Theme Of Sexism In The Color Purple

812 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The color purple and sexism

Alice Walker was born in 1944, she grew up in the racially divided South. She attend segregated schools, which she was the valedictorian of her class. After high school she received a scholarship to attend Spelman College in Atlanta. She switched colleges and then went to Sarah Lawrence College in New York City Living. She decided to study abroad in Africa. She graduated in 1965 which is also the same year that her first story was published. She then went on to publishing her novel the color purple in 1982. In the novel, The Color Purple written by Alice Walker, Walker illustrates the struggle of sexism through the relationship of Harpo and Sofia. How Harpo wants to beat Sofia down and make her do everything he says. Sofia is independent and refuses to be submissive. Celie wishes that she could be that confident and have the courage to stand up for herself.
Along with her being raped, her mother dying, her sister leaving and being forced into marriage. In the beginning of the book she is portrayed as a weak individual who always does as she is told. She then gets some confidence after looking up to Shug And Sofia, two strong women in the novel. She confides in her letters to God, which is her only scapegoat away from all the the hardships she goes through.
The main character in the color purple is Celie a young black woman who is submissive and does everything she is told to.She was forced to marry a man that didn 't even love her. She then had to take care of his disrespectful children. Harpo was the only child that had an important role in the book. He didn 't do any work and just wanted to be lazy. He then met Sofa, an outspoken girl who Harpo fell in love with. Sofia ends up pregnant and they get married and live on the same property as Celie and

Show More
Related

  • Shug Avery Quotes

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Color Purple the realities of an abusive upbringing are deeply explained to the reader. Celie, the main character, is taught the importance of being strong and standing up for herself through Shug Avery. She portrays strength and independence that women have. In The Color Purple, Shug Avery teaches characters to hold the vigor and autonomy that is hidden somewhere inside of them.

    Read More

  • Symbols In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, by demonstrating the importance of the color purple, Celie opened her eyes towards God and then became more self-aware of all the small elements that God set to make her feel joyful, like the color purple. Then, many years pass in the book and Celie truly understand what Shug meant by the color purple in the field. She understands that “[her] ability to find a sense of self-worth, is symbolized by her attainment of color purple.” [Kerr, 177]. Celie’s life did not start on the right foot. She lived and saw a lot of things that killed her deep inside. The color purple in the story was not only an original name for a book that Walker wrote. It means something important in the story. This wonderful color, associate with royalty and prestige, follows the total progress of the young black girl who was, in some words, dead inside, that end up being a lady that now lives of freedom, love and happiness. In other words, the small surprises that, according to Shug, God puts in our life, made Celie stronger and increases her

    Read More

  • The Role Of Colorism In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    In one of her most world known books, “The Color Purple”, she predominantly puts her focus on the empowerment and strong building of African Americans. She shadows every vulnerable piece that each of the female characters portray and exposes Celie to feel that the only way to persevere is to remain silent and invisible. The Color Purple is narrated by the main character, Celie. Celie is a victim of sexual, physical and verbal abuse. Her letters to God, in which she begins to pour out her story, becomes her only outlet. She has a difficult time trying to find out who she is and her voice. She feels that she has no power to assert

    Read More

  • Comparison of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Walker's Color Purple

    2372 Words  | 5 Pages

    Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, Publishers. New York, San Diego, London, 1992

    Read More

  • Alice Walker's Color Purple - Historical and Political Insight

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alice Walker’s writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings around her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walker’s most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns women’s struggle for freedom in a society where they are viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel.

    Read More

  • Influences That Shape Gender Roles in The Color Purple by Alice Walker

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both males and females have influences that help decide the ways in which they think, dress, speak, and act within the situation of society. Cultural and personal gender roles are a big influence on the way people live. Learning plays a role in this process of shaping gender roles. Peers, parents, movies, teachers, television, books, and movies could all teach and reinforce gender roles throughout the lifespan.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple Analysis

    2090 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Color Purple

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, The Color Purple, is an epistolary novel. In the letterforms, Alice Walker gives several ideas, such as, friendship, domination, courage & independence. She impacts readers by looking at the story through the eyes of Celie and Nettie. The book describes the fateful life of a young lady. It tells how a 14 year old girl fights through all the steps and finally she is in command for her own life. Celie is the young lady who has been constantly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple Essay

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Discrimination In The Color Purple

    2084 Words  | 5 Pages

    Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, is about the severity of discrimination and its effect on an individual. This illustrates the idea that discrimination and prejudice can ultimately curve someone's view of the world around them. Through motifs in the novel, the point of view of the characters, and the foils seen in the characters, we can see this theme take effect through the main characters in the novel.

    Read More

  • A Synopsis Of 'The Color Purple' By Alice Walker

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Post Feminism In Alice Walker's Color Purple

    1516 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1982, Walker published her most controversial and famous book, ‘The Color Purple’. It is written in the form of epistolary (letter), the novel included vivid descriptions of rape, incest, bisexuality, lesbianism, and “black- on – black” violence and abuse. It recounted the tragic but ultimately triumphant life story of Celie, a young victimized black woman. A year later it appeared it got Pulitzer Prize in fiction and National Book Award, and in 1985 it was adapted as motion picture. Walker’s longtime best- seller transcended black and gender

    Read More

  • Female Empowerment In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    1840 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alice Walker's use of characterization in her novel The Color Purple depicts her main theme of female empowerment and the importance of maintaining an assertive voice. The tyrannical male characters, the victimized female characters, and the development of the protagonist, Celie, express Walker's firm views of female independence in a male dominated society. Her feminist views have been influenced by her experiences with discrimination as an African-American woman as well as her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. These experiences serve as an inspiration for developing the character Celie, a young black woman discovering her own sense of self while battling a male dependent environment.

    Read More

  • Celie's Transformation in Alice Walker's Color Purple

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Celie is not a typical protagonist. In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, the main character Celie is an ugly, poor girl who is severely lacking in self-confidence. However, Celie transforms throughout the course of the novel and manages to realize herself as a colorful, beautiful, and proud human being. Celie becomes a powerful individual.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Criticism of Alice Walker

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the bibliography portion of “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, Alice was born in Georgia and attended Spellman College before transferring to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Her first work was a book of poetry that was published while she was still in college. She moved to Mississippi and became a teacher and a civil rights activist. Walker’s work is known for highlighting the struggles of African American women during her time and in the past. One of the most popular works by Walker was, The Color Purple.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Sexism In The Color Purple

Open Document