Something good
The Color Purple questions the notions of gender. In the article “Feminism” Carolyn Perry states that “Feminism differs from the women’s movement in that it moves beyond the political and economic issues at heart of the women’s movement…, such as tearing down the hierarchical structure of sex and gender roles and changing the way people view men, women, and gender”(255). She believed that it wasn’t a thing as “a women’s place” (255). In The Color Purple Alice Walker shows us that women can overcome oppression and become stronger if they believe they can.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker was published in 1982 and a film adaptation was released a few years later in 1985. The setting of the novel is in the 20th century American South and the story describes the living conditions of a black poor girl named Celie and gender roles and gender relations are depicted thoroughly. The story is told by the main character Celie through her letters to God and even through her sister Nettie’s letters. Celie is raped by Alphonso, the man who she takes for her own father, and her two children Adam and Olivia who she had with him are sent away from her. After a decision by her stepfather Alphonso and Mr, a widower, she marries the black man Mr who is seeking a wife to take care of his home. Later, Celie is separated from her sister Nettie too because of Mr‘s harsh decision to turn her away from Celie since Nettie refuses to succumb to his sexual invites. At the beginning of the novel Celie is a teenage girl who is just about to be married off to Mr and we follow her life story until she is middle-aged and has moved on and successfully built up an independent life. At the end she is also reunited with her children and those who mean a lot to her. In The Color Purple there is physical as well as psychological violence and the female characters are struggling with both gender and racial oppression. In spite of this heavy misery, there is a great extent of personal strength,
The Color Purple by Alice Walker was published in 1982 and a film adaptation was released a few years later in 1985. The setting of the novel is in the 20th century American South and the story describes the living conditions of a black poor girl named Celie and gender roles and gender relations are depicted thoroughly. The story is told by the main character Celie through her letters to God and even through her sister Nettie’s letters. Celie is raped by Alphonso, the man who she takes for her own father, and her two children Adam and Olivia who she had with him are sent away from her. After a decision by her stepfather Alphonso and Mr, a widower, she marries the black man Mr who is seeking a wife to take care of his home. Later, Celie is separated from her sister Nettie too because of Mr‘s harsh decision to turn her away from Celie since Nettie refuses to succumb to his sexual invites. At the beginning of the novel Celie is a teenage girl who is just about to be married off to Mr and we follow her life story until she is middle-aged and has moved on and successfully built up an independent life. At the end she is also reunited with her children and those who mean a lot to her. In The Color Purple there is physical as well as psychological violence and the female characters are struggling with both gender and racial oppression. In spite of this heavy misery, there is a great extent of personal strength,
Cited: Perry, Carolyn. “Feminism.” In The Companion to Southern Literature. Eds. Joseph M. Flora & Lucinda H. Mackethan. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP. 255-257. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. “The Color Purple,” In Encyclopedia of Southern Literature. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CL10.70-73. Taylor, Judith K. “Alice Walker.” In The African American Encyclopedia. Eds. Michael W. Williams & Kibibi Voloria Mack. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 2614-2616. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. 1982 New York: NY Pocket Books/Washington SP. 1 & 199. Bowles, M.D. (2011), American History 1865-Present: End of Isolation, Bridgeport Education Finkleman, P. (2009) Encyclopedia of African American History, 1865-present, Madison Avenue, New York: Oxford University