For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf

gratify others has a tendency of making people act in ways other than their usual self. As one begins to act the way others want them to they begin to lose distinctiveness and individuality. For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange is about a specific set of women, who aim to please a certain man or different men. Each woman is hurt in some way by a man and as they progress throughout the series of “choreopoems”, they alter themselves in different ways to

literature is Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf. This revolutionary work provides audiences with poems regarding the various aspects of life and challenges that are faced by black women, from the perspectives of black women. One poem in the text that demonstrates this viewpoint is the lady in yellow’s “Graduation Nite” poem. The feminine gaze utilized in this poem allows the woman to have agency over her body, and address the concerning

For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf: Style and Theme Lorin Hobart AML 2604 11-25-96 Ms. Hunt For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf is a piece of work written by Ntozake Shange. It is written in an unusual style that is called a choreopoem. This style is very effective when done by a skilled poet such as Shange. She uses a combination of rhyming lyrics and a play like format to captivate the reader. The subject matter of

“For Colored Girls” involves seven women who represents a different shade of the rainbow. The colors are brown, red, yellow, white, green, orange and blue. Their costumes and make-up transformed each of them and were significant of the color their character embodied. As a group their acting made all of their roles of equal importance, without one dominating the other. These women together formed a bond through their various adversities, gradually taking them from strangers to companion. From an objective

‘For Colored Girls’ directed by Tyler Perry is an adaptation of a Tony Award nominated choreopoem written by Ntozake Shange. Clint O’Conner a reviewer for the Plain Dealer writes about Tyler Perry, “He has taken Ntozake Shange’s 1974 choreopoem ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf’ and both condensed and expanded it into a big-screen extravaganza assessing the black female experience in America” (O'Connor 1). ‘For Colored Girls’ is an emotionally charged drama about

tougher encumbrances. In For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf, Ntozake Shange shows each woman struggling to overcome a troubling past that leads them to question the value of their own lives. In order to free themselves from the issues suffocating them, they must eliminate the suffering part of themselves and unite to be reborn as stronger women. This is expressed through the predominant idea of suicide throughout the piece. Suicide can be defined as the act of

“For Colored Girls” is comprised of seven women who represented a different shade of the rainbow. The colors are brown, red, yellow, white, green, orange and blue. Their costumes and make-up transformed each of them and were symbolic of the color their character embodied. The ensemble acting made all of their roles of equal importance, without one dominating the other. These women together formed a bond through their various adversities, gradually taking them from strangers to acquaintances. From

In Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, society oppresses and diminishes the female characters, viewing them as secondary to men. Moreover, throughout the play, each woman from the rainbow shares stories of how she or another woman is isolated from her community, due to a man’s maltreatment. These women are left alone to deal with the humiliation of rape, pregnancies, abuse, and objectification, burdens that detach them from the people

social change. Considering these characteristics, ‘For Colored Girls who’ve Committed Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf’ is part of Jazz cannon (Hammad 255). The title, “For

Theatre has always served as a place for discussion of social issues. In For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow is Enuf approaches different issues such as sexuality, racial identity and venereal disease. In “Positive”, DJ beats his ex on the implication that he might be gay. Although the poem is graphic, it explores the HIV epidemic of the 1990s. The play shows how homophobia led to the perpetuation of the virus. The play also proffered the message that HIV positive is not