color puple

Almost none of the abusers in Walker’s novel are stereotypical, one-dimensional monsters whom we can dismiss as purely evil. Those who perpetuate violence are themselves victims, often of sexism, racism, or paternalism. Harpo, for example, beats Sofia only after his father implies that Sofia’s resistance makes Harpo less of a man. Mr. ______ is violent and mistreats his family much like his own tyrantlike father treated him. Celie advises Harpo to beat Sofia because she is jealous of Sofia’s strength and assertiveness.

The characters are largely aware of the cyclical nature of harmful behavior. For instance, Sofia tells Eleanor Jane that societal influence makes it almost inevitable that her baby boy will grow up to be a racist. Only by forcefully talking back to the men who abuse them and showing them a new way of doing things do the women of the novel break these cycles of sexism and violence, causing the men who abused them to stop and reexamine their ways.

Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays.

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

Rape, incest, sex , forced labor, and a little reefer on the side. For the major part of her youth she had to struggle to survive; s. Throughout the novel, Walker wishes to emphasize that gender and sexuality are not as simple as we may believe. It is clearly racism that lands Sofia in

jail.

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple presents the life-long struggle of Celie, a black Georgia woman, who yearns to obtain confidence and self-esteem. In neither

place can the Black woman enjoy the basic human rights of self-

determination, freedom from violence, or ownership of their own

bodies. During the early stages of the novel, references to wagons are made, signifying the “old days,” whereas towards the end of the work automobiles surface. The mayor can slap her and go free, but when she socks the

mayor, she is beaten and jailed. During her difficult life, Celie writes letters to God in which she tells him about her being. When Mary Agnes approaches the

warden, her white uncle, about releasing Sofia, she is raped; the

warden knows he does not have to worry about being charged with

raping a Black girl. Now that a black person is writing about other blacks that are foretaking in acts that are, in their eye's, immoral and corrupt, the subject is brought into a new light.

Approximate Word count = 1052
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.