Comparing The Color Purple and Macbeth

1155 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis on the color purple

Comparing The Color Purple and Macbeth

What is a perfect human? Human perfection may be measured by physical ability or intellectual achievement; however, it may also be measured by strength of character, and in this realm humans may often fall short. Weakness of character, shown through various character flaws, causes most of the hardships in life.

Literature such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Alison Walker's The Color Purple contain three levels of characters: setting characters, secondary characters and the main character. Combined, these three all contribute character flaws which leads to the novel or play's ultimate tragedy.

The setting character appears in the beginning of a piece of literature to give one a feel and sense of how the piece will reach out to the reader. King Duncan sets the atmosphere in Macbeth when we see different characters take advantage of his character flaw, naivete. Immediately we begin to see some of the major themes such as betrayal and manipulation and know what direction the play will take. King Duncan's naivete is first shown when we find out that the former Thane of Cawdor has betrayed King Duncan and that he did not have any idea of it. This incident then prepares us for King Duncan's meeting with Lady Macbeth, where Lady Macbeth deceives King Duncan. We know Lady Macbeth is not loyal, yet he considers her his "honour'd hostess.../Which still [he] thank[s] and love[s]" (I. vi. 9-12). Once again when naive King Duncan puts his trust into the hands of disloyal Macbeth by making him Thane of Cowdar, the atmosphere and plot advances by making Macbeth's future plans possible.

Celie's mother, in the beginning of the novel The Color Purple, is a very small but effective setting character. Her character flaw was irresponsible parenting because she did not protect her daughter. With this lack of protection, Celie did not have any female role models when she was growing up. Therefore, Celie was not able to become knowledgeable about life and have good female company. Another effect this flaw had on the protagonist was that she had no one to teach her how to understand herself. Celie was unable to realize all of the wonderful qualities of being and becoming a woman. Because she could not appreciate being a woman, she was unable to appreciate herself, and therefore had a lack of self confidence.

Show More
Related

  • John Updike A & P Transition Into Adulthood

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Updike depicts Sammy’s character as a typical young boy who thinks he is invisible to the idea that consequences apply to him. However, Sammy is granted the harsh actuality that he will no longer be given slaps on the wrist for radical decisions. His coworker Stokesie is twenty-two, married and has two children. Generally speaking, Sammy may still have childish actions but he understands that he does not want to work at the A&P the rest of his life. When he is stricken by the proposition to stand up for the girls as Lengel confronts them about their attire, his entire world

    Read More

  • Macbeth And Lord Of The Flies Comparison

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    The quote, “Man is not truly one, but truly two.” can be analyzed from a behaviorally or mentally aspect. Physically, man is one, but if you delve deeper into the man, he can be separated into two parts which creates a whole man. In the play Macbeth and in the novel Lord of the Flies, some of the characters can be split into two conflicting parts. The characters are neither entirely good or entirely bad. In both the novel and the play, something happens to the characters that made them split into an evil side, thus creating two men.

    Read More

  • Free Color Purple Essays: It Was the Worst of Times

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Color Purple is about Celie’s life.  In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Celie was raped by her father.  We also learn that Celie’s mother is ill and is unable to take care of the family.  Celie is forced to cook and clean for her family.  Celie conceived two children because of her father’s continuous raping.  She never sees her children and believes that her father killed them.  A man from town wanted to take Celie’s sister Nettie as a wife, but her father convinces the man to take Celie instead.  Celie is now forced to marry an older man who already has children.  Celie’s husband constantly beats and rapes her without any remorse.  He even made Celie nurse Shug Avery, his mistress, when she was ill.  It is now that Celie learns from Shug Avery about love.  Shug Avery encourages Celie not to take the abuse from her husband anymore and that she deserves better.  Celie would finally leave her husband when she found out that he kept her sister’s letters from her.  Nettie was the sole reason why Celie had managed to survive.  Celie could not tolerate any more abuse and left with Shug Avery and Mary Agnes.  Mary Agnes was Celie’s stepson’s mistress.  Celie eventually meets up with Nettie and her two children whom she believed to be dead.  She than goes back to her husband who has drastically changed since Shug Avery and Celie left.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices Used In If You Let Me Play

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a society where the sports marketing industry predominantly targeted men, Nike sought to go against the status quo and empower young girls to encourage them to participate in sports. Nike identifies the social issues of gender inequality by attacking the stereotype that young girls should not be encouraged to engage in physical in sports. The campaign identifies that young women will have a greater self-esteem and self-confidence if involved in sports.

    Read More

  • Strength Grown by Celie

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within The Color Purple by Alice Walker, women are treated as inferior to men therefore they must obey them. Through the strength and wisdoms Celie gains from other women, she learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman. The women she has met throughout her life, and the woman she protected since young, are the people that helped her become a strong independent woman. Sofia and Shug were there for Celie when she needed someone to look up to and depend on. Nettie was able to push Celie to become a more educated, independent person. The main source of conflict in this book is Celie’s struggle with becoming an independent woman who needs not to rely on a man. Throughout the book we see her grow as a person and become independent in many ways through her experiences with the powerful women in her life.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Comparison Essay

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth Comparison Essay

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Are Too Many People Going To College

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Murray’s view on college is more practical; if college education became wide spread, and less people went to vocational schools, there will be a significant change in the current job market, and a significant hit to taxes.

    Read More

  • Evoking Sympathy for Macbeth

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    And immediately we are brought to tragedy and what the concept of a hero is. In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the character of Macbeth murders his king, Duncan, for personal motives, there appears to be little subjective reasoning for the murder.  This perhaps encapsulates the notion of an incident which has the potential to arise pity from an audience. The reader begins to pity Macbeth despite the obvious character flaws of greed and corruption.  Shakespeare manipulates the audience to react sympathetically towards Macbeth through the use of Macbeth's actions, dialogue, and passion.

    Read More

  • Qualitative Research In Social Work

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    In regards to qualitative research this type of research gives emphasis on the value of looking on variables in their natural setting where they are commonly found (OCCUPYTHEORY. website, 2014, para. 2). In relation to the case of Talia the qualitative question that I would research is, “How do perpetrators who perform sexual assaults while on illegal substances feel about their victims once they have been convicted of their crime? As a researcher it would be interesting to see if the rapists have some kind of remorse towards their victims once they no longer had the alcohol or illegal substance in their system. Was the sexual assault done out of revenge or just a random act on a Friday night? In trying to find this information the researcher would possibly stick with interviewing convicted rapists to question them on their feelings. In doing researching the qualitative question, the social worker will be able to have a better understanding of how the sexual assault affects the perpetrator after the

    Read More

  • Community Diversity And Diversity

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Diversity is broad and incorporates the concept of acceptance and respect. It understands that individuals are unique in their own way and recognizes the differences between individuals which can be in terms of race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religious beliefs among other ideologies (Nederveen et al, 20013). It entails the exploration of all these variances in a positive, safe and nurturing environment as well as understanding one another beyond levels of tolerance, so as to accept and celebrate the rich variety of diversity each individual possess.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Character Analysis Essay

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lady Macbeth is the first to strategize a way to kill Duncan. As a character foil to Macbeth she juxtaposes their possession of guilt and ruthlessness, which creates irony and excitement to the play. Originally, she is very power hungry and wants to utilize her husband’s position in status to become queen. Macbeth objects to the plan to kill Duncan because he believes Duncan is Macbeth’s kinsman, host, and an overall virtuous ruler (Act. 1 Scene. 7) and thus feels very guilty for taking advantage of Duncan’s trusting quality towards the Macbeth family. She refers to Macbeth as weak and rebukes his manhood (Act 1. Scene 7.) . As the play progresses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a character role reversal of their possession of guilt and ruthlessness. The character foil is extant, however Macbeth’s ruthlessness overcomes his guilt, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt vanquishes her drive for power. In addition to an alteration in character foils, Shakespeare introduces situational irony because now Lady Macbeth succumbs to the weakness Macbeth once possessed and Macbeth is the one who is formidable and ambitious. Macbeth’s ability to transcend his guilt exemplifies his struggle for power and reinforces the theme of evil ambition because Macbeth is able to secure the throne and power only by mass

    Read More

  • Appearance and Reality in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    King Duncan trusts Macbeth too much. Macbeth appears as a superhero and faithful to King Duncan. He fights against the traitor Macdonwald, and he helps the king to solve a great problem that wins the war. Duncan trusts Macbeth very much because of Macbeth’s heroic efforts and he gives Macbeth the title “Thane of Cawdor”. In actuality, Macbeth is not as faithful to the king as he appears. He has the ambition to become king after hearing the prophecies from the three witches. After Macbeth returns to his castle, he makes plans with Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan when he comes to visit.  As soon as Duncan arrives, he says something very important.  Duncan says, “This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses”  (I.vi.1-3). This quote shows that Duncan, like Macbeth, even feels that Macbeth’s place is comfortable for him. Duncan never suspects the trustworthiness of Macbeth and never does anything to guard himself. Macbeth kills Duncan easily. Therefore MacBeth’s appearance deceives Duncan.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Macbeth And Throne Of Blood

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    who will become king, he will be the father to kings. This confuses them and they head back to the to meet with King Duncan. When they get there they find out that the Thane of Cawdor had sided with the enemy and was killed and that due to his great job in battle Macbeth would be named Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then realized what the witches had said was true and he begins to think of ways to become king. In Throne of Blood, Washizu, and Miki, Washizu’s best friend that he later ends up killing, meet an evil spirit weaving silk like a spider. The spider-like spirit is singing a song before Washizu and Miki finally talk to him. The spirit tells Washizu that he will be given a section of the fortress for him to control and protect. The spirit also told him that he would soon become lord of the whole fortress. The spirit also told Miki that he would be assigned a section of the fortress to control and that his son will

    Read More

  • The Start of Evil: Lady Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare in the 1600 century. It is one of Shakespeare’s most well known tragedies, and continues to be studied to this day. It is a dark and gloomy play, as the main character, Macbeth, gets a taste for evil and kills the king of Scotland, King Duncan, in order to become king himself. After this moment there is a rapid increase of evil in him, as he starts to kill more and more people who upset him or are a threat to the throne. One of the play’s most important scenes is when Macbeth murders King Duncan, this scene is essential to the remainder of the play and how it unfolds. This murder scene contributes to the play in terms of plot development, it exposes and develops the major theme of how people can turn evil when confronted with power, and it reveals the true character of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth.

    Read More

More about Comparing The Color Purple and Macbeth

Open Document