Domestic Violence in The Color Purple by Alice Walker Essay

Another common effect on children who witness domestic violence is that they have severe gender role issues. Clearly, children exposed to the abuse of their mothers are at risk for learning deleterious patterns of social behavior and for developing distorted expectations about the appropriate roles of men and women in the family (Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). Therefore, children exposed

The Color Purple revolves around the life of Celie, a young black woman growing up in the poverty-ridden South.  In order to find herself and gain independence, Celie must deal with all manner of abuse, including misogyny, racism and poverty.  When she is a young girl of just 14, Celie is sexually assaulted by a man she believes is her father.  She has two children by her rapist, both of who

The Color Purple, was released in 1985 and was set in the early until middle of the 1900s, it was one of the first featured movies to openly discuss the topic of domestic violence as a main part of the film. This has been very significant because it sets a standard of normalizing domestic violence in the characters lives, which Walker was able to show and develop through Celie and how she mistreatment in the hands of her stepfather and husband. In addition, a powerful message about how people who have been oppressed can unite together to overcome their oppressors. By the character finding out who she is and taking value in what she can become, this movie shows a feminist power. While Celie was searching for truth, she comes to realize that the patriarchal culture she went through in the South is abusive to all women. She learns that women can be equal to men in in matters of love and finance, power, and in knowledge, when she met Shug and they escape from Albert. Near the end of the movie, when Celie returns to Georgia, she isn’t submissive and weak anymore; On the contrary, she has become a competent, self-confident woman who knows she can be satisfied without depending on anybody else but herself.

Violence in any form can have a lasting effect on a person. Children who witness violence are permanently scarred because of what they are seeing. Children who witness family or domestic violence are affected in ways similar to children who are physically abused. Children are often unable to establish nurturing bonds with either parent and are at a greater risk for abuse and neglect if he or she lives in a violent home. Statistics show that an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence against their mothers or female caretakers by family members in their home each year (Ackerman & Pickering, 1989). When a spouse, woman or male is abused, and there are

There are many theories out there that try to explain why domestic violence happens. Some like family violence theory say that it is passed down through the family because basically what you see is what you will do. Others say it’s a chemical imbalance or its based on other things. I believe that it is a little bit of all of the theories but the Culture of Violence Theory is playing a huge role today in helping shape our young children’s minds as to what is now acceptable. During this assignment we will look at four different types of examples of how the Culture of Violence Theory is doing just that.

Domestic violence is a widespread sociological problem wherein women and children are most often the victims. This sociological problem is compounded by the fact that so much domestic violence goes under-reported, whether against women or children. Domestic violence may take a wide range of forms and may include a variant combination of battery, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or general violence. Targets of such behaviors may include a spouse, child or both. For the purposes of this research, there will be an interest in noting the impact on children who are exposed to violence both directly as the victims of abuse or indirectly as witnesses to spousal abuse. In either instance, the same findings are anticipated. Namely, the primary thesis driving the

In the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker, the main character, Celie, is abused a multitude of times by Mr. ______, her husband. This abuse, paired with earlier abuse at the hands of her stepfather, shapes Celie’s opinions on abuse. The abuse Celie suffers begins to change her into an abuser herself, showcased by her suggesting to Harpo to hit Sofia to control her, but Shug helps to change the impact the abuse has had on Celie into empowerment, along with helping Celie get out of her situation by moving to Memphis.

As mentioned before and regarding gender, women are far more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence (Kimmel and Holler, 2011, 375). Sev’er (2002) suggests an interesting finding regarding men and women who have fallen victim or have witnessed domestic abuse in their childhood. In her findings, Sev’er concluded that in comparison to non-violent men, violent men were three times more likely to have witnessed violence as a child, meanwhile, women who were raised in violent homes were twice as likely to fall victim to a form of domestic violence as opposed to women who were not raised in non-violent homes (109). As a child, if their role models, such as their fathers, got away with violence, they would assume that violent behaviour was acceptable (Sev’er, 2002, 109)

Within 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

The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker, is a story written about the struggles of a colored woman in the 1930’s. The central character, Celie, experienced more abuse in her life than love and struggled to understand the world around her. In the novel the author is able to captivate her audience and through a series of letters written to GOD, create a relationship between Celie and her readers. Reading the novel you immediately began to sympathize with this young girl (Celie) as you watch her father tare her life to shreds. Celie is raped and impregnated by her father only to be torn from her children after she gave birth. Celie is later given away in marriage to a man that only wanted to marry her to raise his kids, keep a good home and work in his fields as his personal slave. Her marriage also tore her away from the only person who ever loved her, Nettie, who is her little sister. Mr. Albert, who is Celie’s new husband, ended up being just as abusive if not more abusive than her father. In this paper, I want to bring to focus one of the themes in this novel: Violence against Women. I want the reader to understand the affects that abuse has on the victim as well as society.

Since the beginning of time, women have been viewed as inferior to men. In the novel “The Color Purple,” written by Alice Walker illustrates how poorly women of are treated by men. The main character, Celie is raped by her father and births two children whom he gives away without her consent. She is then married off to a man who doesn’t love her but rather wants her to be a maid and a babysitter for his children. The only thing Celie requests is that her sister Nettie come live with them.

Because of the unthinkable idea that men could be victims, instead of perpetrators, or the fear of ridicule, researchers attribute this phenomenon to men’s tension to minimize or downplay violent acts committed against them (Dutton, 2006). The presence of domestic violence in a home predates the infliction of abuse on children. Domestic violence, though, impacts the lives of children , even in the cases that they are not the victims.

To address and decrease domestic violence occurring, professionals have recognized some preventative measures that include identifying factors that predispose a victim to abuse. Witnessing domestic violence as a child illustrates inappropriate behaviors that the child will learn is acceptable, normal and inevitable. When a mother is subjected to violence in front of her daughter, they internalize these behaviors of her attacker and learn to mimic the submissive, beaten down condition of her mother. In some cases, children have also been found to seek out similar relationships in adulthood that mirror the characteristics of the abuser in their household while growing up. A study conducted by The College Student Journal analyzed aspects of father-daughter

In both novels, women are forced to fight in their relationships to overcome the persecution that society has thrust upon them their whole lives. " The Color Purple features another African American woman who achieves self-actualization and resist sexist oppression through romantic love,..” (Bealer 23). Celie overcame sexist oppression because she is knocked down time and time again and treated like crap by the men in her life. Celie is abused and beaten down physically and emotionally by the men in her life which causes her to finally overcome the discrimination. Celie was not alone in her mistreatment. “She say, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and uncles. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me” (Walker 40). Sofia is talking to Celie about how she had to fight her way through her childhood while living in a house with all boys. She saw her mom get

Domestic violence is being a behavior problem which is used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence. Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon in the past women were used to punish be. However, different types of feathers were compared to today. Decades ago, domestic violence was often seen as a way that husbands used to rightfully "correct" their wives. At the same time, male violence posted questions to the the patriarchate, which is defined as the power of husbands and fathers over wives and children (a specific form of male dominance). The power accumulation threatened the integrity of the family, if the husband murdered or seriously injured his wife. In addition, the violence began to change the idea that marriage was based upon love or at least partnership and companionship. The ideal husband was