Comparing The Color Purple and Macbeth
analytical Essay
1155 words
Comparing The Color Purple and Macbeth
What is a perfect human? Human perfection may be measured by physical ability or intellectual achievement; however, it may also be measured by strength of character, and in this realm humans may often fall short. Weakness of character, shown through various character flaws, causes most of the hardships in life.
Literature such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Alison Walker's The Color Purple contain three levels of characters: setting characters, secondary characters and the main character. Combined, these three all contribute character flaws which leads to the novel or play's ultimate tragedy.
The setting character appears in the beginning of a piece of literature to give one a feel and sense of how the piece will reach out to the reader. King Duncan sets the atmosphere in Macbeth when we see different characters take advantage of his character flaw, naivete. Immediately we begin to see some of the major themes such as betrayal and manipulation and know what direction the play will take. King Duncan's naivete is first shown when we find out that the former Thane of Cawdor has betrayed King Duncan and that he did not have any idea of it. This incident then prepares us for King Duncan's meeting with Lady Macbeth, where Lady Macbeth deceives King Duncan. We know Lady Macbeth is not loyal, yet he considers her his "honour'd hostess.../Which still [he] thank[s] and love[s]" (I. vi. 9-12). Once again when naive King Duncan puts his trust into the hands of disloyal Macbeth by making him Thane of Cowdar, the atmosphere and plot advances by making Macbeth's future plans possible.
Celie's mother, in the beginning of the novel The Color Purple, is a very small but effective setting character. Her character flaw was irresponsible parenting because she did not protect her daughter. With this lack of protection, Celie did not have any female role models when she was growing up. Therefore, Celie was not able to become knowledgeable about life and have good female company. Another effect this flaw had on the protagonist was that she had no one to teach her how to understand herself. Celie was unable to realize all of the wonderful qualities of being and becoming a woman. Because she could not appreciate being a woman, she was unable to appreciate herself, and therefore had a lack of self confidence.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that human perfection may be measured by physical ability or intellectual achievement, but strength of character may cause most of the hardships in life.
- Explains that literature such as shakespeare's macbeth and alison walker’s the color purple contain three levels of characters: setting characters, secondary characters and the main character.
- Analyzes how king duncan sets the atmosphere in macbeth when different characters take advantage of his character flaw, naivete.
- Analyzes how the character flaws of king duncan and celie's mother can predict the genre of the play or novel.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's greed allows her to take actions which contribute to the tragedy of the play.
- Analyzes how both secondary characters, lady macbeth and sofia, are females who have rejected their typical female role in society yet have the opposite influence on the main characters.
- Analyzes how macbeth and celie become a tragedy through the use of the main, secondary and setting characters' character flaws.
Related
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- Free Color Purple Essays: It Was the Worst of Timesanalytical essayThe Color Purple is about Celie’s life. In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Celie was raped by her father. We also learn that Celie’s mother is ill and is unable to take care of the family. Celie is forced to cook and clean for her family. Celie conceived two children because of her father’s continuous raping. She never sees her children and believes that her father killed them. A man from town wanted to take Celie’s sister Nettie as a wife, but her father convinces the man to take Celie instead. Celie is now forced to marry an older man who already has children. Celie’s husband constantly beats and rapes her without any remorse. He even made Celie nurse Shug Avery, his mistress, when she was ill. It is now that Celie learns from Shug Avery about love. Shug Avery encourages Celie not to take the abuse from her husband anymore and that she deserves better. Celie would finally leave her husband when she found out that he kept her sister’s letters from her. Nettie was the sole reason why Celie had managed to survive. Celie could not tolerate any more abuse and left with Shug Avery and Mary Agnes. Mary Agnes was Celie’s stepson’s mistress. Celie eventually meets up with Nettie and her two children whom she believed to be dead. She than goes back to her husband who has drastically changed since Shug Avery and Celie left.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that alice walker's the color purple was a series of letters spanning the life of celie, the main character. the theme of the book is to be true to yourself in spite of difficulties.
- Analyzes how celie's father raped her and forced her to cook and clean for her family. she was forced to marry an older man who already had children.
- Analyzes how celie had a hard life in the early 1900's, when the black people were oppressed by white people. they were abused and taken advantage of.
- Analyzes how celie was not attractive and had no education. she was obedient and acted like a slave. shug avery was beautiful and free spirited.
- Explains that black women in the late 1800s and early 1900s had a hard life. they had to be strong and courageous to survive.
613 wordsRead More - William Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayIn the play of Macbeth, Shakespeare introduces the main character, through the eyes of the one who knows him best, his wife. Lady Macbeth displays to the audience all of Macbeth’s weaknesses; her ambition to have power becomes her husband’s and this will bring out Macbeth’s ambition to be king. She also proves that the strong may become the weak and the weak may become the strong. Lady Macbeth is a main character in this play because she introduces Macbeth and helps the reader to understand his character. At the start of the play she seems to be the more ruthless of the two. When the reader is first introduced to Lady Macbeth she is already planning the death of King Duncan. In order for her to have the courage to do the deed and ask that all woman emotions be removed from her, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! (p 257)” She is a key factor in this play because she links the male soul to the female body, showing that ambition can lead to violence.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how shakespeare introduces the main character, lady macbeth, through the eyes of the one who knows him best, his wife. she shows that ambition can lead to violence.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth reads her husband's letter about becoming the thane of cawdor and glamis, and plots the death of the king.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is confident that they will not be suspected for the murder of the king, and she assures him that if they do everything right he will become king.
- Narrates how macbeth decides to kill macduff, the one who flees the country to get an army together to overthrow him. his ambition turned into violence just as his wife's.
- Analyzes lady macbeth's ambition to have position and power led her to convince her husband to kill the king. she acted almost emotionless by saying that water would clean them from their deed.
- Narrates how lady macbeth was caught sleepwalking by a gentlewoman, who called the doctor to investigate what was happening. the doctor knew that she was saying things that god only knew.
- Analyzes how macbeth was confident that he would not be hurt because everyman was born of a woman and the woods cannot march.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth was a very important role in this play; she was the antagonist and pushed macbeth to become an animal. she questioned his manhood to get what she wanted.
1287 wordsRead More - The Start of Evil: Lady Macbeth by William Shakespeareanalytical essayMacbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare in the 1600 century. It is one of Shakespeare’s most well known tragedies, and continues to be studied to this day. It is a dark and gloomy play, as the main character, Macbeth, gets a taste for evil and kills the king of Scotland, King Duncan, in order to become king himself. After this moment there is a rapid increase of evil in him, as he starts to kill more and more people who upset him or are a threat to the throne. One of the play’s most important scenes is when Macbeth murders King Duncan, this scene is essential to the remainder of the play and how it unfolds. This murder scene contributes to the play in terms of plot development, it exposes and develops the major theme of how people can turn evil when confronted with power, and it reveals the true character of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how macbeth is a dark and gloomy play written by william shakespeare in the 1600s. the murder scene contributes to the play in terms of plot development, exposes and develops the major theme of how people can turn evil when confronted with power.
- Analyzes how macbeth's killing of duncan was a turning point in the play in terms of the plot.
- Analyzes how macbeth is a complex study of evil and its corrupting influence on humanity.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's character evolves throughout the play, from being a courageous soldier to becoming evil through the witches' prophecies.
- Concludes that the scene where macbeth murders duncan is a turning point in the plot.
1000 wordsRead More - Character Analysis Of Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayIn the beginning of the play, Macbeth stays true to his morals, changes driven by his intense ambition so he can achieve his goals. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth host King Duncan to dinner at their home because Lady Macbeth thinks they should kill him.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's plan doesn't sit right with him because he values hospitality over his ambitions to be a king.
- Analyzes how macbeth is hesitant about murder, but he turns into an advocate for it.
- Analyzes how macbeth's change is detected through supporting characters' view of him. the captain reports that he is an honorable man and a hero for their country.
- Analyzes how macbeth's ambition makes him a tragic hero and leads to his downfall.
- Analyzes how the weird sisters feel acrimony when discussing macbeth's ambitions, and how he acts upon them.
1010 wordsRead More - The Color Purple Analysisanalytical essay...ce of social gender departure releases her from oppression that came with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. The significant change from her passive self to a feminine assertiveness develops out of her encounter with the people and events that goes against traditional views of social acceptance as it breaks common views on behavior and attributes. The development allows Celie to identify the people around her as the people she loves and care for, essentially becoming her people. The Color Purple becomes a contemporary text that becomes relatable to issues of identity and acceptance as well as addresses the existence of the continuing problem. Just as Celie says at the end of the novel when she narrates the conservation she shared with Mr. ____, the ability to “live her life and be herself no matter what” becomes a capability to her and the other characters.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the color purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, celie.
- Analyzes how alice walker's the color purple addresses the concept of gender stereotypes and not completely dignified when it comes to expectations and judgement.
- Analyzes how sofia is a unique female character throughout the novel. she displays assertiveness which does not typically associate with the stereotypical woman.
- Analyzes how introduces the issue of misrepresentation of black people in both the novel and film, sifting through the controversy.
- Analyzes how shug avery is an important person to celie in developing her character to become an independent and assertive woman.
- Analyzes how the fear of men becomes a major issue for celie throughout her life. the strong sisterly relationship develops early in the novel.
- Analyzes how the undergoing change of celie's character does not affect her alone; it symbolizes the oppression in her life that she struggled to break free from.
- Analyzes how color develops a sense of nature or sentiment to an item in novels and other texts. purple represents royalty, wealth, or ambition, but lavender represents femininity and female power.
- Analyzes how celie's embrace into femininity and her acceptance of social gender departure releases her from oppression that came with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. the color purple becomes a contemporary text that becomes relatable to issues of identity and acceptance.
2090 wordsRead More - Macbeth Comparison Essayanalytical essayMacbeth Comparison Essay A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all. Lady Macbeth shows more ambition then Macbeth does in terms of gaining power regarding kingship. When Macbeth finds out about the witches’ predictions and the first two coming true “Glamis, and thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind” (1.3.124-125) meaning that he got a taste of power, making him thane of Glamis and thane of Cawdor making him more ambitious for the power to become king.
In this essay, the author
- Compares lady macbeth's ambition regarding power with george bernard shaw’s quote. she is ambitious and will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth shows more ambition in terms of gaining power regarding kingship.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth shows more ambition in terms of gaining power regarding kingship.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth shows more ambition in terms of gaining power regarding kingship.
568 wordsRead More - Strength Grown by Celieanalytical essayWithin The Color Purple by Alice Walker, women are treated as inferior to men therefore they must obey them. Through the strength and wisdoms Celie gains from other women, she learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman. The women she has met throughout her life, and the woman she protected since young, are the people that helped her become a strong independent woman. Sofia and Shug were there for Celie when she needed someone to look up to and depend on. Nettie was able to push Celie to become a more educated, independent person. The main source of conflict in this book is Celie’s struggle with becoming an independent woman who needs not to rely on a man. Throughout the book we see her grow as a person and become independent in many ways through her experiences with the powerful women in her life.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how celie learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman through the strength and wisdoms she gains from other women. sofia and shug were there for her when she needed someone to look up to and depend on.
- Analyzes how shug, a famous singer, helped celie explore her spirituality and recover her family history. she gave her love and affection in ways that she had never received before.
- Analyzes how nettie, celie's sister, was separated from her abusive step father and made a better life for herself. she then moved on to become an african missionary.
- Analyzes how sofia is an opinionated, strong person who teaches celie how to be assertive. sofia defends her humanity against a remark from the mayor's wife and her body from assault.
- Cites watkins, mel. "some letters went to god." new york times, 25 july 1982.
- Opines that celie's new life is a self-supporting woman who can stand up on her own two feet without the help of anyone. without the women in her life, she would have never overcome her oppression and hardships.
- Explains that bloom, harold, and lister, rachel, have written about gender and sexuality in alice walker's the color purple.
1005 wordsRead More - Lady Macbeth Comparison Essayanalytical essayThere was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that lady macbeth and julia are good examples that can be presented as the "great woman" behind the men.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth and julia pretend to be someone who they are not, which finagles other characters in the texts.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's use of language and julia’s actions negatively affect the character of winston.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth's illness of sleepwalking through the castle causes her sensitivity to become weak, and she kills herself to deal with the legacy of the crimes of those innocent people.
- Analyzes how lady macbeth and julia's actions badly affect their men in the texts. they disguise themselves to approaching the objective that they want.
1252 wordsRead More - How Did Alice Walker Use Abuse In The Color Purpleanalytical essayThe main character, Celie, faces both abuse and maltreatment throughout The Color Purple from several influential men in her life: her stepfather, her husband, and her stepson, Harpo. In the beginning of the book, Celie already faces a life changing encounter with her stepfather, as he sexually abuses her at a young age, without realizing what effect it had on her until later on. In Claudia Durst Johnson’s “Women’s Issues in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple” she explains the aftermath and damage that is done to Celie “Celie is told after her rape by her (presumed) father: “You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.” Cellie is silenced by an external source, and like Morrison’s and Naylor’s protagonists, she experiences the nullification and subjectivity internal voice allied with rape by the myth of Philomela” (60). After Celie’s rape by her stepfather, she is shushed by him and only presumes it as
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's the color purple effortlessly portrays that men overrule women within the african american society when abuse was completely acceptable.
- Analyzes how alice walker's the color purple takes place in georgia, 30 years before world war ii began. the main character, celie, faces abuse and maltreatment from several influential men in her life.
- Analyzes how celie's crisis of self-comprehension is an inheritance from her mother, as an effect of a relatively noncoagulated set of practices that have escaped full representation within the mainstream culture.
- Analyzes how johnson explains how celie describes her pain and suffering after her experience with her father in walker's first anguished letter to god.
- Analyzes how celie becomes a slave to her arranged husband, mr. albert ______, who uses her for sexual desires, household chores, and physical work.
- Analyzes how albert makes celie's life miserable by hiding her sister’s letters from her for so long that she believes she may have died.
- Analyzes how albert verbally attacks celie in saying that she will go nowhere in life without him. he ridicules her for how his children turned out, how the house is always in, and that everything is her fault.
- Analyzes how albert physically abuses celie to change her rebellious attitude, forcing her to work in the fields and take care of mister's unruly and intractable children.
- Analyzes how celie's abuse shows that she would rather be alive and have to put up with what she does everyday, rather than go against her husband.
2181 wordsRead More - Theme Of Reality In Macbethanalytical essayLady Macbeth wants Macbeth to seem like a loyal servant to king Duncan while really he is planning on murdering him. Finally, Lady Macbeth portrays 2 completely different personalities which we see change during the play. Lady Macbeth starts out like a tough and callous woman but then after the murder of Duncan she shows her true reality. Before Duncan’s murder Lady Macbeth was portraying that she wanted the murder done no matter who did it, but, when it came to the night of the murder she claimed that she would have committed the murder but Duncan reminded her of her father when he sleeps “Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done ’t.”(II.II.XII-XIII). In conclusion, the theme “appearances do not represent reality” is shown through Macbeth’s loyalty to the king, Lady Macbeth’s line, and Lady Macbeth’s change in personality throughout the
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how macbeth's appearances do not represent reality is a strong theme in the novel.
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