Stereotypes In The Color Purple

The most important aspect of The Color Purple is the growth and maturity of each individual. There is a huge transition of many of the characters from the beginning to the end of the novel.  This evolution of the characters is a recurring theme that runs throughout the novel and can be tracked by Celie’s letters.  The women struggle  for freedom in a society where they are inferior to men.  Towards the end of the novel one can sense the slow evolution towards the increasing empowerment of women.

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

This movie is an upbeat, affirmative fable in which optimism, patience, and family loyalty emerge as cardinal virtues, and in which even the wife beating villain has charm. This movie shows the story of a shy young heroine, whose life is filled with disappointment and hardship, even the most brutal events are set forth. Around the world, women are facing the similar issues but never had their stories be told. The Color Purple has a lot of heartbreaking scenes, a very emotional scene, in particular, was when teenage Celie was forcibly separated from her beloved sister Nettie. This film depicts the reality of women, and their day to day lives, in this era, they were told what to do, they had to follow their husbands rule without any sign of defying. Women were not treated as an equal to man but as a lesser person in society, especially African American women. Girls were expected to get married a young age, bore children and take care of the home; they weren’t given rights to vote, or further their education beyond a certain

When Celie shopped for the first time in her life for new clothes, she wanted to get something purple. However, she cannot find any purple clothing while seeing a lot of people wearing purple (James Web). This is a symbol of her search for love. When Celie finally breaks free from Mister and patriarchal society, she becomes a person rather than an oppressed woman. Her transformation into a full, unrepressed woman is symbolized by pants. The Color Purple’s symbolization makes an impression on the reader by mixing their feelings throughout the

The lack of authority continues when “a woman” decides to draw for her family, due to her husband's broke leg. Jane Dunbar refers to her first name when she tells the town she will be drawing and then referred to her husband's last name when she realizes how ridiculous her taking on the role as the head of the household is. “Daughters draw with

Sofia is a very opinionated, strong person. With these traits, she teaches Celie how to be assertive. Sofia is not afraid to let people know about her views or opinions, but Celie is the complete opposite. She is too afraid to say anything; she just does what she is told by whoever it may be. “…not Sofia. She do what she want, don’t pay me no mind at all.” (Walker, 63) Harpo beats his girlfriend Sofia, but she has no problem beating him back. Celie understands that it is wrong to beat anyone, but she observe how taken back Harpo is by it and how Sofia has the confidence to do such things. Sofia is Celies reminder that she doesn’t have to stand by while everyone tells her what to do. Celie deserves to get treated respectfully. “Sofia claims her right to speech as she defends her humanity against a remark from the mayor’s wife and her body from assault from the mayor."(Bloom, 134) Sofia stood up to the Mayor after his wife asked her to become their nanny. Although Sofia ends up working for the Mayor, it is for the best because Sofia learns to tone her assertiveness down and Celie learns from it by using her voice to voice her opinions. It may have taken Celie too long to voice her opinion to Mr. ____ but she finally does it. "You a low down dog is what's wrong, I say. It's time to leave you and enter into the Creation. And your dead body just the

She is not like everyone else and doesn’t just love every child that has been born and lets that be know. Sofia also gets to be a clerk at Celie’s store: “Meanwhile, I hired Sofia to clerk in our store. Kept the white man Alphonso got to run it but put Sofia in there to wait on colored... Sofia real good at selling stuff to you cause she act like she don’t care if you buy or not.. Plus she scare that

The book and motion picture “The Color Purple” is a compelling story of a one Celie who finds her womanhood and humanity with help from the other characters. From her abusive father and husband to her loving friend Shrug Avery, a strong woman known for her voice, Celie takes a long journey into personal freedom. Both Walker and Spielberg use Celie’s experiences to convey how her struggles allow her to come into her womanhood, however, Walker tells the story through a darker and hopeless lens whereas Spielberg presents the pain through a much less negative perspective. Both Alice walker and Steven Spielberg portray Celie’s struggles in detail, however, Spielberg fails to show Celie’s seriousness and soulem spirit in the production of The Color Purple.

Celie, the narrator of The Color Purple, is an uneducated, submissive, 14-year old black girl who lives in Georgia. Celie is constantly being abused and raped by her father, Alphonso. He has already impregnated Celie twice. The first one was a girl while the second one was a boy. All her children were taken away by her father after they were born. Her father told her that she better not tell anybody about their relationship but God, which explains why every letter she write begins with “Dear God”. Celie’s mother is happy because Alphonso doesn’t bother her anymore, but the truth is that Alphonso has been raping Celie as a substitute for her mother to gratify his sexual needs. Celie’s mother becomes seriously sick and eventually dies. Alphonso brings home another woman but continues to sexually

The Color Purple introduces many lovable characters to its readers. Walker's main character, Celie, is a poor, uneducated African-American woman with a sad personal history. She survives a stepfather who rapes her and steals her baby, and she also survives an abusive husband. Life could not get any worse for Celie, but as an adult, she befriends and finds intimacy with a blue's singer, Shug Avery, who motivates her to find her voice. By the end of the novel, Celie is a strong and independent woman.

Though The Color Purple is a historical novel, it never refers to any factual events. Because of this, we presumably follow Celie through thirty or forty years of her life, from the age of fourteen up until her hair is gray. The setting of the novel is primarily rural Georgia in the early twentieth century. As a poor black woman in the rural south, Celie’s bad treatment is largely ignored which was the norm in this time period. Celie leaves Georgia to live in Memphis with Shug. There, Celie lives a life of luxury and empowerment. Living a poor, downtrodden life in the South, Celie had never stopped to consider her African heritage until Nettie sends

The Color Purple is the story of Celie’s life, starting from her adolescent years. At a very young and fragile age, Celie was deprived of her dignity as a woman, through the assault by her stepfather, the treatment she endured from her husband, and the disappearance of the one human she adored, her sister Nettie. As her days passed by with more worry and strife, Celie lost faith in love and resented all signs of a kind and honorable God. Shug Avery arrived in this small town to rekindle with her

The main character in Walker’s “The Color Purple” is Celie, a black woman who is treated very poorly by the men surrounding her. In her early years she is abused and raped by her stepfather, Alfonso, who she has two babies from. It shows already at the beginning of the novel that there is a mixture of parent – lover, parent – children roles, which can prevent Celie’s rise and also noting their similar history will be a barrier in Precious’s life as well. Throughout the novel the strong relationships she builds with the other female characters around her have the greatest impact on Celie’s life. This ‘sisterhood’ gives her the strength to liberate herself from the oppression created by men.

The Color Purple is a very moving and spiritual book. It takes a women who has nothing to speak of going for her and who is a victim to the world, and it takes her to a place where she is a strong individual who can voice her own opinions about things without people telling her what to do. She gets incredible power that grows inside her throughout the book. It is only fully released near the end of the book when her sister, Nettie, is about to come home. As for her, Celie, she just survives during her life, and takes what is handed to her. Until one fateful day when a woman named Shrug comes into the picture and comes to stay with them while she is recovering from a disease. From that day on, Celie could see that some women stand up for

In our everyday lives whether we notice it or not, disrespect towards gender and racism surrounds us and it begins to affect individuals not only physically but emotionally and socially as well. In Alice Walkers novel, The Color Purple, the topic of racism is strongly emphasized and shown throughout novel. Due to Celie’s race and gender roles played, she resists the urge to speak up for herself resulting in silence. In addition, it is through the love and support of other characters like Shug, in which tempts and inspires Celie to stand up for herself. Lastly, through all the troubles Celie faces, she eventually finds the strength in herself to leave Albert and start her life afresh. In The Color Purple, the author develops the idea that discrimination based on gender or race limits one’s opportunities and results in lack of independence and silence, ultimately suggesting that only through the influence of positive models for change can one develop the strength to change their life for the better.