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Gender Roles In The Color Purple

Decent Essays

In The Color Purple, Alice Walker writes how men are dominant and controlling, and how women have to obey men, spend their time at home, and out in the fields working. In the time period that the book took place, men are shown as abusive to women, and women can’t do anything about it. The roles of men are portrayed as being controlling and submissive. A representation of this is when Harpo questions why Sofia doesn’t listen to her and says to Mr., “I tell her one thing, she do another. Never do what I say. Always backtalk”(29). In response, Mr. just tells Harpo to beat her. Harpo knows that the role of women is to listen to the men, but when Sofia doesn’t listen, He is told the only way she will listen is by hitting her. In different parts

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