In Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, important aspects of the African American women’s experience in America in the early/mid. 1900’s are discussed such as the physical abuse and emotional abuse they endured and their social standing in society. In both novels you are able to witness the anguish and persecution that these women had to undergo. Maya from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Celie from The Color Purple are the main characters and we see that they are both differentiated against during their journeys of life. Men in their lives take advantage of both women and they are used for sexual pleasure, and as slaves. They are not treated fairly as they should be and people in their …show more content…
The book The Color Purple has been called that name for certain reasons. Shanyn Fiske writes in Piecing The Patchwork Self: A Reading Of Walker 's The Color Purple, "The color purple is continually equated with suffering and pain. Sophia 's swollen, beaten face is described as the color of 'eggplant '. Purple is the color of Celie 's private parts: the site of her sexual violation." (Fiske, 153) Since the average African American woman got beaten almost to death, and was sexually assaulted until they were not even recognizable, the novel’s name fits it quite well. Fiske tells us that the colour purple describes what Sophia and Celie looked like after they had been beaten and sexually abused so many times by the men in their lives.
The Color Purple was a story that resembled Oprah Winfrey’s life as well. Oprah was “raped as a child, but there was more to come. She would be molested and raped, repeatedly, through early adolescence, by other grown men, including the boyfriend of a cousin who was living with Oprah 's mother, and by her favorite uncle. ‘It was just an on- going, continuous thing,’ she has said; ‘I started to think 'This is the way life is. '’” (Flanagan) Oprah, along with many other African American women, began to think that it was normal for men to be abusing them in such a manner, which is not the truth at all. Some of these poor women did not know what was
Perhaps the reason that Maya’s poetry has had such a lasting impact on Americans is because of her poems such as ‘Caged Birds’ and ‘Still I Rise’ that demonstrate the issues that African – Americans faced, which she has done through the power of her words. She also challenges the readers with the theme of oppression that is carried out through her pomes as she felt very strongly about it by being surrounded by it her entire life. Maya Angelou has left an everlasting mark by influencing the society through her poems by inspiring others to persist towards their goals and dreams with strength and pride. Overall, Maya Angelou’s work can be attributed to the fact that her personal and cultural experiences of power have not been forgotten by overcoming adversity and oppression, which is clearly reflected in her inspiration body of work seen
Life is a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs. Left turns, right turns, and sometimes completely upside down loop de loops. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story about a colored woman named Celie who writes letters to God while living through extreme oppression and abuse. Celie eventually overcomes her oppressors by finding her purpose in life through friendship, love, hope, and change in faith. Discovering hope, love, and faith leads to a fulfilling life through difficult times.
While the majority of black women accounts are lost to history due to anti-literacy laws, we do have a good idea of what their lives were, through slave narratives and other records. The life of a female slave in pre-civil war America was characterized by sexual assault, physical and mental abuse along with harsh treatment both in the fields and inside the master’s house. Female slaves were treated as property with no regards to their
The Colour Purple is a novel that was written by the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winner, Alice Walker. The Novel was published in 1982 and was later turned into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985. The book is about a young girl, Celie who was oppressed and seek to find happiness in life. Despite her inner turmoil, she had a strong belief in God, and also hopes that she would find her estranged sister, Nettie who loved her with all her heart. She got pregnant at an early age by the man she thought was her father. Celie was also a young bride who was being abused by her husband.
Alice Walker and Maya Angelou are two contemporary African-American writers. Although almost a generation apart in age, both women display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each has written about her experiences growing up in the rural South, Ms. Walker through her essays and Ms. Angelou in her autobiographies. Though they share similar backgrounds, each has a unique style which gives to us, the readers, the gift of their exquisite humanity, with all of its frailties and strengths, joys and sorrows.
Men all through the globe have always been the dominant sex ever since the early former ages. Domestic Violence is a critical issue which negatively impacts women in the world today. The novel The Color Purple deals with the narrator Celie, a black woman uneducated and poor, who gets physically abused by both her so called father and husband. Throughout the novel, it is shown how a powerless woman rises and stands up for herself after years of being mistreated. Over 85% of women experience or go through a domestic violence through friends or family. Domestic Violence has sadly played a big role in families, specifically women, and has led to many deaths. The Color Purple demonstrates how through out the world, thousands of incidents of
There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and
Alice Walker's The Color Purple is an excellent account of the life of poor black women who must suffer not only social ostracism due to gender and skin color but also women who suffer greatly at the hands of black men. This is true in terms of infidelity, physical and verbal abuse, and sexual abuse.
If any woman had to answer if she ever had trouble accepting herself, the response would be yes. According to Susan David, “All healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear” (125-128). Depending on the person Alice Walker has as the recipients of Celie’s and Nettie’s letters, the text alters. The Color Purple is about a girl named Celie, who grows up in the south during the early 1920’s, surrounded by racism, sexism, and abuse from her father and husband. Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple in epistolary style and it traces Celie’s journey of finding her identity and path of finally accepting herself. On her journey she encounters a couple of women including one named Shug
Firstly, The Color Purple (1982) is written by the African- American novelist Alice Walker. For creating such an innovative novel, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award. Walker initiated her novel by a confession that The Color Purple is her spiritual journey and the female protagonist represents her during this journey. The novel is made up of 90 letters written by Celie to God and some of these letters are written by Nettie to her sister Celie. These letters are similar to a diary that Celie finds as a way to express her feelings , emotions and thoughts in a place she is not permitted to be free. Generally, the novel portrays a life and a journey of a young fourteen -year- old black girl who is persecuted throughout her life from her stepfather who repeatedly raped her and forced her to marry a cruel man who, in turn, oppressed her.
Walker’s theme of writing is straight forward, she express through emotions and sexual conduct. Alice Walker adds, “The worse thing than being a woman is being a black woman” (282). The novel: The Color of Purple tells about the leading character Celie that writes down her deepest thoughts of unhappiness and sorrow in her diary. Celie was sexual assaulted by the man she called father, and she later conceives a child, that child was taken away from her at the age of fourteen. For example, Celie was not attending school, she felt rejected and unattractive. Celie stayed at home
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker in 1982 and later made into a movie in 1985 directed by Steven Speilburg tells the story of a young women of color named Celie who endured countless hardships in the time period of racial discrimination and sexism.
The Color Purple is an honest emotional story about love, trust, respect, separation, friendships, and the bond between sisters. It was published back in 1982 by Alice Walker. Walker is a huge activist, and even participated in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movements in Mississippi. Throughout her novel she uses excellent rhetoric to convey her strong emotions. The Color Purple uses ethos to show you how horrible abuse is, logos to help give the characters confidence, and pathos to convey the pain.
The movie ‘’The Color Purple’’ is a 1985 drama film that portrays the historical period. This film sheds light on the struggles that African American women faced during the 1930s. The Color Purple is about the life of Celie Harris, a poor black girl who married against her wish to an older black man. This movie was a great portrayal of history, which was directed by Steven Spielberg in a new light, this movie also shows realism and grit.
In The Color Purple, Alice Walker illustrates the lives of a female African American before the Civil Rights Movement. A novel that describes female empowerment, The Color Purple demonstrates the domestic violence women faced in the South. Walker tells the story through Celie, a young African American girl who faces constant hardships until she stands up for herself with the help of her closest friends – other women undergoing the same difficulties. Even though men controlled females in the South, the author emphasizes the strength of female empowerment because females struggled to survive during this time.