Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo.

English essay Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo Alice walker uses a variety of techniques to present the characters of Sofia and Harpo during page 60 of 'The Color Purple'. I will be exploring a number of lexical, grammatical and phonological choices, as well as other techniques, in the order they appear in the letter and will be discussing how these can lead to the development of attitudes and values. The introduction to the Sofia and Harpo relationship shows the reversal of the fixed stereotype perpetuated by other couples in the novel that a man should lead and a woman should follow. Previous letters depict Harpo as the feminine, subservient man, "...crying like his heart gon break." While Sofia is much the dominant figure in the way she is "marching" like "going to war". In not conforming to the basic male-female stereotypes we see Sofia "working on the roof" while Harpo is happy to "hold the baby" and "give it a kiss". However, once Harpo sees that he is losing face he begins to eat gluttonously as he believes that physical strength leads to power. Although this gluttony could in fact be comfort eating and so is associated with his feminine image. Harpo's need for control then extends to the bedroom, where Sofia says "once he git on top of me I think bout how that's where he always want to be." The situation here - as well as the previously accumulating

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  • Word count: 1695
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity - The Color Purple

Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity "Teach only the boys."1 (Page 146) In many cases this term would be considered sexist: However, when reading The Color Purple it becomes evident that the men as well as the boys are the ones who are in need of education. This education is not confined to the academic sense, but Walker rather emphasises their need to acquire the understanding of equal rights. The women may not receive any academic education but they were still equal to men in their ability to work, as Walker shows through several strong female role models throughout The Color Purple. The things that the women have experienced have taught them things about life that no man would ever understand: The gift of tolerance, understanding and a positive mind. Celie has to undergo a lot of traumatic experiences throughout The Color Purple. Walker uses this to mould her into the "stereotypical" submissive woman. Walker then continues to develop Celie's stereotypical role of mother and wife by forcing her into another destructive relationship, both emotionally and physically. This relationship affected her attitude towards men but also her self-confidence towards women and children who possess the confidence she does not. Although Walker has portrayed Celie as a weak individual, Mr calls her "You black, you pore, you ugly, youa woman." Quotations like this show just what

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  • Word count: 1558
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Walker's presentation of Celie and Shug's growing relationship.

Walker's presentation of Celie and Shug's growing relationship Pages 68-70 Alice Walker uses a variety of techniques in 'The Color Purple' to present the growing relationship between Celie and Shug. Using pages 68-70 as a starting point I will be exploring attitudes towards sexuality as well as a number of lexical, grammatical and phonological choices. As soon as Celie encounters Shug Avery, we get the sense that she already has a sub-conscious sexual desire for her. "First time I got the full sight of Shug Avery" she says, "I thought I had turned into a man," and from this description we can see that Shug Avery is a big factor in expanding Celie's mind and feelings towards other desires and ideas. This point in then developed by a subsequent sentence, "I wash her body, it feel like I'm praying." Celie, being a strict believer in God, is obviously moved in new and different ways by the presence of Shug. Celie uses prayer to escape from her life and talk about issues that have, or are currently, troubling her. Thus, the presence of Shug allows Celie to mentally free herself; even though Shug is slightly bitter towards Celie. Later on in the novel Celie discusses her frequent rapes by Alphonso; thus reinforcing the point that Celie is able to discuss private and sensitive issues with Shug only. A close and personal link is created by Celie and Shug's first physical encounter.

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  • Word count: 1518
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Alice Walkers depiction of men in The Color Purple has been controversial - Explore the opinions of the two critics printed below and explain your own view of the way Walker presents men in The Colour Purple.

Alice Walkers depiction of men in The Color Purple has been controversial. Explore the opinions of the two critics printed below and explain your own view of the way Walker presents men in The Colour Purple. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker's depiction of men has been seen by some as controversial. Walker seems to be attacking black men because of their mistreatment of black women. Although, there is another force at work in this powerful, and emotional, book. That force is the unwitting testimony which Walker cannot control, because it was not deliberately written to be part of her story. Between the lines of her story is the strong message of personal rage: rage which cannot be hidden. The rage can be seen throughout the novel in numerous forms; the words used by Walker, that are strong and emotive; the portrayal of the characters, from innocent, like Celie, to evil, like Mr. Alphonso and the realism in which the characters are brought to life, because of the real anger used to describe them. Therefore, in considering the opinions of the two opposing critics, this circumstance must be borne in mind. The first critic, Tony Brown, wrote an article about The Color Purple for the Carolina Peacemaker. He has many views on the book, and expresses those views confidently. Brown admits in his article that some men have raped their daughters, "...some black men have raped their

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  • Word count: 2052
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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