Color Purple

Power of the Word

While reading The Color Purple I was shocked by the development of Celie's inner-self. Her entire being was defined by those around her. It appeared as if Celie had no hand in creating who she was. I could picture Shug, Mr., and Her father molding Celie's body like a piece of clay until Celie truly believed she was an ugly, dumb, and worthless servant. It was shocking to see the destructive power of something as simple as words. Words seem to have the single handed ability to destroy life itself. The power of the word in The Color Purple particularly struck me because I was simultaneously reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

The Four Agreements is about the wisdom of the ancient Toltec. The Toltec is a way of thinking about life, and of filling ones life with happiness and love. According to Ruiz, the problem with most of us is that we have allowed the world around us to create our agreements for us. Our parents instilled beliefs--agreements--into us from the time we started trying to make sense of the world around us. And what we are--who each of us is as an individual human being--is determined by our agreements. Ultimately, who we are is defined by what we believe and our beliefs shape the world around us.

In order to redefine ourselves the Toltec teaches that there are four agreements which we must learn to live by. The first and most important agreement is to be impeccable with your word. The word gives the power to create. The word creates the world around us and is therefore a tool of magic. However, as Ruiz says our word is a double-edged sword, and we can use it to create a beautiful dream, or we can use it to destroy everything around us. Misusing the word creates a living hell. Being impeccable with our word creates beauty, love, and heaven on earth.

Ruiz continues to explain that the human mind is a fertile ground where opinions, ideas, and concepts are constantly being planted. Because the word is magic, humans are like magicians, and they are capable of casting spells. If the parents tell a child repeatedly that she is not very pretty, or that he is not very smart, the child will accept this as true. It will become an agreement in the mind of the child. And the agreement--the belief--becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. "I'm ugly, so there's no use putting on makeup, or dressing in nice clothes--it won't make any difference"; "I'm dumb, so there's no use studying, or trying to prepare myself for college--I just don't have the brains for it."

This is precisely what occurred with Celie. The power of the word was used destructively against her. When she was told she was ugly, dumb, and worthless she created these agreements with herself. She stopped smiling, she stopped making an effort to stand-up for herself, she devoted herself to housework, and she denied herself any sort of enjoyment or satisfaction. She truly believed she was not entitled to even the smallest pleasures.

Celie's inner-worth was so destroyed by the power of the word that she continually submitted to rape. She believed that Mr. was granted complete control of her mind and body. Throughout the novel Celie's father and Mr. constantly degraded and beat her to reinforce their superiority. Celie learned to accept the superiority of men as a fact. As a child Celie was rapped and threatened by her father. Later in marriage Celie's sexual encounters with her husband were sordid and unloving "Just do his business, get off, go to sleep" As Shug remarks, Celie "make it sound like he going to the toilet on you." Because Celie accepted herself as worthless she allowed men to completely take advantage of her. She accepted the role of man as a rapist and therefore never realized how wrong and harmful it was to her. It is not until Shug points out the ecstasy of passion and pleasure that Celie begins to form new