An Essay by Renee D Mattila

April 28, 2004

Developing self-identity is a challenge in a world full of prejudices. Over the last few centuries women have been struggling to break free of the traditional roles determined by society. Today, in Canada, women have an unprecedented level of freedom in choosing their career and lifestyle. It is easy to take this freedom for granted but novels like In Search of April Raintree and The Color Purple show the difficulties faced in the recent past. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker explores the difficulties faced by African American women in the first half of the 20th century. In In Search of April Raintree, Beatrice Culleton reveals the difficulties faced by the Métis people in the middle of 20th century. These novels explore similar themes and have a similar structure. Although the two novels, In Search of April Raintree and The Color Purple, share many similarities, the differences are also significant. Both novels use a first person narrative voice but Walker creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, while Culleton creates a sense of distance.

There are some obvious similarities between In Search of April Raintree and The Color Purple. As previously mentioned, both novels use a first person narrative voice. These novels also centre on a female protagonist. The protagonist’s relationship to her sister is central to the plot of both stories. Themes surrounding racial issues are also dominant in these novels. In Search of April Raintree focuses on the challenges faced by Metis people in Canada. The Color Purple examines the lives of African American women in the southern United States. These two novels also have a predominant theme of developing self-identity. Culleton and Walker use the first person narrative point of view in very different ways to explore these themes.

In The Color Purple, Alice Walker uses a traditional first person narrative to develop an intimate representation of the characters, as well as a sense of immediacy in the action. Walker composes an epistolary novel that creates the illusion that Celie is telling her story directly to the reader, as it happens. Each letter proceeds chronologically and clearly illustrates Celie’s development from a young girl to a middle-aged woman. In the beginning of the novel Celie is a shy and abused girl. She becomes a shy and abused wife. Any chance she has at developing self esteem is beaten out of her. Characters such as Celie’s stepfather and her husband Albert are very stereotypical of the male dominated society. They serve as symbols of patriarchy and the oppression of women. In contrast to theses male stereotypes, Walker creates strong female characters to serve as character foils to Celie and to challenges stereotypes. Nettie, along with characters such as Sophia and Sugar Avery, present Celie with the possibility that she can be more than what men have told her she can be. Albert tells her, “You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman… you nothing at all” (Walker, 213). Celie’s self identity and self-esteem develop gradually. The turning point comes with the discovery of her sister Nettie’s letters. With the support of Sugar Avery, and the thought of her children and sister’s imminent return, Celie takes her life into her own hands. Celie comes to realise “I’m pore, I’m black, I may be ugly… But I’m here” (214). The narrative style of this novel draws the reader deeply into the situation. Celie’s gradual change and development is easy to see as she tells her story. Her choice to leave her husband, their eventual friendship and Nettie’s return are all powerful and immediate events. Nettie’s letters also give the reader an intimate understanding of Nettie’s character. This intimacy and immediacy is consistent with the first person narrative style.

Beatrice Culleton uses a less traditional form of the first person narrative to create a sense of distance in In Search of April Raintree. The narrator is April Raintree and she tells the story of her life in retrospect. April is twenty-four years old when she tells her story. This distance in time reduces the sense of immediacy that was present in The Color Purple. April’s retrospection also allows for a more mature interpretation of the events in her life. She is able to look at situations in a detached manner. This is opposite of Celie’s story, where all situations are immediate and emotional. While the reader witnesses the development of Celie’s sense of self, April’s development is being recounted. Culleton includes elements in this novel that are not part of the traditional first person narrative to maintain the sense that April is somewhat disconnected from the story. Some of these non-narrative elements include letters and essays from April’s sister Cheryl. These letters and essays provide some insight into Cheryl’s character while emphasizing the distance between these sisters. The reader’s perception of Cheryl’s character is mostly from April’s description. With the discovery of Cheryl’s diary it becomes clear that these sisters are separated by a lack of understanding. In The Color Purple, Celie and Nettie remain close, loving sisters despite being separated by distance and time. April and Cheryl live closer together but their lack of understanding proves to be a greater barrier than either physical distance or time. Like Celie, April has difficulty developing a healthy level of self-esteem because of prejudices she encounters. April has difficulty accepting herself as a Métis person. April pretends to be white as often as she can get away with it. April lies at school about her parents being dead, she marries a rich, white man and she wishes Cheryl would “forget that she is Métis” (Culleton, 84). April wants to blend into white society. Despite tragedy and hardship April does come to embrace her Métis heritage. By the end of the novel April proudly proclaims that she will have a better tomorrow “For my sister and her son. For my parents. For my people” (207). April finally realises that being Métis is an integral part of her self-identity.

Alice Walker and Beatrice Culleton both use a first person narrative voice in their novels but Walker creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, while Culleton creates a sense of distance.
The Color Purple, employs a traditional style of first person narrative to develop intimacy and immediacy in the presentation of its themes. In Search of April Raintree, utilizes a less traditional form to create a sense of distance and detachment. Both novels explore the difficulty of developing self-identity when faced with prejudice and hardship. Despite the tragedies and difficulties faced by the characters in these novels, overall the two stories are uplifting. The strength of the human character to overcome and prosper is secondary to all the hardships.

Works Cited

Culleton, Beatrice. In Search of April Raintree.Winnipeg: Portage and Main Press. 1999

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.New York: Pocket Books. 1982