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the color purple analysis
gender role in literature
the color purple analysis
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If we read The Color Purple with 'gender on the agenda' as required we can identify how the form contributes to the impact of the narrative. The Color Purple is a story that unfolds through the writing and exchange of letters. Opening with the line 'You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy.' A warning issued by the abusive 'father' (later and importantly discovered to be step-father) of the central character Celie who indeed pours out her secret to God and later to her sister Nettie about her life and her pain.
It is this epistolary form of storytelling that allows the characters introduced to the reader by the character of Celie to reveal themselves their roles and their culture in an authentic sounding way. Celie, writes as she speaks, in a colloquial manner not normally considered 'proper English' For example the word 'us' is substituted for 'we' and there are misspelled and phonetically spelled words throughout. In other novels, when a character's speech is written in colloquial language it usually signals their comedic role in the story. However, in the beginning of The Color Purple, Celie's letters to God, poignantly (sometimes painfully so)reveal the confessional narrative of a young girl whose sex and race excludes her from formal education. She can say plainly what is happening to her but she cannot interpret he actions of the people around her. She must unburden herself somehow and courageously breaks the silence with her letters to God.
It is through letter writing that the power of communication is emphasized. Celie's absence of bitterness for the way she has been treated allows the reader to empathize and perhaps feel the outrage she does not. We feel very acutely her positio...
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...mply in terms of reliance upon subjugation to men. Her defiance of the custom of demurring in the presence of men stirs envy in Celie, who lacks Sofia's self-assurance, and who consequently advises an exasperated Harpo, to 'beat her' into submission. This is a point of growth for Celie who comes to realize that she has committed a 'sin against Sofia spirit'. Celie is becoming aware of the nature of her own oppression. She is able to analyze her own behavior and admit her jealousy of Sofia's ability to fight back against abuse and to resist male oppression. Here Walker, deftly illustrates the ease with which the cycle of abuse is perpetuated among the abused and the oppressed. In the story, Sofia, represents the indomitable spirit of the woman of color who is determined to be herself regardless of the pressure to submit to the indignities of prejudice and sexism.
As a woman Celie is expected to stay home and take care of things around the house. Celie's father puts her out because she was “a bad influence on his... other girl”. If Celie was the one daughter who was ruined he did not want his other girls turning out the same because they actually have “value” something. Celie is the only one that “can work like a man” because that's the only thing she is excelled in. Harpo, for example, beats Sofia only after his father implies that Sofia’s resistance makes Harpo less of a man. That is an example of sexsism because he feels as if he has to be more of a man and take control. Mr.___, also mistreats his family because that is the same thing his father used treat his family. “African American women’s experiences with pornoraphy, prostitution, and rape demonstrate how erotic power becomes commodified and exploited in social institutions”(Collins 167). Shug is viewed as the sexual attractive one. We start to see a sexual relationship developing between shug and celie. There is also a problem with the disruption of gender roles. Harpo's insecurity about his masculinity makes him lose power which eventually causes problems in his marriage. Shug is another fights sexsism by being extremely independent. Celia is pretty afraid to take control of her life and also afraid of men. Shug guided her telling her that she does have what it takes to gain her power back. Once Celia gains
By the end of the novel Celie and Sofia were each other’s families. Although, their relationship started out rocky. When Celie was timid and passive, she and her husband, Mr.___, advised Harpo, Sofia’s lover to give her a, “good s...
The overall message of the book is that woman should stand up to men if they are being oppressed by them. Celie learns that she can be who she really is instead of shying away from reality. "Celie, she say, Do you love me? She down on her knees by now, tears falling all over the place. My heart hurt so much I can't believe it. How can it keep beating, feeling like this? But I'm a woman. I love you, I say. Whatever happen, whatever you do, I love you” (Walker 250). A woman named Shug is brought into Celie’s life and they have a deep love and respect for one another. Shug really cares about Celie and she helps Celie learn how to love herself. Feminism is a key theme of The Color
Despite the odds women can overcome all obstacles. In the past, women have desperately struggled because they were belittled by men. They were thought of as ignorant beings that only knew how to manage housework. In The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, sexism was interrelated in the novel. Throughout the story, several women were extremely mistreated by men. Their experiences were considered trivial because they were always subordinated to them. Through the collection of letters that Celie wrote, the reader could see the development of a frightened young woman who had little regard for herself and of another, Shug, who struggled to become a successful woman.
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 nobody 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 ...
Celie is a victim of mistreatment and isolation in a world that considers women inferior to men. To instill fear and obedience in women, men conduct themselves in a hostile manner towards women. They manage women similar to slaves and sexually dominate them. When Celie is barely fourteen her stepfather, causing her to become pregnant twice, violates her multiple times. In a letter to God, Celie writes “I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it” (Walker 11). Intended merely to satisfy Pa, Celie...
... Celie’s life she would have never overcome her oppression and hardships. With the wonderful women who all displayed different qualities, Celie would never have been able to become a self reliable woman. Celie started as a shy, passive woman and turned into a woman who can rely on herself and who is not oppressed by the power of men.
The novel begins with the intense and graphic description of Celie being raped by her father. During this violation Celie states that, “When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. But I don’t ever get used to it” (Walker 1). The very specific dialect that Walker uses in these three short sentences creates a very grim and severe tone that helps deepen the understanding and severity of Celie’s situation. A sense of inferiority is established through Celie’s father’s demand that she must “get used to it” because he is the superior male and she must listen to him. Walker uses this tone to immediately establish the traditional gender roles that are woven throughout the novel. In addition to the male’s
Baga, A. (2010, June). Celie's Emancipation Process in Alice Walker's "The color Purple". Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://www.umc.edu.dz/theses/anglais/BAG1207.pdf
When Celie’s mother left, she played the role of a mother to care and protect her sister, but she started to notice that Mr.__ was looking at her sister in a way that she knew was not okay. Nettie was afraid but Celie knew that God had everything in control (Williams). According to Tate, “The novel evolves as Celie, a fourteen-year-old black girl, confides in God through letters about what has happened to her. She has been raped by a man whom she assu...
At the beginning of the book Celie announces her dependence on God by recognising that she can “tell nobody but God” about the abuse she is receiving from her stepfather.
Feminism has made a major change in not just women’s lives but in the world. Throughout the world, women have always been considered “second class citizens” yet as the years have passed, proven facts show that women are capable of working just as good as men and even do more duties at the same time. In the early centuries most women weren’t able to get any type of credit without a male cosigner and in certain countries their husbands had complete control not only for their property but for their earnings as well. Men created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated, but deemed of little account in man. Women
...heless, regardless of the changes that are seen within society in the the Color purple , there are still places within the world where females will never be able to live freely or handle their ‘’own’’ .The African tribe of the Olinka do not believe in educating their women, and regardless of the fact that there are no reports of abuse towards females by males in the letters that Nettie sends, female subservience is unchallenged, and the debasing initiation ceremony continues without from the females contest except from Nettie and her family. Also known as the combined female initiation ceremony, each of these operations has their functions. By scarring the womans face, the woman instinctively keeps her head ‘down,’ as Tashi does daring not to look up. While the women keep their heads down the men keep theirs aloft, and in doing so the power structure is conserved.
If we analyse the story instead of the narrative perspective can we see that the main reason of Celie's insecurity is caused by the way she is treated by men. She is sexually abus...
The concept of racial and gender equality has expanded greatly throughout the twentieth century, both in society and in literature. These changes influence Walker's writing, allowing her to create a novel that chronicles the development of a discriminated black woman. Her main character, Celie, progresses from oppression to self-sufficiency, thereby symbolizing the racial and gender advancements our country has achieved. Celie expresses this accomplishment when she states at the end of the novel that "this the youngest [she] ever felt" declaring that her final step into female empowerment has allowed her to begin her new, independent life (Walker 295).