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Essays on the book the color purple
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Essays on the book the color purple
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The reason I chose to read The Color Purple was because I was told it was a good book and I had known a lot of people who had read it already. I also read this book because I assumed it would be similar to the book Of Mice And Men. I love the book Of Mice And Men because of the characters and the story and I had been told that the two books took place on the same time period.
As I was reading The Color Purple I thought the organization of the novel was done in a very interesting way. The way that the main character Celie wrote to God about her life was very unique to me. Although I would have been very thankful for some sort of chapter system. What felt like half way through the novel Celie begins to write to Nettie about her life, she does this because she not only has lost her religion, but Nettie had been writing her from Africa.
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The reason I believe this novel is so important is because of the female empowerment for one, the women in this book are not just housewives but they are strong, opinionated people, like Shug Avery, Sofia, and even Mary Agnes to a point. Mary Agnes for example; when we first meet her she is called Squeak. Through her time in the book she wants people's respect, she asks Celie how to earn it, she is told that she has to make people call her by her name, Mary Agnes. Though Mary Agnes is very strong in her own way, Sofia and her family is described as Amazons; Amazons are described as powerful, fierce warriors throughout
...lives. It gives readers the chance to emphasize with these women and their families. It let readers experience the trials and tribulations these women underwent firsthand. A nonfiction novel would not have had that impact and ability to draw readers that close.
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
...vie, the actresses that played them actually fit the role. Women usually do not have impacts on things, but in this novel, major things happened as a result of these women. These things include dishonest marriages, love affairs, wealth, power, and jealousy. This goes to show that women are not always the innocent ones in novels, or any other type of literature.
...is book expresses her ever-changing life and tough it was on the women of this time period.
...ted at the prospect of Rachel traveling with a comic opera company, but her beautiful daughter turns down the fruitful offer. Instead, Rachel volunteers to go out to the Rectangle and spread the word of God and the joy of her singing. This relates to the role that women played in this time period. Women were placed in a role of bettering society. Many women took up roles in organizations that were devoted to make a positive difference in American Society. Women lobbied for Child's labor reform and woman suffrage. Rachel Winslow demonstrates these qualities in the novel.
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.
Sisterhood does not only bring women together, it also helps make women stronger individuals in a patriarchal society. For instance, The Women of Brewster Place is an African American novel by Gloria Naylor that takes place in 1982 in Brewster Place. This novel contains several stories which focus on the lives of each of the seven women that live there. These women come to Brewster Place to find comfort. Eventually, the women build bonds that help them deal with the negativity of the society that they live in. In addition, The Color Purple by Alice Walker is an epistolary novel that takes place in rural Georgia during the 1980’s. Celie, who is the protagonist in The Color Purple, is a poor and uneducated fourteen year old African American girl. She is constantly physically and mentally abused by the men in her life. She forms strong friendships with women whom she idolizes and women who stand up to the social norms of society. In the end she gains confidence and becomes a stronger individual. The women in the novels The Color Purple and The Women of Brewster Place have shown that the only way to survive in a patriarchal society is through sisterhood.
In The Color Purple by Alice Walker, numerous symbols influence and drive the plot of the novel. One of the most important symbols that Walker incorporates into the plot is the letters written by Celie to either God or Nettie, signifying the power of voice. The epistolary format of the novel itself enables readers to understand Celie, whose letters are initially addressed to God. After being raped by her stepfather at the age of fourteen, he tells her to “never tell anybody but God” (Walker 1); thus, Celie’s original letters are presented more as confessions and prayers. This first letter itself “initiates the story of Celie's unrelenting victimization” (Bloom, and Williams 77-88), and the audience notices that the way in which Celie narrates the events occurring in her life over the course of the next several letters lacks sentiment and opinion....
My reaction to this article was quiet agreeing. I agreed with many things stated in this article, the article explained the story exactly right. For example when it states the relationship between Shug and Celie because Shug was always there for Celie. The article did a really good job explaining the novel and gave a really good report. (The New York Times).
In the preface to ‘the Colour Purple’ Walker identifies her religious development as the inspiration for her novel and labels religion and spirituality as the principle themes in the book. There are a number of principle characters who complete this journey however in many instances the religious element of the novel is overshadowed by other prominent themes such as personal development, female relationships and racial issues. These must be taken into consideration when assessing Walker’s success in delivering her theological message to her readers.
Women have battled for centuries to be equivalent to men. In “The Color Purple," Alice Walker illustrates the theme of women’s heartache, racist acts, and complications of a day to day woman. The Color Purple took place during a demeaning era to not only African American women but African Americans in general were treated inhumane. African American women submitted themselves to controlling men due to the belief of that’s how it should be. During this time, women were used for manual and sexual labor. They were referred as one’s property, hardly spoken of or treated like human-beings. Women faced lack of self-love and identity therefore the definition of love was clouded.
Women roles have changed drastically in the last 50 to 80 years, women no longer have to completely conform to society’s gender roles and now enjoy the idea of being individuals. Along with the evolution of women roles in society, women presence and acceptance have drastically grown in modern literature. In early literature it was common to see women roles as simply caretakers, wives or as background; women roles and ideas were nearly non-existent and was rather seen than heard. The belief that women were more involved in the raising of children and taking care of the household was a great theme in many early literatures; women did not get much credit for being apart of the frontier and expansion of many of the nations success until much later.
The Color Purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, Celie. Celie, a clear victim of abuse, narrates the story through a collection of writings that starts with her confession of “Dear God.” Celie’s story encompasses around her life and the characters that breaks the common gender depiction. The story heavily addresses the subject of social and behavioral standards for either men and women. It raises an issues on traditional marital subjects, family patriarchy, and social topics. In a traditional take of the family structure, the man often exhibits the dominant male figure head with the final say. The father provides the money and security for the wife and children as well as claim authority over the family. He becomes very work oriented and cares for the children only in times of need. On the other hand, the woman acts to be passive and pleases her husband. She plays a major role in raising and educating the children in every way possible. Often times, the woman takes a small part in maintaining a profession; although, she holds responsibility for all house work. The societal perspective of the patriarchal family system relies so heavily on gender roles that it becomes an expectation and the regulated norm. The Color Purple disrupts this gender norm by introducing characters that faces marital issues due to being the opposite of the typical gender role. Because they embody the opposite gender’s likely attributes, it becomes a questioning issue that leads to striving to live up to social norms or dealing with society disapproval. Within the progression of the novel, the women possess a sense of empowerment while as the men accept how things are in the world. The introducti...
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story written in 1982 that is about the life struggles of a young African American woman named Celie. The novel takes the reader through several main topics including the poor treatment of African American women, domestic abuse, family relationships, and also religion. The story takes place mostly in rural Georgia in the early 1900’s and demonstrates the difficult life of sharecropper families. Specifically how life was endured from the perspective of an African American woman. The Color Purple is written in the form of letters that Celie narrates explaining the events that took place at certain points in her life. Celie endures physical and emotional abuse by some of the people around her including her own family. But in the end Celie finds a new and fulfilling life through relationships with her sister and good friends.
Alice Walker was born in Eatonton on February 9, 1944. She is an African American novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and activist. Walker has taught African American women's studies to college students at wellesley, the university of Massachusetts at Boston". She writes through various personal experiences, she described herself as "womanist" which means a woman who loves other woman and appreciate them. Walker writes through her feelings and the morals she has grown with. She writes about the black woman's struggle for spiritual wholeness and sexual, and political issues especially with black women's struggle for survival.