Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two letters in The Color Purple

Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two letters in The Color Purple The Chapter 'Joshua' in Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and the two letters in The Color Purple, where Sofia returns and later gets brutally punished for her confrontation, both explore fundamental issues that characterize a lot of the essence of both novels as a whole. At the heart of both of these two sections is the idea of fighting for the truth and facing the consequences. Although Oranges are not the Only Fruit is written in a retrospective light and The Color Purple in epistolary and consecutively in chronological order, there are similarities within the two styles, they use similar techniques in getting across certain issues. The novels use the people around Jeanette and Celie to convey oppression and hope. Janet's church people and mother have found out about her "unnatural passions" for Melanie. To them their opinion at its wrongs and sinfulness is not opinion but fact. Thus for Janet's "own benefit" they lock her up with no food or light, inflicting an exorcism on her. They believe she is demon possessed and want to rid her of the evil. In this period of confinement, Jeanette questions her sexuality and its wrongs. She states: "Can love really belong to the demon." She realizes that her feelings are not from external influences, but rather from herself. - "If they want to get at my demon they'll have to get me." She is controlled with the idea of the church, and at the same time the naturalness she feels with the feelings: "Demons are evil, aren't they?" She then goes on to say: "But in the Bible you keep getting driven out." - "Don't believe all you read." This in itself is addressing the idea of oppression from the chu... ...d this gives way to the proceedings in the novel as a whole. In The Color Purple, we are left with Celie caring for Sofia who has been so brutally to the ground. Sofia was imprisoned and left to face the circumstances for standing up for what is right. She is thus a heroine in her own right and is an example for Celie. Jeanette was imprisoned (exorcism) and came out of it knowing that she was going to put up a fight for her own truth and to face the circumstances. In Oranges are Not the Only Fruit as a whole, the "Joshua" section stands for truth and Jeanette decides to fight and this indicates the future progression of the novel. In The Color Purple, Celie sees truth being fought for and the result of this fight. These gives her determination and if can fight like that, she can at least fight against male patriarchal Oppression and her love for Slug.