fullest. The Us's live m the valley and spend their time trying to reach the hill, a goal that the White Devils do everything m their power to keep them from attaining. The stage is divided into two levels, separated by a thm board that Bonner calls the "thm-skin-of-civilization." The Us's occupy the upper level, which holds the dialogue and main action. The lower level is occupied by the White Devils, who have no dialogue but dance around and mimic the action on the upper level. The individual characters among the Us's represent a variety of attitudes of the oppressed, concerning the best way to go about raising their socioeconomic status.

In the play's resolution, an Old Man, calling himself a Servant of God, mixes, in an iron pot, a conjuring potion made up of dust, books, gold, and human blood. He then sends the bravest Young Us, named Finest Blood, off to confront the White Devils with the power of music, faith, and the readiness to sacrifice his own blood. The Old Man thus combines the contributions of many different members of the community to give birth to a New Man equipped to fight the White Devils for equality.

The Purple Flower Summary

Beginning
As the play opens, the White Devils live on the hill, atop of which grows the purple Flower-of-Life-at-Its-Fullest. The Us's have worked to build all of the roads and houses on the hill but are forced to live in the valley, where they "spend their time trying to devise means of getting up the hill " Meanwhile, the White Devils "try every trick, known and unknown," to prevent the Us's from reaching the hill.

The action begins in the evening, as the Us's rest beside a brook, "with their backs toward Nowhere and their faces toward Somewhere.'' The White Devils can be heard singing from the hillside, "You stay where you are! / We don't want you up here!" The Us's discuss their prospects of ever reaching the hill to see the purple flower. Another Us claims that he is not concerned with the White Devils and that he will go up the hill when he is ready to; then he falls asleep. An Old Lady despairs that she will never get to the hill to see the flower, even though she has worked hard all her life to "get Somewhere" by washing clothes for the White Devils. A Young Us comments that all she's gotten for her labors is "a slap in the face." The Old Lady responds that the "Leader" told them that they could succeed by showing the White Devils that they know how to work hard, but, she comments, if two hundred years of the hard work of slavery haven't shown them, nothing will. Another Young Us says that working for the White Devils gets the Us's nowhere. The Old Lady retorts that "something's got to be done though!"

Middle
A family of four Us's—An Old Man (also called Average), An Old Woman, A Young Us (also called Finest Blood), and the Young Girl (also called Sweet)—walk up and join the group. The Old Lady turns to the Older Man saying that the Us's are never going to make it... » Complete The Purple Flower Summary