What types of conflicts are present in The Color Purple?
There are several forms of conflict in the novel The Color Purple. Chief among the types of conflict are man versus self. However, all of the other forms of conflict can be found in different aspects of the book.
As noted above, the primary conflict is man versus self, as Celie tries to understand who she is and what value her life carries. She argues with her self worth because she is ugly, and black, and can't do much more than a house wife can. She was raped by her father at a young age, so she also struggles with those demons, and the loss of her children. As she grows up, the only real love she knew, before Sug Avery, was the love she felt for her sister. When her sister Nettie is taken away, a glimmer of man versus man is shown. Mister wanted Nettie to sleep...
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with him, she fights back, and Celie loses touch with her sister.
As the story progresses, you notice Sug Avery's singing secular music, that, at the time, was very taboo and risky. She also has a romantic exchange with Celie, also taboo. This portion of the story showcases man versus society. Essentially, both women are going against the status quo by being braisen, singing "filthy" songs, and being intimate with each other. Sug Avery is rejected by her dad, a pastor, because of her life choices. That element of rejection is also an example of man versus man.
Man versus nature is seen when Celie finally breaks free from Mister's grasp, and tells him that until he does right by her, all that he touches will fail. At that time, his crops begin to wither, his animals die, and his land becomes barren. The last example of man versus nature is within the Olinka village where Celie's children live. When the village begins the industrialized phase, Celie's children's adoptive mother becomes ill from the chemicals and pollution after industrialization.
The central conflict of the novel is Celie's internal conflict. One way to support this idea as the central conflict is to point to the fact that the novel's resolution hinges on the resolution of this conflict in particular.
Celie's development into a person capable of self-love and forgiveness is, effectively, the resolution of the novel's central conflict. This growth in her character is tested when Shug has an affair with a young man, but it is at this moment when Celie's growth is most clearly defined and proved.
Other conflicts are external. There is a "man vs. man" conflict that begins the novel as Celie is abused at home and again in her marriage to Mr. _____.
Another external conflict, which symbolically parallels Celie's internal conflict, relates to Celie's biological family. They return in the end, closing a circle of loss, estrangement and disenfranchisement.
What are the main types of conflict in The Color Purple?
There are several examples of conflict in Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The primary conflict in the novel is a type of literary conflict known as Character vs. Self. This is an internal conflict and it is best exemplified by the protagonist, Celie.
Celie is a victim of emotional, verbal, sexual, and physical abuse. She is told she is unattractive. As a young girl, she is raped by her stepfather. She does not attempt to fight back and passively accepts her stepfather's cruel and abusive treatment of her. As an adult, she reacts similarly when she is beaten by her husband. As a coping mechanism to deal with the abuse she suffers, Celie remains quiet, compliant, and obedient. In a sense, she is trying to make herself invisible to her abusers: if they cannot see her, they cannot hurt her. Celie's abuse is an example of external Character vs. Character conflict, but the conflict that results from her abuse is internal.
Celie internalizes her trauma and develops a sense of self-loathing. She constantly compares herself to others and feels inferior to those around her. She feels stupid in comparison to Nettie and ugly in comparison to Shug. After years of being told she is ugly and undeserving of good things, she believes these sentiments to be true. She believes she is unworthy of happiness, love, and kindness.
Celie's traumatic experiences leave her voiceless and powerless. She passively accepts whatever horrors life sends her way because she does not feel she deserves to be happy, loved, or respected. Throughout the novel, Celie struggles to find her voice and learn to love herself in spite of the abuse she has suffered.
What are the internal and social conflicts in The Color Purple?
Throughout The Color Purple, Alice Walker shows how widespread social conflicts are manifested in individuals, who experience internal conflicts as they struggle against oppressive social forces. The intersection of internal and external factors is revealed through the characters’ efforts, which are often unsuccessful, to develop into fully realized adults within narrow social constraints. The combined influence of such factors is most evident in the protagonist, Celie, but is also conveyed through other major characters.
For much of the novel, the racism and sexism that permeate rural Southern society prevent Celie from seeing an alternate to her dismal life with Mr. —— or Albert, a man who abuses her psychologically and physically. Walker conveys as well that the strong, negative effects of racism have contributed to making Albert a man who wrongly equates power with violence. She also shows him as capable of reflection and remorse.
The examples of Shug Avery and Sofia offer contrasting portraits of characters who largely overcome their internal conflicts, at least for a while. Shug exhibits impressive self-confidence as she apparently refuses to succumb to gender discrimination. Her success is still limited, however, by the negative public opinion associated with her sexuality and the constraints of racial segregation that restrict her fame to the Black community. Sofia, apparently strong enough to resist gender-based violence at the hands of Harpo, pays a much higher price. When she tries to stand up to white authority, the combination of racism and patriarchy leads to socially condoned violence, incarceration, and servitude.