Analyse and discuss the themes of slavery and racism in the Color Purple. How is the white community portrayed by walker?
Essay: 'The colour Purple' Analyse and discuss the themes of slavery and racism in the Color Purple. How is the white community portrayed by walker? Alice Walkers 'The colour purple' was largely based in a black community in the deep south of America, in between the end of the nineteenth century and the Second World War. It has been described as a rendition of her own life, thus far, I am none the wiser. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, slavery had long been abolished in America, but old habits die hard, especially in the deep south of America-where barely any politicians would set foot-, the black community was still plagued by the white man's retained mannerism, although the black community had won a civil rights campaign to be considered equal to the white man, to many people the civil rights act was of no consequence, the black community to them was still as it had always been, it must be very hard to change a concept which has been with you throughout your whole life. In letter 10 we see this retained mentality rearing its ugly head, 'He say, Girl you want cloth or not' here the white shopkeeper contemptuously refers to Pauline's mother as 'Girl', a reminder that civil rights cannot change the mentality of some people. It is interesting also to note, that in reply to this, Pauline's mother replies very politely and unshaken to the shopkeeper-'Yes sir', in
The Colour Purple essay
Look at letters 89 and 90. Respond to tasks ) What do you learn about Celie's attitudes to life in these letters? 2) Write about Walker's method of telling the story in letter 90. 3) Some readers see the ending of the novel as a triumph of the human spirit. Some see it as sickly and sentimental. What do you think about the novel's ending? ) By letters 89 and 90 Celie's attitudes to life have changed considerably from the early letters of the novel. Celie's attitude is extremely positive and she appears to have triumphed over her oppression, through her human spirit, attitude to life and bonds of sisterhood. This is shown in letter 89 by the way her and Shug respond to each other: " She look at me funny for a minute, I look at her. Then us laugh." This shows her sense of contentment and an almost carefree and happy attitude towards life. Laughter being a symbol of healing and regeneration suggests that despite Celie's horrendous past experiences her psyche has been healed and she is content in her life. In letter 89 Alice Walker portrays Celie with an air of confidence and defiance, Celie is finally prepared to not be passive in her response to discrimination and oppression she is prepared to question authority. Walker shows Celie to be proud of Sofia's authority over a white man: "she scare that white man. Anybody else colored he try to call 'em auntie or something.
Poem Comparison - Telephone Conversation.
English Coursework Poem Comparison Telephone Conversation The context of this poem is of a black man from Africa trying to find accommodation, it is based on his experiences as a student in the 1960's. The poem is written from the perspective as a phone discussion between him and a landlady. The main problem in this poem is that there is a huge amount of racism show by the landlady to the African - 'How dark? Are you light or very dark?' This shows immediately that the landlady has something against coloured people and can't have a conversation without knowing the skin colour of the man. It also seems that the landlady would prefer the man not be coloured than to rather receive money for the accommodation. The impression we get from the landlady tells us that she is a very racist and ignorant woman. She first shows this after the man mentions he's an Africa, which she doesn't reply to - 'Silence, silenced transmission of pressurised good breeding.' The silence shows us her simple summary of her response of having to think twice about accommodating the black man. She shows that she has a sense of racism in her - 'Considerate she was, varying the emphasis - Are you dark? Or very light?' This tells us that the landlady is trying to imagine all the colours he could be and shows she judges people totally on colour. We also see that she is wealthy and cares about her image a
To what extent is 'The Color Purple' a novel dedicated to the rights of black women?
Ruth Russell To what extent is 'The Color Purple' a novel dedicated to the rights of black women? 'The Color Purple' is often argued to be a novel dedicated to the rights of black women owing to a number of features the book holds which point to this conclusion. Firstly, the story is told through the letters of Celie, a black woman living in Georgia and later there is the second narrative voice in the letters Celie receives from her sister Nettie. Through each we encounter the lives of Shug Avery, Sofia and Squeak. Therefore the simple numerical fact that a novel follows the growth of five black women points to their rights being a key theme. The way in which the novel is an epistolary can be seen to confirm this, as a fundamental human right is to have a voice and feel heard. Walker's use of first person narrative through letters marks the beginning of the journey of empowerment Celie will take in the novel to finding her voice and feeling heard. Yet Walker points out how this is an incredibly difficult struggle for a black woman in that time and context from the offset, with the words of Celie's stepfather which begin the novel "you better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy". This sets the scene as to the invisibility of the women in the black community at that time, and the sentiment is continued through the generations of the male characters. When
Colour Purple - review.
Colour Purple The book called The Colour Purple shows many of the topics discussed in class, but for the purpose of this paper I would like to discuss three aspects that are the most concerning and disturbing. The concept of the body, reproduction, and violence shown through the novel are the most prominent and key concerns seen in this literature selection that I would like to analyse in this expository essay. Beginning with the concept of the body, The Colour Purple portrays a very graphic portrayal from the first pages. "She ugly" (Walker, 9). This gives the feel that the men have high standards of the women that are seen in this story of Black Southern Women. This also can be seen when Celie (the main character) holds on to a picture of Shug Avery (the woman she lets her husband have an affair with) because she is so beautiful. These are ideals seen in our culture as a whole. Women holding onto pictures of women in magazines and posters lead to the idea that the airbrushed picture is attainable and that is what the women of the world need to look like. The forerunner of this is visualized when this is what the men look at in their magazines. The view that men have of women is one of this sexual being waiting to be had. Celie holding onto this picture is the same as a woman today buying a magazine that appeals to her inferior parts. "I'm not as pretty or as smart"(10) is
How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text.
How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text Pleasantville is a film that uses stylistic conventions to help anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and reinforce the meaning of the text. There are many ways it does this. The narrative starts of from TV stations giving the idea of sci-fi as the basic genre. Pleasantville is introduced by the clips of the TV marathon; this is an old 50's TV show. There is a boy called David and his twin sister Jennifer. David is seen in the early stages of the narrative lacking confidence, no luck with girls, few friends, loves Pleasantville and is obsessed the perfect lifestyle. Pleasantville is viewed as nice, with no extremes, no changes. The first part of the movie is cutting between the twins to show the difference, this helps us see how they develop throughout the film, as we build to their prospective evenings. With the arrival of the TV repair man the audience get more sense of the genre, he arrives without being called; he has an old fashioned van and speech. Then when the lighting strikes at that time this causes suspicion to the audiences mind. The 2 pairs of siblings argue at the same time in real life and on screen. David and Jennifer then end up in the program. Pleasantville is all black and white to start. Examples of life are: big
Fred D'Aguiar's book "The Longest Memory" - review
THE LONGEST MEMORY In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a few European nations ruled America. They grew sugar, tobacco, coffee, ginger, cotton and various other things that were craved by the Europeans. Imprisoned in these plantations were about two and a half million black slaves. Fred D'Aguiar's book "The Longest Memory" is about one man's account of being a slave in America, how he was treated and how it affected him. Fred D'Aguiar shows that the business of slavery corrupts everyone involved in it by using multiple narrators of different status, age and race to give different points of views about slavery to the reader. Each character is corrupt or has been affected by corruption. The main characters in the book "The Longest Memory" are Whitechapel, Mr Whitechapel, Chapel, Sanders Senior, Cook, Lydia and Sanders Junior. First of all the theme of this book is about corruption, slavery. Slaves were bought and sold like cattle. To buy slaves, plantation owners went to markets. The branding that indicated who ruled them was black skin; this was obvious and could be seen by everyone. Any skin colour darker than white skin became a sign that they were inferior, dumb, had no beliefs, reckless and needed to be controlled. Since Africans were brought to America against their will, it was easier to use them as slaves. It was also more economical to use blacks as
How does Walkers presentations of Womanism affect your interpretation of "The Color Purple"?
Victoria Costin How does Walker’s presentations of Womanism affect your interpretation of the novel? Alice Walker is one of the most prominent contemporary writers in America. Her masterpiece, The Color Purple, wins her Pulitzer Prize for her ideology of “womanism”. Walker’s “womanism” has four characteristics: anti-sexism, anti-racism, Afracentrism and humanism. Afracentrism refers to the review of Afro-American history and culture while humanism emphasizes on love and forgiveness to both friends and enemies. Through analysis of the black women’s plight, struggle, and survival as well as their hope, this idea illustrates four characteristics of womanism. Walker's womanism enriches feminism and provides a new perspective for understanding women's liberation. Walker has demonstrated the new perspective through the form of Celie’s letters. The letterform used in The Color Purple is not only a literary tool used by Walker to catch the reader’s attention and make the story seem more realistic. If one looks at the letters from the perspective of Celie the interpretation takes on a new turn. Celie’s letters begin when she is raped and silenced with the words of her stepfather: “You better not tell anybody but God. I’d kill your mammy”. This leaves her with only one way out; namely to tell God. And with this act a new door opens into a world of
Comment in detail on the presentation of Sofia in this extract. You should consider Walker's choice of lexis, use of imagery and grammar, and the way Sofia speaks. Relate what you find here about Sofia to her presentation in the novel as a whole.
Comment in detail on the presentation of Sofia in this extract. You should consider Walker's choice of lexis, use of imagery and grammar, and the way Sofia speaks. Relate what you find here about Sofia to her presentation in the novel as a whole. Walker uses this extract to the strength of Sofia's character even before she faces the trials to come later in life, thus in the novel as well, as a significant part of the novel forming a part towards Celie's independence and questioning of events later in the novel. Walker does this in a number of ways, using lexical and grammatical features, imagery, dialogue and in the use of the spoken language rather than the written throughout. Sofia is another strong female character. During the novel, she suffers greatly for her independent spirit and impudence. As husband and wife, she and Harpo do battle for years, for she refuses to follow the expectations of the patriarchal lifestyle. She refuses to be tied only to housework and child rearing and works in the fields, like a man; she also expects Harpo to help with the domestic chores. When Harpo tries to criticize or punish her independent ways, she regularly gives him a beating, since she is larger and stronger than he. In the ends, she finally leaves him, tired of his abuse. Sofia is then abused by the white power structure. When the mayor's wife suggests that she come to work for
The text The Color Purple, in both the novel by Alice Walker and the film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg, show Celies, a broken, mistreated girl, developing into an independent, strong woman,
THE COLOR PURPLE ESSAY The text 'The Color Purple', in both the novel by Alice Walker and the film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg, show Celies, a broken, mistreated girl, developing into an independent, strong woman, despite the physical, emotion and sexual abuse that she faces throughout her life. Each representation of the text take on a different approach as to how it portrays Celie's search for self through her relationships with other characters-particularly Nettie and Shug-, her belief in God, her struggle for independence and fight against the oppression Albert forces on her. The novel tends to be more confronting while the harshness of the mistreatment is softened in the film by the placid music, comical elements and the fact that physical violence is hardly seen. Though the film and novel vary significantly and utilize different techniques to express the general ideas, both explore the major themes of racism, male dominance and family relationships. The novel tells the story through Celies letters, and therefore the reader knows nothing more than what Celie writes. This strong, single point of view makes the story much more personal and the effect of her innocent, frank language make the injustices she is put through even more stirring. The book uses Celies short, blunt sentences to convey her fear and turmoil, opening with a simple confronting sentence:
