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Essay The Color Purple
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a very controversial novel, which many people found to be
very offensive. It is basically the struggle for one woman's independence. The main character in
The Color Purple is Celie a coloured woman with little or no education at all. She is one who has
been used and abused by all the men in her life, and because of these men, she has very little
courage or ambition in her life. She has so little courage, that all she wants to do is just survive.
Through the various women she meets throughout here life like: Shug, her sister, and Harpo's wife,
she learns how to enjoy herself, gain courage and happiness. She finally learns enough and with the
final straw she could no longer bare, she leaves her husband...show more content...
Shug Avery is not only a friend to Celie but also a lover. It is by being a lover that Celie learns
self–respect and a little happiness in her life. Like when Shug Avery showed Celie how to enjoy
herself. Listen she say, right down there in your ... is a little button that gits real hot when you do
you know what with somebody. It get hotter and hotter and then it melt. That the good part. But
other parts good too, she say... (P. 79). I found this real important as it showed Celie she can enjoy
herself and there is more to her then just being a slave to Mister. Another important woman in
Celie's life was Harpo's wife Sofia. Sofia wasn't as important to Celie as Shug Avery or her sister
Nettie, but it was Sofia's actions that I believe helped inspire Celie. For when Harpo tried to beat
Sofia, thanks to Celie's advice to Harpo to beat his wife, Sofia would always fight back. Not only
emotionally but physically as well, for one day when Celie was going to Harpo's house she saw
Harpo and Sofia fighting like twos mens (P. 44). And I think Celie was really shocked when Sofia
confronted her on why Celie told Harpo to beat Sofia. I say it cause I'm a fool, I say it cause I'm
jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can't. What that? She say. Fight I say. ... She say all my
life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers ... cousins ... uncles. A girl
child ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have
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the color purple Essay examples
Color of Purple is a Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A
feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel
was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English
vernacular. African–American people have had to climb over many obstacles to get to their
position today. First, was the selling of their people into slavery. Then, they endured slavery itself,
being treated like an animal. After slavery was abolished, Colored people still had to deal with
racial discrimination and hatred. If this sounds rough, black women had it worse. African–American
women had to deal with all the previously mentioned things, but they...show more content...
And not only that, they serve the use of being beaten, when something troubles the men, or just
because they are woman and their wives. "Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me.
Mr._______ say, because she my wife. Plus, she stubborn." (pg. 23). Mr. _______, says this
to convince his son that women serve no use in this planet other than to work, have babies, and be
beaten. Harpo, following his father's example and Celie's advice for Harpo to make Sofia mind,
goes on to beat Sofia. Sofia's response is unexpected. Harpo thought that Sofia was going to act as
Celie did with Mr. _____. Yet this strong woman, beat Harpo, who is a weak character. Harpo
continues to try to make Sofia mind about his superiority, but she does not want to undergo all
these problems any more, and decides to leave Harpo and seek for a better life. This is a true and
big example of her fight for equality, or superiority of the female gender in the world. As Harpo
does not understand that a couple can live happily without violence, Sofia runs away. Another
example of Sofia trying to overcome, and change the system of prosecution to the black race is her
dispute with Miss Millie and the Mayor of the southern town of Georgia. This occurred, when Miss
Millie, the Mayor's wife, asks Sofia to be her maid. Sofia, at first controlling herself, takes it as an
insult, but when asked again, she felt even more insulted, and hit the Mayor. "All these
children, say
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Stereotypes In The Color Purple
The movie ''The Color Purple'' is a 1985 drama film that portrays the historical period. This film
sheds light on the struggles that African American women faced during the 1930s. The Color
Purple is about the life of Celie Harris, a poor black girl who married against her wish to an older
black man. This movie was a great portrayal of history, which was directed bySteven Spielberg in a
new light, this movie also shows realism and grit.
The movie The Color Purple shows an intercultural perspective using concepts like racism,
stereotypes, socialized cultures and the power distance between men and women. In this era,
women, in general, were socialized into the cultural norms of the times. There was very high power
distance between males and females and black women were specifically mistreated not only by the
member of other races but also by men from their race. Women...show more content...
This movie is an upbeat, affirmative fable in which optimism, patience, and family loyalty
emerge as cardinal virtues, and in which even the wife beating villain has charm. This movie
shows the story of a shy young heroine, whose life is filled with disappointment and hardship,
even the most brutal events are set forth. Around the world, women are facing the similar issues
but never had their stories be told. The Color Purple has a lot of heartbreaking scenes, a very
emotional scene, in particular, was when teenage Celie was forcibly separated from her beloved
sister Nettie. This film depicts the reality of women, and their day to day lives, in this era, they
were told what to do, they had to follow their husbands rule without any sign of defying. Women
were not treated as an equal to man but as a lesser person in society, especially African American
women. Girls were expected to get married a young age, bore children and take care of the home;
they weren't given rights to vote, or further their education beyond a certain
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Racism In The Color Purple
In the book, Class, the writer Paul Fussell states that "if navy is the upper–middle–class color, purple
is the prole equivalent," and "purple polyester pantsuit is the absolutely bottom". In fact, he urges
the reader to "avoid purple under all circumstances". However, I'm not trying to call Fussell out as a
racist. I want to point out how he details the discrimination the color purple faces, which echoes to
the discrimination black people face in the 20th century. As the color purple is the closest
representation of Black American's complexion. On the black to white gradient, purple is the color
closest to black. If we think of what the transition emerged from the color black conveys, we need
to put the color under a social and cultural context. If we see Black Africans as black, White people
as white, then purple matches Black Americans in this analogy. Steven Spielberg's movie adaption
of The Color Purple uses color to indicate Black Americans' historical attempt to make a transition
to White people. In the movie, the colors are encoded with deeper meanings. The color white
represents the oppression, while black represents the oppressed. The blacker it is, the more
oppressed it signifies. There is a detail that can be easily overlooked – the old Mr. Johnson has rather
pale complexion as a black person. From the presentation of him being "almost white," we can infer
that the erosive influence White people have on Black people's mind and body. Mr.___ in the movie
lives
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The Color Purple Research Paper
The Color Purple The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker illuminates the struggles
African–American women face in the early twentieth century. They are all joined together through
love, hatred and hard times in life. The narrator and one of the main characters, Celie, age
fourteen lives in Georgia. Celie lives with her mother, father, siblings, and her own children. Celie
has a hard home life, she is raped by her father and has given birth to his children. Her father
sexually assaults her and abuses her, this even continues once her mother dies. Now she feels the
burden of protecting her sister from her father's sexual ways not wanting her to have the same life
she had. Throughout this whole time of living a horrible life Celie writes...show more content...
Celie now has the courage to yell at her husband about the situation and he tries to abuse her like
he use to but she no longer has the low self esteem she did before he no longer can hurt her like he
use to. She has become a happy woman who is now looking forward to life. Since during the time
era black women were the lowest class of people, Celie was to respond to men and do whatever
they wanted. White folk, and men were in control. She was expected to please men, she did this
with her father, she allowed him to rape her and abuse her. She allowed it because she knew if she
did not let her father do it to her, he would do it to her sick mother. It made her happy he was not
abusing her mother. By the end of the book Celie appears as a strong independent woman. She
found her voice and she fights back no longer taking anything from men. This can relate to a lot
of African American women in this time period, right after slavery was done with. Many of the
African American women were not really seen as people. They were the lowest of the low, then
eventually they spoke up and fought for equality. This book and the way Celie responds to her life,
growing as a person, really relates to real life women who found their voice and started fighting for
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The Color Purple
The title of my book is The Color Purple and it is written by Alice Walker. The book was
originally published in 1982, the publisher is Harcourt, And there are 288 pages in the book.
There was an adapted version also printed in 1985. Celie the narrator of The Color Purple is a
very poor woman who hasn't gone to school. She is a fourteen living in Georgia who starts to
write letters to God. Even though she is very young she has been abused and sexually assaulted
by her father who does it on a daily basis. Her father's name is Alphonso. Alphonso has
impregnated Celie and has stole her first born and has been undoubtedly been accused of killing the
newborn. Celie's mom is very ill and has dies but Alphonso brought home a new wife. Celie has a
...show more content...
She has been raped by her father many times and has had two children who have been taking away
from her. Celie also has an abusive husband who was arranged by Alphonso her step– father. Nettie,
Celie's younger sister, Who Mr.___ was supposed to marry actually marries Samuel after his wife
Corrine died of an unknown illness. She is now the mother of Celie's children who were
presumed dead until Nettie worked at the missionary and saw the children. Nettie doesn't like to
take crap from anybody and likes to run away. Mr.___ Celie's husband is very abusive towards
her. He goes by the first name of Albert but Celie decides not to call him that to her letters to God.
As nettie was supposed to marry him she ran away, but when she got to somewhere stable Nettie
would write letters but he would keep them from Celie. Mr.___ is very mean, sneaky, and
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Summary of The Color Purple Essay
Alice Walker's The Color Purple is a touching story of one African American woman's journey
through abuse and oppression to finding her own voice and self–worth as well as definite place in
the world around her. The novel is written in an epistolary format and has a very confessional and
emotionally raw tone. Through using this format, Walker has more freedom to weave an impressive
network of heartfelt themes and colorful characters, in addition to displaying her talents for
delivering to her readers an addictive and suspenseful plot. The story opens with a hideous sexual
crime against Celie, the fourteen–year–old protagonist of The Color Purple. Having being raped by
Pa, the man that she knows as her father, she becomes pregnant...show more content...
The man, who is known to Celie as Mr.____, is convinced and he and Celie are wed. The marriage
leads Celie to Mr._____'s home and to his children. He abuses her and despises her for no
apparent reason. Although Celie is thoroughly depressed now, her life improves slightly when
Nettie runs away from Pa and comes to live with Celie. Unfortunately, Mr.______ still has
feelings for Nettie and often tries to win her admiration. Soon comes the day when Nettie realizes
that she must leave. She leaves Celie saying "I sure hate to leave you here with these rotten
children... Not to mention with Mr._____. It's like seeing you buried" (Walker 17). The two
sisters make a vow to write and stay in touch, and Nettie leaves with the intention to work for the
wife of the reverend in town. Nettie never writes to Celie. Life is slow after Nettie leaves. There
are gaps between letters for the first time in the novel. Time passes and Harpo, the eldest son of
Mr._____ grows up and impregnates and marries Sofia, a beautiful and strong girl from town.
Harpo tries to dominate Sofia the same way that his father dominates Celie, but Sofia fights back.
Eventually she gets fed up and leaves Harpo to go live with her sister Odessa and her husband
Jack. Although Celie is sad that Sofia is gone, she soon is happy again when she learns that Shug
Avery, who was the mistress of Mr._____ for many years, is coming to live with her husband and
her. Shug, a vibrant and talented singer who has recently
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The Color Purple Essay
(The Color Purple) Essay 'The Color Purple' is a novel about women supporting women and the
roles that Shug, Nettie, and Sophia play in Celie's life and the effect it had on Celie throughout
the story. The other female characters in Celie's world change her life. The positive influence of
women starts when Celie is young and defenseless and scared when she is taken away by Mr.__
until the end when she is free but also a strong and confident woman that knows who she really is
and her feelings and emotions. Nettie is a very powerful character in this book in regards to what
Celie and her have. Nettie's relationship With Celie is that they are sisters. Nettie is Celie's
younger sister who would stick with Celie as long as she could and would do anything for that.
Nettie has a big impact on Celie's life as being everything to her...show more content...
Sophia is a very strong woman she is strong in most aspects Sophia is mentally and physically
strong. Sophia is a lady who doesn't put up with anything from men as she is very dominant.
Celie's relationship with Sophia is through Harpo and that's how they became friends what
Sophia had shown to Celie is strength and how She hasn't put up with anything she showed Sealy
that why she is how she is it's because she has been fighting her whole life to show that men can
only do what you let them do and for every woman like Celie there is hope. "She says, All my life
I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my
uncles. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have to fight in my own
house L21" Sofia is also very confident in yourself and has self Pride she doesn't care how she
looks. Celie's life definitely changes with the meeting of Sophia but showing Sealy how to be strong
confident and more independent and that woman rule and shouldn't be controlled by
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The Color Purple Movie By Steven Spielberg
The Color Purple movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1985. This movie is a
reenactment of the novel written by Alice Walker. The movie started with a young African
American girl named Celie narrating a letter as she wrote to God. She grew up in Georgia in the
early 1900s. A shy, timid, scared, and unassertive girl, who lived in a home with a man known to
be her father, Alphonso. She was raped and abused by this man. As the movie goes on, she shares
that she has two children by her father and he had put them up for adoption. Later on, as a young
child, Celie was married off to a man known by the name of Mister. He needed someone to fill the
missing void of his wife who had recently died. Her marriage was quite depressing. She had to raise
Mister's children, clean house, and undergo sex with this man. It was a very dominant marriage.
She experienced the same abuse here as she did at home with her father. I believe during that time
sexism was heavily portrayed. Time had gone by and Celie had gotten older, she became more
confident, outspoken, and she overcame adversities. The movie opens with Celie narrating a letter
she began to write to God. At the young age of 14, she had already had two children by her father.
After her mom died, she took on the responsibility to help care for her siblings, cooking, and
keeping up the home that they all lived in. It was until one day, a man came to their home and asked
the father, Alphonso, if he could marry Nettie. She
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The Color Purple Theme Essay
Beasley, Taliah
Mr. Neill
Language Arts
11 December 2017 The Color Purple
In The Color Purple, there were several themes such as Violence, Sexuality, Power, God or
Spiritually. Power is a key role in this novel. Walker focuses throughout the novel that the ability to
express someone's thoughts and feelings is critical to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is
truly unable to resist those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso's warning that she "better not
never tell nobody but God" about him abusing her. , Celie knows that the only way to keep it is to
remain silent and invisible. Celie is emphasize an object, an entirely accepting party who has no
power to give herself through...show more content...
In the meantime, the English rubber workers, who builds roads through the village and remove the
Olinka from their ancient land, have very little concern for that people's history in Africa. The
British feel that, because they are growing the land, they "own" it, and the African people who
have lived there for centuries and decades are only backward natives. It is only at the very end of the
novel, after Samuel, Nettie, and their family have returned from Africa, to Celie's home in
Georgia, that Celie and Nettie's entire family is able to come together and put together a small
gift, and something that would be considered completely normal for some of the white families of
that time period, whose lives had not been ripped apart or taken way by the legacy of slavery and
poverty. Violence and sufferings another theme in The Color Purple. They are typically show as part
of a greater cycle of tragedy taking place both on the family level and on a general social scale. Celie
is raped by her stepfather and beaten for many years by her husband, only to have Shug Avery
come between on her behalf. Sofia is nearly beaten to death by white police officers after pushing a
white family; she nearly dies in prison. Nettie is almost raped by her stepfather and by Mr. _____,
and ran away in order to protect herself. Harpo "tries" to beat and control Sofia, his first wife, and he
beats Squeak until she leaves him for Grady. These series of violence are
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The Color Purple
For the Steven Spielberg film essay project, I decided to watch the movie The Color Purple. The
movie strongly focuses on the theme of slavery and discrimination towards African American
individuals. The movie takes place in the 1930's. The movie contains the film elements of shot types
and lighting, characterization, and setting. The film elements, utilized by Steven Spielberg, strongly
allow the film and its' story to come to life for the viewer.
To begin with, Steven Spielberg uses reverse shot for the film camera direction. The reverse film
shot type is a shot type that exhibits a view opposite from the previous one. This is especially used
to display one individual looking at another one. Reverse film direction is extremely beneficial
...show more content...
Steven Spielberg characterizes Celie through the use of S.A.T.D.O.. Celie has undergone many
difficult situations, throughout the entirety of her life. Unfortunately, she is faced with several
very traumatic life events. Foremost, Celie has two children at a very young age, as a result of
being raped by her father. Her father concludes by taking away the babies from her. Secondly, Celie
is faced with a very abusive husband. Her husband would abuse her, both physically and mentally.
As the film progresses, the viewer witnesses a complete character shift in Celie. With the assistance
and motivation of her best friend, she is able to grow into a strong, courageous, brave, independent,
and successful
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Essay On The Color Purple
The Color Purple written by Alice Walker is based on a society that is rather segregated when it
comes to their differences. Due to this segregation, the perspective of one group viewing another
may be rather skewed, causing them to be stereotyped into certain social structures. The novel is
written in first person point of view, meaning that the reader gets one particular character's version
of the story. Due to this, the reader is introduced to the story through a perspective that does not
fully understand different social groups aside from her own in society as well as different societies
as a mass. One of the most prominent examples of social groups being represented in a certain way
relates to the roles of women in society. Throughout...show more content...
This includes the stereotypical white women in church that believe they are better than those
around them and are judgemental of those who aren't like them. However, there are also
characters such as Shug and Celie that believe in a different type of god. While the white women
most likely believe in god, the man, Shug and Celie end up believing in god, the force. Christians
are typically portrayed as individuals similar to the white women, however the novel tends to
break that barrier when Shug explains her beliefs to Celie through the quote "Here's the thing, say
Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world
with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even
if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for." (Walker 196) This religious strength
shows in Celie immediately, as she feels freer that she's not constantly being watched over by a
man's presence. This, blatant contrast is meant to convey the message that Christian beliefs are not
the same for everyone, and believing in god does not mean you are set to that certain
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Critical Essay on the Color Purple
Walker's Purple is Not Just a Color Alice Walker's epistolary novel The Color Purple demonstrates
how the mistreatment of a woman cannot prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. The protagonist
and narrator of the novel, Celie, is a young, uneducated black girl who is verbally and sexually
abused by her supposed father, Alphonso. He fathers two children with her, kidnapping both and
presumably killing one, if not both. Because of the unwarranted trauma, she struggles for the rest
of her life to recover from his abuse and establish her own power. Celie has a much smarter and
prettier younger sister Nettie, whom she loves, and of whom she is very protective. Celie saves
Nettie from marriage to a suitor referred to only as Mr. when...show more content...
Sofia tells Celie "All my life I had to fight" (40). Sofia embodies something that would not allow
her to be a victim, no matter who she has to fight. Celie professes her jealousy of Sofia because she
unfortunately did not have the
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Finding Oneself Quotes
Finding Oneself When I picked up The Color Purple, I didn't think I'd immediately learn that
Celie, as a fourteen year old, was raped routinely by who she thought was her father, had had two
children who were taken from her overnight, and was made to believe that they were killed in the
woods. These horrifying facts were declared in the first two pages and instantly incited my anger
towards her father, Alphonso, and sympathy towards Celie. Her sexual assault was described so
vividly that I felt as if I were present at the scene, yet unable to do anything to help. Besides
suffering physical abuse, Celie is verbally abused, being constantly told, "You ugly. You skinny. You
shape funny, You too scared to open your mouth to people...You not that good a cook
...show more
content...
Once he comes into wealth, however, he selfishly asks Biddy to teach Joe how to write because
Joe is "backwards in some things" (143) and needs improvement. When Pip comes into his
expectations, Pumblechook, who had treated Pip as an inferior before, continuously asks "May
I?" (148) to shake Pip's hand and treats him well in the hopes of gaining something from Pip.
When Pip becomes bankrupt, however, Pumblechook disregards him, leaving Pip bewildered at the
difference in the way he is treated. Pip comes to understand the value of friendship when everyone
has left him except Joe, who faithfully remains at Pip's side, still assuming them to be "ever the best
of friends" (454). Touched by Joe's continual and never–ending support despite his pompous and
condescending treatment of him, Pip recognizes that friendship is more important than being a
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The Colour Purple In The Color Purple
Purple is more than just a colour in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple". The colour can be seen to
be representative of a number of ideas: it is, "a colour suitable for queens" like Celie says; this
means it is happiness; it is illuminating; it is freedom; it is pain and beauty. Because of its
symbolism, the colour purple can be seen to have a significant influence on the characters' growth
throughout the novel and, therefore, is an appropriate title for the novel.
The colour purple in the novel can be seen to represent pain and strength. This can be seen when
Celie sees Sofia in prison. At first glance Sofia is "just about the colour of an eggplant"– an eggplant
is purple. Sofia's body is purple from being beaten up. The colour purple in this...show more content...
She has her own house and she now has the freedom to have as many 'happy looking' things in her
own house; she does not have to buy any brown, maroon or navy blue things just because those
colours are not too 'happy looking' for Mr____. The purple things in her room are reminders of the
hardships she had been through; from being raped by her father to being raped by her husband. Yet,
the colour purple also represents all the beauty in her life like her sister's life, her relationship with
Shug Avery and her pants business.
When Celie paints her room purple, this also shows a sense of ownership and agency; she takes
charge of her life and happiness. Her room is her paradise; her royal palace. Moreover, the colour
purple represents her independence and forgiveness: the little purple frog perch Mr_____ carved for
her is a sign of her forgiving Mr____.
I believe that "The Color Purple" is a fitting title for the novel due to the numerous representations of
the colour purple reflected above, and the way it reflects key themes and moments of growth in the
protagonist's life. Purple is not just a colour in the novel, it has multiple representations that help the
characters grow in various ways. The representations help the characters find happiness. Find the
beauty in their lives and break away from
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Analysis Of The Color Purple
The Past Helps Shape a Better Future According to the Ark of Hope for Children, 1,850 children
die a year by some form of child abuse. Assault must be noticed, especially because it affects so
many people worldwide. The Color Purple by Alice Walker focuses extensively on this idea and the
ramifications of rape. In the novel, the main protagonist Celie is compelled to live with a man
named Mr. _____, whose last name is unidentified in the book, who constantly makes her work in
the fields and clean the house along with taking care of his three rude children. As she reaches her
adulthood, Celie undergoes certain changes in life that ultimately guide her in the direction of finding
God again and rediscovering his powerful influence on everyone's lives. Critics banned The Color
Purple due to its themes of incest, birth of children outside of marriage, rape, sexual pleasure, and
lesbian activity. Despite the sexual and violent content in The Color Purple, the novel should be
studied in high school curriculum due to the literary elements that contribute to a reader's
understanding of real–world issues.
The Color Purple develops themes of religious transformation and equality throughout the story that
are necessary for teenagers to understand due to their meaningful lessons on human nature.
Throughout the story, Celie reveals her depiction of God as simply an ordinary white man who
takes advantage of black citizens. Shug redirects Celie's thinking by telling her that God is only
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The Color Purple Research Paper
I found this source went into great detail about The Color Purple by Alice Walker, which was
extremely useful to my research. It also had a detailed overview of the book and notes on racism,
which is crucial to my thesis. This article about The Color Purple is actually very helpful to the
understanding and meaning of this novel. Throughout the article, it describes the importance of
each person in the story and how it affects Cellie with her view on life and herself. At first, her
mentality was only violence from men to women and it was acceptable, it was how it is and no
one can or could change it. After meeting and getting to know Shug, Cellie creates a completely
different point of view on life and everything else she believed in before.
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Literary Analysis: The Color Purple Essay
There are numerous works of literature that recount a story– a story from which inspiration
flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires
to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in
historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans
endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her
renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman,
Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the
course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and...show more content...
According to Harold Bloom, "For Celie, the practice of addressing God simply reaffirms her
solitude; she is essentially writing to herself" (Bloom, and Williams 77–88). This submissive
practice nonetheless carries over onto her daily life, and ensues until her relationship with Shug
Avery strengthens. After Celie begins to experience a spiritual, emotional, and sexual awakening as a
result of this bond, her letters reflect her newfound emotional capacity. Bloom enforces this ideal,
claiming, "Shug is the route through which Nettie's letters are restored" (Bloom, and Williams
77–88). With the figurative resurrection of her sister through Shug's support, Celie's power of
voice grows. She begins to think for herself and express her thoughts more vividly, claiming, "My
life stop when I left home, I think. But then I think again. It stop with Mr._______ maybe, but
start up again with Shug" (Walker 85). The audience, who was Celie's only recluse for thought,
views her becoming more verbal and opinionated in reality as well; for instance, during her final
standoff with Mr._______, she exclaims, "You a lowdown dog is what's wrong, I say. It's time to
leave you and enter into Creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need" (Walker 207).
Celie, therefore, has discovered the act of standing up for herself as a person. Nettie's letters possess
a distinct voice as well, and the discovery and instigation of communication between the two sisters
liberates the voice which
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It is possible to say that the conceptions of women's experiences do not speak to the conceptions of
men. Universal perspectives have been asserted explaining the differences between men and women,
by basing individual feelings on external impressions. From different perspectives, no such thing as
personal prejudices exists. Judgments on the female phenomena are uninfluenced emotions that
contain higher thought of physical manifestations. The Cultural components of this social structure
include the interactional expectations that each of us meet in every social encounter (Risman, 268).
But can we speak meaningfully about feminine experiences as something fundamentally different
from masculine experience of social encounters? Is there such...show more content...
But why does there have to be a disruption of the "traditional" roles? The constant struggle of gender
roles with the males in her life, she is able to endure through the worst circumstances. As the gender
oppressed patriarchal authority descend through the contribution of the female characters, close
relations help transform Celie as a woman, and also defines their ethic of a woman.
Gender roles throughout the Color Purple play a particular role for each character, which guide them
to find their meaning in life. At the beginning on the film, presented is a dominant ideology of a
society of white patriarchy. Consequently, this interpretation transforms the creative work of the
characters with transitional history of opposing the initial ideology. Removing gender constraints
toward the end of the film surfaces all past threatening knowledge of the society once known as
gender inequality through a white patriarchal lenses. Although Albert is not white, an abusive
husband or his son's inability to "beat" his wife into submission, thus eventually taking up the
housework himself while his wife worked in the field is one example of the transforming and
untraditional gender roles displayed.
Another influential mechanism in interpreting Celies ideology of a patriarchy is the use of
epistolary letter writing emphasizes the power of communication. Celie writes letters to God and
Nettie
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The Color Purple
IV ThemIV Theme The Color Purple elicits multitudinous generalizations upon bitter
circumstances. The novel possesses a surfeit of themes. One of the major themes in The Color
Purple is the sexual relationships between the male and female characters, sexism. Walker stages
her story of the transformation of Celie from a female that is passive to one who eventually
becomes an independent black woman in the culture of the rural society from the 1920s to the early
1940s. Celie is dominated by her father who turns out to be her stepfather at the beginning of the
story. In the latter part of the anecdote her husband Albert takes over as her foreperson. Shug
Avery`s relationship with Celie was the cause of Celie`s personality change. Celie wrote letters to
God because her stepfather Alphonso, told her to tell no one but God of sexual molestations he
inflicted upon her. Through the letters, Walker wanted readers to generate a taste of Celie`s
actuality, which at first is discrete, but eventually becomes stable and independent....show more
content...
Albert`s son, Harpo tries to control his wife Sofia as his father did Celie. Towards the culmination
of the novel the traditional roles of male and female roles are everted. While Sofia is out doing
hard work during the day, Harpo decides to stay home and care for the house as a woman. Celie
also was handed the excuse to change roles with Albert. Celie develops into an independent
businesswoman and Albert becomes one of her employees`. Shug Avery and Celie shared a sexual
relationship in which broke the common traditional roles between dominate men and the role of
passive women. Walker used the raping of Sofia by a white warden who had disregards towards the
demeanor of black women through the eyes of a southern white
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The Color Purple Essays

  • 1. Essay The Color Purple The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a very controversial novel, which many people found to be very offensive. It is basically the struggle for one woman's independence. The main character in The Color Purple is Celie a coloured woman with little or no education at all. She is one who has been used and abused by all the men in her life, and because of these men, she has very little courage or ambition in her life. She has so little courage, that all she wants to do is just survive. Through the various women she meets throughout here life like: Shug, her sister, and Harpo's wife, she learns how to enjoy herself, gain courage and happiness. She finally learns enough and with the final straw she could no longer bare, she leaves her husband...show more content... Shug Avery is not only a friend to Celie but also a lover. It is by being a lover that Celie learns self–respect and a little happiness in her life. Like when Shug Avery showed Celie how to enjoy herself. Listen she say, right down there in your ... is a little button that gits real hot when you do you know what with somebody. It get hotter and hotter and then it melt. That the good part. But other parts good too, she say... (P. 79). I found this real important as it showed Celie she can enjoy herself and there is more to her then just being a slave to Mister. Another important woman in Celie's life was Harpo's wife Sofia. Sofia wasn't as important to Celie as Shug Avery or her sister Nettie, but it was Sofia's actions that I believe helped inspire Celie. For when Harpo tried to beat Sofia, thanks to Celie's advice to Harpo to beat his wife, Sofia would always fight back. Not only emotionally but physically as well, for one day when Celie was going to Harpo's house she saw Harpo and Sofia fighting like twos mens (P. 44). And I think Celie was really shocked when Sofia confronted her on why Celie told Harpo to beat Sofia. I say it cause I'm a fool, I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can't. What that? She say. Fight I say. ... She say all my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers ... cousins ... uncles. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 2. the color purple Essay examples Color of Purple is a Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular. African–American people have had to climb over many obstacles to get to their position today. First, was the selling of their people into slavery. Then, they endured slavery itself, being treated like an animal. After slavery was abolished, Colored people still had to deal with racial discrimination and hatred. If this sounds rough, black women had it worse. African–American women had to deal with all the previously mentioned things, but they...show more content... And not only that, they serve the use of being beaten, when something troubles the men, or just because they are woman and their wives. "Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr._______ say, because she my wife. Plus, she stubborn." (pg. 23). Mr. _______, says this to convince his son that women serve no use in this planet other than to work, have babies, and be beaten. Harpo, following his father's example and Celie's advice for Harpo to make Sofia mind, goes on to beat Sofia. Sofia's response is unexpected. Harpo thought that Sofia was going to act as Celie did with Mr. _____. Yet this strong woman, beat Harpo, who is a weak character. Harpo continues to try to make Sofia mind about his superiority, but she does not want to undergo all these problems any more, and decides to leave Harpo and seek for a better life. This is a true and big example of her fight for equality, or superiority of the female gender in the world. As Harpo does not understand that a couple can live happily without violence, Sofia runs away. Another example of Sofia trying to overcome, and change the system of prosecution to the black race is her dispute with Miss Millie and the Mayor of the southern town of Georgia. This occurred, when Miss Millie, the Mayor's wife, asks Sofia to be her maid. Sofia, at first controlling herself, takes it as an insult, but when asked again, she felt even more insulted, and hit the Mayor. "All these children, say Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 3. Stereotypes In The Color Purple The movie ''The Color Purple'' is a 1985 drama film that portrays the historical period. This film sheds light on the struggles that African American women faced during the 1930s. The Color Purple is about the life of Celie Harris, a poor black girl who married against her wish to an older black man. This movie was a great portrayal of history, which was directed bySteven Spielberg in a new light, this movie also shows realism and grit. The movie The Color Purple shows an intercultural perspective using concepts like racism, stereotypes, socialized cultures and the power distance between men and women. In this era, women, in general, were socialized into the cultural norms of the times. There was very high power distance between males and females and black women were specifically mistreated not only by the member of other races but also by men from their race. Women...show more content... This movie is an upbeat, affirmative fable in which optimism, patience, and family loyalty emerge as cardinal virtues, and in which even the wife beating villain has charm. This movie shows the story of a shy young heroine, whose life is filled with disappointment and hardship, even the most brutal events are set forth. Around the world, women are facing the similar issues but never had their stories be told. The Color Purple has a lot of heartbreaking scenes, a very emotional scene, in particular, was when teenage Celie was forcibly separated from her beloved sister Nettie. This film depicts the reality of women, and their day to day lives, in this era, they were told what to do, they had to follow their husbands rule without any sign of defying. Women were not treated as an equal to man but as a lesser person in society, especially African American women. Girls were expected to get married a young age, bore children and take care of the home; they weren't given rights to vote, or further their education beyond a certain Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 4. Racism In The Color Purple In the book, Class, the writer Paul Fussell states that "if navy is the upper–middle–class color, purple is the prole equivalent," and "purple polyester pantsuit is the absolutely bottom". In fact, he urges the reader to "avoid purple under all circumstances". However, I'm not trying to call Fussell out as a racist. I want to point out how he details the discrimination the color purple faces, which echoes to the discrimination black people face in the 20th century. As the color purple is the closest representation of Black American's complexion. On the black to white gradient, purple is the color closest to black. If we think of what the transition emerged from the color black conveys, we need to put the color under a social and cultural context. If we see Black Africans as black, White people as white, then purple matches Black Americans in this analogy. Steven Spielberg's movie adaption of The Color Purple uses color to indicate Black Americans' historical attempt to make a transition to White people. In the movie, the colors are encoded with deeper meanings. The color white represents the oppression, while black represents the oppressed. The blacker it is, the more oppressed it signifies. There is a detail that can be easily overlooked – the old Mr. Johnson has rather pale complexion as a black person. From the presentation of him being "almost white," we can infer that the erosive influence White people have on Black people's mind and body. Mr.___ in the movie lives Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 5. The Color Purple Research Paper The Color Purple The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker illuminates the struggles African–American women face in the early twentieth century. They are all joined together through love, hatred and hard times in life. The narrator and one of the main characters, Celie, age fourteen lives in Georgia. Celie lives with her mother, father, siblings, and her own children. Celie has a hard home life, she is raped by her father and has given birth to his children. Her father sexually assaults her and abuses her, this even continues once her mother dies. Now she feels the burden of protecting her sister from her father's sexual ways not wanting her to have the same life she had. Throughout this whole time of living a horrible life Celie writes...show more content... Celie now has the courage to yell at her husband about the situation and he tries to abuse her like he use to but she no longer has the low self esteem she did before he no longer can hurt her like he use to. She has become a happy woman who is now looking forward to life. Since during the time era black women were the lowest class of people, Celie was to respond to men and do whatever they wanted. White folk, and men were in control. She was expected to please men, she did this with her father, she allowed him to rape her and abuse her. She allowed it because she knew if she did not let her father do it to her, he would do it to her sick mother. It made her happy he was not abusing her mother. By the end of the book Celie appears as a strong independent woman. She found her voice and she fights back no longer taking anything from men. This can relate to a lot of African American women in this time period, right after slavery was done with. Many of the African American women were not really seen as people. They were the lowest of the low, then eventually they spoke up and fought for equality. This book and the way Celie responds to her life, growing as a person, really relates to real life women who found their voice and started fighting for Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 6. The Color Purple The title of my book is The Color Purple and it is written by Alice Walker. The book was originally published in 1982, the publisher is Harcourt, And there are 288 pages in the book. There was an adapted version also printed in 1985. Celie the narrator of The Color Purple is a very poor woman who hasn't gone to school. She is a fourteen living in Georgia who starts to write letters to God. Even though she is very young she has been abused and sexually assaulted by her father who does it on a daily basis. Her father's name is Alphonso. Alphonso has impregnated Celie and has stole her first born and has been undoubtedly been accused of killing the newborn. Celie's mom is very ill and has dies but Alphonso brought home a new wife. Celie has a ...show more content... She has been raped by her father many times and has had two children who have been taking away from her. Celie also has an abusive husband who was arranged by Alphonso her step– father. Nettie, Celie's younger sister, Who Mr.___ was supposed to marry actually marries Samuel after his wife Corrine died of an unknown illness. She is now the mother of Celie's children who were presumed dead until Nettie worked at the missionary and saw the children. Nettie doesn't like to take crap from anybody and likes to run away. Mr.___ Celie's husband is very abusive towards her. He goes by the first name of Albert but Celie decides not to call him that to her letters to God. As nettie was supposed to marry him she ran away, but when she got to somewhere stable Nettie would write letters but he would keep them from Celie. Mr.___ is very mean, sneaky, and Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 7. Summary of The Color Purple Essay Alice Walker's The Color Purple is a touching story of one African American woman's journey through abuse and oppression to finding her own voice and self–worth as well as definite place in the world around her. The novel is written in an epistolary format and has a very confessional and emotionally raw tone. Through using this format, Walker has more freedom to weave an impressive network of heartfelt themes and colorful characters, in addition to displaying her talents for delivering to her readers an addictive and suspenseful plot. The story opens with a hideous sexual crime against Celie, the fourteen–year–old protagonist of The Color Purple. Having being raped by Pa, the man that she knows as her father, she becomes pregnant...show more content... The man, who is known to Celie as Mr.____, is convinced and he and Celie are wed. The marriage leads Celie to Mr._____'s home and to his children. He abuses her and despises her for no apparent reason. Although Celie is thoroughly depressed now, her life improves slightly when Nettie runs away from Pa and comes to live with Celie. Unfortunately, Mr.______ still has feelings for Nettie and often tries to win her admiration. Soon comes the day when Nettie realizes that she must leave. She leaves Celie saying "I sure hate to leave you here with these rotten children... Not to mention with Mr._____. It's like seeing you buried" (Walker 17). The two sisters make a vow to write and stay in touch, and Nettie leaves with the intention to work for the wife of the reverend in town. Nettie never writes to Celie. Life is slow after Nettie leaves. There are gaps between letters for the first time in the novel. Time passes and Harpo, the eldest son of Mr._____ grows up and impregnates and marries Sofia, a beautiful and strong girl from town. Harpo tries to dominate Sofia the same way that his father dominates Celie, but Sofia fights back. Eventually she gets fed up and leaves Harpo to go live with her sister Odessa and her husband Jack. Although Celie is sad that Sofia is gone, she soon is happy again when she learns that Shug Avery, who was the mistress of Mr._____ for many years, is coming to live with her husband and her. Shug, a vibrant and talented singer who has recently Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 8. The Color Purple Essay (The Color Purple) Essay 'The Color Purple' is a novel about women supporting women and the roles that Shug, Nettie, and Sophia play in Celie's life and the effect it had on Celie throughout the story. The other female characters in Celie's world change her life. The positive influence of women starts when Celie is young and defenseless and scared when she is taken away by Mr.__ until the end when she is free but also a strong and confident woman that knows who she really is and her feelings and emotions. Nettie is a very powerful character in this book in regards to what Celie and her have. Nettie's relationship With Celie is that they are sisters. Nettie is Celie's younger sister who would stick with Celie as long as she could and would do anything for that. Nettie has a big impact on Celie's life as being everything to her...show more content... Sophia is a very strong woman she is strong in most aspects Sophia is mentally and physically strong. Sophia is a lady who doesn't put up with anything from men as she is very dominant. Celie's relationship with Sophia is through Harpo and that's how they became friends what Sophia had shown to Celie is strength and how She hasn't put up with anything she showed Sealy that why she is how she is it's because she has been fighting her whole life to show that men can only do what you let them do and for every woman like Celie there is hope. "She says, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have to fight in my own house L21" Sofia is also very confident in yourself and has self Pride she doesn't care how she looks. Celie's life definitely changes with the meeting of Sophia but showing Sealy how to be strong confident and more independent and that woman rule and shouldn't be controlled by Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 9. The Color Purple Movie By Steven Spielberg The Color Purple movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1985. This movie is a reenactment of the novel written by Alice Walker. The movie started with a young African American girl named Celie narrating a letter as she wrote to God. She grew up in Georgia in the early 1900s. A shy, timid, scared, and unassertive girl, who lived in a home with a man known to be her father, Alphonso. She was raped and abused by this man. As the movie goes on, she shares that she has two children by her father and he had put them up for adoption. Later on, as a young child, Celie was married off to a man known by the name of Mister. He needed someone to fill the missing void of his wife who had recently died. Her marriage was quite depressing. She had to raise Mister's children, clean house, and undergo sex with this man. It was a very dominant marriage. She experienced the same abuse here as she did at home with her father. I believe during that time sexism was heavily portrayed. Time had gone by and Celie had gotten older, she became more confident, outspoken, and she overcame adversities. The movie opens with Celie narrating a letter she began to write to God. At the young age of 14, she had already had two children by her father. After her mom died, she took on the responsibility to help care for her siblings, cooking, and keeping up the home that they all lived in. It was until one day, a man came to their home and asked the father, Alphonso, if he could marry Nettie. She Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 10. The Color Purple Theme Essay Beasley, Taliah Mr. Neill Language Arts 11 December 2017 The Color Purple In The Color Purple, there were several themes such as Violence, Sexuality, Power, God or Spiritually. Power is a key role in this novel. Walker focuses throughout the novel that the ability to express someone's thoughts and feelings is critical to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is truly unable to resist those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso's warning that she "better not never tell nobody but God" about him abusing her. , Celie knows that the only way to keep it is to remain silent and invisible. Celie is emphasize an object, an entirely accepting party who has no power to give herself through...show more content... In the meantime, the English rubber workers, who builds roads through the village and remove the Olinka from their ancient land, have very little concern for that people's history in Africa. The British feel that, because they are growing the land, they "own" it, and the African people who have lived there for centuries and decades are only backward natives. It is only at the very end of the novel, after Samuel, Nettie, and their family have returned from Africa, to Celie's home in Georgia, that Celie and Nettie's entire family is able to come together and put together a small gift, and something that would be considered completely normal for some of the white families of that time period, whose lives had not been ripped apart or taken way by the legacy of slavery and poverty. Violence and sufferings another theme in The Color Purple. They are typically show as part of a greater cycle of tragedy taking place both on the family level and on a general social scale. Celie is raped by her stepfather and beaten for many years by her husband, only to have Shug Avery come between on her behalf. Sofia is nearly beaten to death by white police officers after pushing a white family; she nearly dies in prison. Nettie is almost raped by her stepfather and by Mr. _____, and ran away in order to protect herself. Harpo "tries" to beat and control Sofia, his first wife, and he beats Squeak until she leaves him for Grady. These series of violence are Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 11. The Color Purple For the Steven Spielberg film essay project, I decided to watch the movie The Color Purple. The movie strongly focuses on the theme of slavery and discrimination towards African American individuals. The movie takes place in the 1930's. The movie contains the film elements of shot types and lighting, characterization, and setting. The film elements, utilized by Steven Spielberg, strongly allow the film and its' story to come to life for the viewer. To begin with, Steven Spielberg uses reverse shot for the film camera direction. The reverse film shot type is a shot type that exhibits a view opposite from the previous one. This is especially used to display one individual looking at another one. Reverse film direction is extremely beneficial ...show more content... Steven Spielberg characterizes Celie through the use of S.A.T.D.O.. Celie has undergone many difficult situations, throughout the entirety of her life. Unfortunately, she is faced with several very traumatic life events. Foremost, Celie has two children at a very young age, as a result of being raped by her father. Her father concludes by taking away the babies from her. Secondly, Celie is faced with a very abusive husband. Her husband would abuse her, both physically and mentally. As the film progresses, the viewer witnesses a complete character shift in Celie. With the assistance and motivation of her best friend, she is able to grow into a strong, courageous, brave, independent, and successful Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 12. Essay On The Color Purple The Color Purple written by Alice Walker is based on a society that is rather segregated when it comes to their differences. Due to this segregation, the perspective of one group viewing another may be rather skewed, causing them to be stereotyped into certain social structures. The novel is written in first person point of view, meaning that the reader gets one particular character's version of the story. Due to this, the reader is introduced to the story through a perspective that does not fully understand different social groups aside from her own in society as well as different societies as a mass. One of the most prominent examples of social groups being represented in a certain way relates to the roles of women in society. Throughout...show more content... This includes the stereotypical white women in church that believe they are better than those around them and are judgemental of those who aren't like them. However, there are also characters such as Shug and Celie that believe in a different type of god. While the white women most likely believe in god, the man, Shug and Celie end up believing in god, the force. Christians are typically portrayed as individuals similar to the white women, however the novel tends to break that barrier when Shug explains her beliefs to Celie through the quote "Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for." (Walker 196) This religious strength shows in Celie immediately, as she feels freer that she's not constantly being watched over by a man's presence. This, blatant contrast is meant to convey the message that Christian beliefs are not the same for everyone, and believing in god does not mean you are set to that certain Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 13. Critical Essay on the Color Purple Walker's Purple is Not Just a Color Alice Walker's epistolary novel The Color Purple demonstrates how the mistreatment of a woman cannot prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Celie, is a young, uneducated black girl who is verbally and sexually abused by her supposed father, Alphonso. He fathers two children with her, kidnapping both and presumably killing one, if not both. Because of the unwarranted trauma, she struggles for the rest of her life to recover from his abuse and establish her own power. Celie has a much smarter and prettier younger sister Nettie, whom she loves, and of whom she is very protective. Celie saves Nettie from marriage to a suitor referred to only as Mr. when...show more content... Sofia tells Celie "All my life I had to fight" (40). Sofia embodies something that would not allow her to be a victim, no matter who she has to fight. Celie professes her jealousy of Sofia because she unfortunately did not have the Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 14. Finding Oneself Quotes Finding Oneself When I picked up The Color Purple, I didn't think I'd immediately learn that Celie, as a fourteen year old, was raped routinely by who she thought was her father, had had two children who were taken from her overnight, and was made to believe that they were killed in the woods. These horrifying facts were declared in the first two pages and instantly incited my anger towards her father, Alphonso, and sympathy towards Celie. Her sexual assault was described so vividly that I felt as if I were present at the scene, yet unable to do anything to help. Besides suffering physical abuse, Celie is verbally abused, being constantly told, "You ugly. You skinny. You shape funny, You too scared to open your mouth to people...You not that good a cook ...show more content... Once he comes into wealth, however, he selfishly asks Biddy to teach Joe how to write because Joe is "backwards in some things" (143) and needs improvement. When Pip comes into his expectations, Pumblechook, who had treated Pip as an inferior before, continuously asks "May I?" (148) to shake Pip's hand and treats him well in the hopes of gaining something from Pip. When Pip becomes bankrupt, however, Pumblechook disregards him, leaving Pip bewildered at the difference in the way he is treated. Pip comes to understand the value of friendship when everyone has left him except Joe, who faithfully remains at Pip's side, still assuming them to be "ever the best of friends" (454). Touched by Joe's continual and never–ending support despite his pompous and condescending treatment of him, Pip recognizes that friendship is more important than being a Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 15. The Colour Purple In The Color Purple Purple is more than just a colour in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple". The colour can be seen to be representative of a number of ideas: it is, "a colour suitable for queens" like Celie says; this means it is happiness; it is illuminating; it is freedom; it is pain and beauty. Because of its symbolism, the colour purple can be seen to have a significant influence on the characters' growth throughout the novel and, therefore, is an appropriate title for the novel. The colour purple in the novel can be seen to represent pain and strength. This can be seen when Celie sees Sofia in prison. At first glance Sofia is "just about the colour of an eggplant"– an eggplant is purple. Sofia's body is purple from being beaten up. The colour purple in this...show more content... She has her own house and she now has the freedom to have as many 'happy looking' things in her own house; she does not have to buy any brown, maroon or navy blue things just because those colours are not too 'happy looking' for Mr____. The purple things in her room are reminders of the hardships she had been through; from being raped by her father to being raped by her husband. Yet, the colour purple also represents all the beauty in her life like her sister's life, her relationship with Shug Avery and her pants business. When Celie paints her room purple, this also shows a sense of ownership and agency; she takes charge of her life and happiness. Her room is her paradise; her royal palace. Moreover, the colour purple represents her independence and forgiveness: the little purple frog perch Mr_____ carved for her is a sign of her forgiving Mr____. I believe that "The Color Purple" is a fitting title for the novel due to the numerous representations of the colour purple reflected above, and the way it reflects key themes and moments of growth in the protagonist's life. Purple is not just a colour in the novel, it has multiple representations that help the characters grow in various ways. The representations help the characters find happiness. Find the beauty in their lives and break away from Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 16. Analysis Of The Color Purple The Past Helps Shape a Better Future According to the Ark of Hope for Children, 1,850 children die a year by some form of child abuse. Assault must be noticed, especially because it affects so many people worldwide. The Color Purple by Alice Walker focuses extensively on this idea and the ramifications of rape. In the novel, the main protagonist Celie is compelled to live with a man named Mr. _____, whose last name is unidentified in the book, who constantly makes her work in the fields and clean the house along with taking care of his three rude children. As she reaches her adulthood, Celie undergoes certain changes in life that ultimately guide her in the direction of finding God again and rediscovering his powerful influence on everyone's lives. Critics banned The Color Purple due to its themes of incest, birth of children outside of marriage, rape, sexual pleasure, and lesbian activity. Despite the sexual and violent content in The Color Purple, the novel should be studied in high school curriculum due to the literary elements that contribute to a reader's understanding of real–world issues. The Color Purple develops themes of religious transformation and equality throughout the story that are necessary for teenagers to understand due to their meaningful lessons on human nature. Throughout the story, Celie reveals her depiction of God as simply an ordinary white man who takes advantage of black citizens. Shug redirects Celie's thinking by telling her that God is only Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 17. The Color Purple Research Paper I found this source went into great detail about The Color Purple by Alice Walker, which was extremely useful to my research. It also had a detailed overview of the book and notes on racism, which is crucial to my thesis. This article about The Color Purple is actually very helpful to the understanding and meaning of this novel. Throughout the article, it describes the importance of each person in the story and how it affects Cellie with her view on life and herself. At first, her mentality was only violence from men to women and it was acceptable, it was how it is and no one can or could change it. After meeting and getting to know Shug, Cellie creates a completely different point of view on life and everything else she believed in before. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 18. Literary Analysis: The Color Purple Essay There are numerous works of literature that recount a story– a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and...show more content... According to Harold Bloom, "For Celie, the practice of addressing God simply reaffirms her solitude; she is essentially writing to herself" (Bloom, and Williams 77–88). This submissive practice nonetheless carries over onto her daily life, and ensues until her relationship with Shug Avery strengthens. After Celie begins to experience a spiritual, emotional, and sexual awakening as a result of this bond, her letters reflect her newfound emotional capacity. Bloom enforces this ideal, claiming, "Shug is the route through which Nettie's letters are restored" (Bloom, and Williams 77–88). With the figurative resurrection of her sister through Shug's support, Celie's power of voice grows. She begins to think for herself and express her thoughts more vividly, claiming, "My life stop when I left home, I think. But then I think again. It stop with Mr._______ maybe, but start up again with Shug" (Walker 85). The audience, who was Celie's only recluse for thought, views her becoming more verbal and opinionated in reality as well; for instance, during her final standoff with Mr._______, she exclaims, "You a lowdown dog is what's wrong, I say. It's time to leave you and enter into Creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need" (Walker 207). Celie, therefore, has discovered the act of standing up for herself as a person. Nettie's letters possess a distinct voice as well, and the discovery and instigation of communication between the two sisters liberates the voice which Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 19. It is possible to say that the conceptions of women's experiences do not speak to the conceptions of men. Universal perspectives have been asserted explaining the differences between men and women, by basing individual feelings on external impressions. From different perspectives, no such thing as personal prejudices exists. Judgments on the female phenomena are uninfluenced emotions that contain higher thought of physical manifestations. The Cultural components of this social structure include the interactional expectations that each of us meet in every social encounter (Risman, 268). But can we speak meaningfully about feminine experiences as something fundamentally different from masculine experience of social encounters? Is there such...show more content... But why does there have to be a disruption of the "traditional" roles? The constant struggle of gender roles with the males in her life, she is able to endure through the worst circumstances. As the gender oppressed patriarchal authority descend through the contribution of the female characters, close relations help transform Celie as a woman, and also defines their ethic of a woman. Gender roles throughout the Color Purple play a particular role for each character, which guide them to find their meaning in life. At the beginning on the film, presented is a dominant ideology of a society of white patriarchy. Consequently, this interpretation transforms the creative work of the characters with transitional history of opposing the initial ideology. Removing gender constraints toward the end of the film surfaces all past threatening knowledge of the society once known as gender inequality through a white patriarchal lenses. Although Albert is not white, an abusive husband or his son's inability to "beat" his wife into submission, thus eventually taking up the housework himself while his wife worked in the field is one example of the transforming and untraditional gender roles displayed. Another influential mechanism in interpreting Celies ideology of a patriarchy is the use of epistolary letter writing emphasizes the power of communication. Celie writes letters to God and Nettie Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 20. The Color Purple IV ThemIV Theme The Color Purple elicits multitudinous generalizations upon bitter circumstances. The novel possesses a surfeit of themes. One of the major themes in The Color Purple is the sexual relationships between the male and female characters, sexism. Walker stages her story of the transformation of Celie from a female that is passive to one who eventually becomes an independent black woman in the culture of the rural society from the 1920s to the early 1940s. Celie is dominated by her father who turns out to be her stepfather at the beginning of the story. In the latter part of the anecdote her husband Albert takes over as her foreperson. Shug Avery`s relationship with Celie was the cause of Celie`s personality change. Celie wrote letters to God because her stepfather Alphonso, told her to tell no one but God of sexual molestations he inflicted upon her. Through the letters, Walker wanted readers to generate a taste of Celie`s actuality, which at first is discrete, but eventually becomes stable and independent....show more content... Albert`s son, Harpo tries to control his wife Sofia as his father did Celie. Towards the culmination of the novel the traditional roles of male and female roles are everted. While Sofia is out doing hard work during the day, Harpo decides to stay home and care for the house as a woman. Celie also was handed the excuse to change roles with Albert. Celie develops into an independent businesswoman and Albert becomes one of her employees`. Shug Avery and Celie shared a sexual relationship in which broke the common traditional roles between dominate men and the role of passive women. Walker used the raping of Sofia by a white warden who had disregards towards the demeanor of black women through the eyes of a southern white Get more content on HelpWriting.net