In society, both past and present, there has been a history of domestic violence within marriages or relationships. Nowadays, in most cases if someone is abused by either a spouse or a partner, there are people that you would be able to reach out to for help, such as: family, law enforcement, and even support groups. Just imagine how it was for someone being physically, mentally, or even verbally abused back in the late 1800s or early 1900s and being totally defenseless; not having anyone to turn to in your time of need. In those days, it was rare for a woman to seek out for help or even leave her spouse after several occasions of being abused. Most people did not intervene in a family's personal life or some people just did not care. Young girls would be married off once they hit a certain age and sometimes never returned to their families. Celie is abused numerous of times and the only people who come to her …show more content…
defense are her sister, Nettie, Shug Avery, her husband's mistress, and Miss Sophia, her step-son's wife; all of whom that have experienced some type of abuse in their lifetime as well. At the young age of about twenty, Celie is married off to Mr.______, (who name we learn before the half way point) who continues the abuse much throughout their marriage. As time goes, it is brought to our attention of the abuse that both Ms. Celie and the other female characters in the book endured. The physical and psychological abuse is therefore what causes Ms. Celie to be depressed the majority of her life, which also contributed to her being a lesbian.(Which I will talk about later). "The Color Purple” begins with a silence: You better not never tell nobody but God.
It'd kill your mammy. Celie's story is told within the context of this threat: the narrative is about breaking silences, and, appropriately, its formal structure creates the illusion that it is filled with unmediated "voices." At the start until a certain point of the story, Celie is told to keep quiet about what has taken place between her and her father. "He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. But I don't never git used to it. And now I feels sick every time I be the one to cook" In the story, Mr.____, Harpo, and the other men characters, look down upon the women and disrespect to a level that is very common back in those day. Not only were Celie and Mr.____ married, but also she was his property and that is exactly how he treated her. The only time in the book that Mr.____ is actually somewhat nice to Ms. Celie is when Shug was around and that was simply because all his attention was focused on Shug, whom he was having a known affair
with. Celie was only a victim because she allowed herself to be a victim. Which is different from Sofia had with Harpo who tried to control her through violence and failed miserably she left him and “years later” (I swear the book make it sound like years has past) she was with another guy, then later started a fight with the mayor and his wife got beaten down by the police with her spirt broken through jail(time has pass ). Later down the story Celie told Harpo if he wasn’t trying to control Sofia she would never end up in that place to end with and Sofia agreed. That moment she gained her identity and got to a place where she was somewhat happy with herself, she starts doing things that she enjoyed although she was limited because of the setting, such as the letters to God then later to her sister as well as making and wearing pants. For the moment I want only to point out that the novel is also lesbian in the much “broader sense” of women's love for women is at once centralized and incorporated into a more diffuse model of woman-identifying women" In the text, it becomes apparent that Celie has started to develop some type of fascination with Shug. She…I mean Celie thought about Shug in more way than one if get the meaning she thought :"Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty then my mama. She about ten thousand times prettier than me and now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery"(I cut out some stuff from the book cause it too long otherwise). Therefore, as the story starts to unfold that Celie feelings for Shug grow stronger. "All the men got they eyes glued to Shug's bosom. Celie has got her eyes glued there too and she says she feel her nipples harden under my dress andher little button sort of perk up too. ( I might take this out when doing the final version.) This "female bonding, which occurs over an extended period of time, enables Celie a depressed survivor victim of parent loss, emotional and physical neglect, rape, incest and trauma resume her arrested development and her questionable mental processes that were thwarted in infancy and early adolescence. These processes are in Celie's interactions with appropriate mother surrogates, Celie is enabled to get in touch with her feelings, work through old traumas, and achieve an emotional maturity and a firm sense of identity that is psychologically convincing" Celie feelings for women where strong and where more along the lines of real love was for the simple fact, that the only people who truly cared for her and where looking out for her, were women. She never had a positive male to look up to or to console when she while she was sad. "With Celie's first anguished letter to God, for some reason the author enables the reader to enter into the private thoughts and emotional state of her traumatized, guilt shame, and depressed fourteen-year-old gitl, who has been repeatedly raped and impregnated by the man whom she believes to be her biological father. She even tries to write to God (good luck with that) asking what she did wrong she wrote: "Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me Celie writes to God because she is ashamed of what is happening to her and because of the threat from Alphonso( you never hear this guy name not for the next never) that immediately precedes Celie's first letter: "You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy". The threats and the possibilities of the outcome of what would happen if she told, were very real to Celie. Even if she had spoke out about the abuse that had been occurring, the likelihood of any action taken place in that day and age was very uncommon. "The style of this letter, and those that follow in the book, is characterized by short, choppy sentences, halting rhythms, repetitive grammatical structures of subject, and verb(I swear it like mine work). It is a style that mirrors Celie's traumatized processes and depressed emotional state. We learn that Celie's depression is partly caused by her repressed rage when later in the novel Sofia asks her what she does when she gets mad". Celie say’s and I quote: “I think. I can't even remember the last time I felt mad, I say. I used to git mad at my mammy cause she put a lot of work on me. Then I see how sick she is. Couldn't stay mad at her. Couldn't be mad at my daddy cause he my daddy. Bible says, honor father and mother no matter what. Then after while every time I got mad, or start to feel mad, I got sick and felt like throwing up and it’s a terrible feeling. Then I start to feel nothing at all". Celie had been forced to stay silence for so long that she is even able to get mad or angry about what has transpired in her life because of her faith and loyalty to God. Walker's Celie, "What sane black woman . . . would sit around and take that crock of shit from all those folks?" So for Celie in the end (the girl who name I swear I forgotten at some point throughout the book) only real method of survival was indeed to confirm to the expectations of Mr.___ (again she learn his name was Albert so many times from Shug so looking at Mr.____ is unnecessary). She keep him happy as long as possible so that the beatings would come less and less over time. Her spirt broken while she keep telling herself: "I don't say nothing. I think bout Nettie, dead. She fight, she run away. What good it do? I do not fight, I stay where I'm told.” This way of thinking did at some point control her emotions and actions momentarily, and almost caused her to turn her back on her faith (not a religious person myself so yeah to me she had no backbone). She…I mean Celie said herself: Yeah, I say, and he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama, a lowdown dog of a step pa and a sister I probably won't ever see again. Anyhow, I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. In addition, act just like all the other men I know trifling, forgetful and lowdown" (or it could be that the people you live with were horrible and blaming it on something that does not exist is stupid). The obstacles that Ms. Celie overcame allowed her to fight through the depression, live a somewhat regular life after breaking away from her husband, and become truly happy with herself and her sexuality. Please Note: She went through physical abuse, verbal abuse and spiritual abuse and she still sane…just me speaking my mind this will be taken out for the final version).
Alice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers. Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome arduous lessons of life. Once she managed to transfer the struggles of her life into a book, she instantaneously became a world-renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner. The Color Purple is a riveting novel about the struggle between redemption and revenge according to Dinitia Smith. The novel takes place rural Georgia, starting in the early 1900s over a period of 30 years. Albert, also known as Mr._____, and his son Harpo must prevail over their evil acts towards other people, especially women. Albert and Harpo wrong many people throughout their lives. To be redeemed, they must first learn to love others, then reflect upon their mistakes, and finally become courageous enough to take responsibility for their actions. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker effectively develops Albert and Harpo through redemption using love, reflection, and responsibility.
“Such a woman faces two major obstacles: fear and finance -- fear for her safety and that of her children and a lack of money to support herself or them. The most dangerous time in the life of a battered woman is when she attempts to leave her abuser. Threatened by the loss of control, the batterer is likely to become even more violent and may even try to kill her. There are simply not enough shelters to protect all the women who need them” (1).
...mply in terms of reliance upon subjugation to men. Her defiance of the custom of demurring in the presence of men stirs envy in Celie, who lacks Sofia's self-assurance, and who consequently advises an exasperated Harpo, to 'beat her' into submission. This is a point of growth for Celie who comes to realize that she has committed a 'sin against Sofia spirit'. Celie is becoming aware of the nature of her own oppression. She is able to analyze her own behavior and admit her jealousy of Sofia's ability to fight back against abuse and to resist male oppression. Here Walker, deftly illustrates the ease with which the cycle of abuse is perpetuated among the abused and the oppressed. In the story, Sofia, represents the indomitable spirit of the woman of color who is determined to be herself regardless of the pressure to submit to the indignities of prejudice and sexism.
54% of women victims of serious sexual assault were assaulted by their partner or ex-partner (Stern 2010). 19% of women have experienced stalking since the age of 16 (Smith (Ed.), Coleman, Eder and Hall January 2011). These statistics help give a picture of the problem but do little to shed light on the solution. There are many programs and shelters offered to victims of domestic violence, Hill Country Cares is one of them. Hill Country Cares is a government funded women’s shelter better known s HCC. This is a place where victims of domestic violence are referred to from many sources. (i.e. local authorities after reporting a domestic violence incident). HCC is a safe place where victims receive many different types of assistance while their situation, as well as the painfully intimate details of their abuse, are kept entirely confidential.
Alice Walker is woman of class, diversity, and feminism. More importantly, she is a civil rights activist, novelist, poet, and essayist. Growing up poor, I would like to think motivated her, and crafted her to the woman she is at this time in her life. Her works is a tasteful gratification of what it was like fighting for equality for all African Americans, affirming the possibility to love and forgive amongst black and white people, and just writing impeccable wisdom. While attending Spelman College, she turned down a scholarship to study abroad in Paris, and instead she went to Mississippi to pursue civil rights.
Women will continue to suffer from domestic violence unless there is some sort of intervention to help them. When dealing with this population, it is essential to create a safe environment where the woman can talk freely about the abuse without any retaliation from the abuser. When someone comes into a therapeutic session, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and care. This in turn will create a sense of hope that a different type of life can be possible. Also, knowing that there is a support system can help the woman begin the process of change. Despite this, the process of leaving the abusive partner is slow (Warshaw, n.d.)
Alice Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia on February 9,1944, she is the eighth and youngest child of Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker and Willie Lee Walker. He parents worked as sharecroppers. Not only did she grow up poor but in a violent and racist environment, this left a permanent impression on her writing.
Alice Walker’s writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings around her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walker’s most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns women’s struggle for freedom in a society where they are viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel.
Symbolism is one of the major elements in "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker. The woman's search for something she has never experienced is the symbolization of the mankind's search for love and happiness. The meaning of names, occupations, power, pants, cloth, words, eyes, frogs, starts, shell, stamps are only few examples of the symbols used by the author and are very important in understanding not only the characters of the story, but also global values such as love, power, mutual understanding, and authority over another person's life.
Briefly introducing the background of this book, the time period of this book is in the early 20 century after abolition of slavery. But even slavery was abolished, the issue of slavery had remained in this era. This paper describes the evidence of slavery in The Color Purple after abolishing legacy of slavery.
Most people in society are one sided when it comes to domestic violence. Most people automatically think domestic violence as men abusing women. Most people believe domestic violence is associated with gender. For instance, some people associate men with violent, destructive, and belligerent behavior. While women are often seen as innocent, fragile, and vulnerable. For many years men were the ones showing violent behavior, so most people believe men are usually the aggressor. Many people believe men should never abuse a woman, and if he does he will charged and most likely serve jail time. Although, women are not viewed the same way. Over the years women have become just as aggressive and violent as men have been portrayed. Many women who are violent are given a pass if they abuse a man. More simply, their behavior is overlooked, because they are not seen as a threat to society, so they will most likely not be jailed or punished for their behavior. In addition, there are many resources to help women get out of domestic violence situations. For instance, there are hotlines they can call, shelters they can visit, and support
Both males and females have influences that help decide the ways in which they think, dress, speak, and act within the situation of society. Cultural and personal gender roles are a big influence on the way people live. Learning plays a role in this process of shaping gender roles. Peers, parents, movies, teachers, television, books, and movies could all teach and reinforce gender roles throughout the lifespan.
For centuries, women struggle to obtain equality with men. They are invisible and not given opportunities because of their gender. Feminism is the matter of consideration in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. The feminist movement has been the key to give the rights to women who have been stricken of their equality and privileges that men had fail to give them. It is believed that women have every right to be equal with men and feminism is achieving this gradually. Feminism is favorable to the men, women, and their families because it gives an equal opportunity in life
Sedgewick observes, one’s social position is affected by various axis of classification such as gender, sexuality, race, class and the interplay of these social identities. In The Color Purple by Alice walker, Sedgewick’s observations ring true. Celie, the main character in Walker’s novel, is a perfect example of these observations put forth by Sedgewick. Celie’s social position is indicative of her gender, sexuality, race, and class; as a Black woman living in Georgia in 1910 to 1940, one can expect to witness the general ‘acceptable’ racism present within the novel towards people of color. Despite the ‘acceptable’ racism, the novel accentuates the hardships and struggles the women of color in this novel have to go through. The social positions of the characters, more so Celie and Sofia, in Walker’s The Color Purple are based on the social identities of their gender, race, class, sexuality, and ethnicity.
Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes. First of all, the most important tool we have available against this type of crime are the authorities, which include the police department, hospital, and social workers. If they manage to work together as a team to make the whole process of protecting a victim more efficient, it will encourage victims to actually phone for help.