“Compare and contrast the extent to which the female characters in ‘Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit’ and ‘The Color Purple’ are shown to overcome the struggles they face.”
"Compare and contrast the extent to which the female characters in 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' and 'The Color Purple' are shown to overcome the struggles they face." Although many of the themes in 'The Color Purple' and 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' are similar, the moods of the novels completely different. 'The Color Purple' is about survival with an underlying and unquenchable sense of wonder and hope, whereas in 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' the mood is one of confusion and exasperation. In the face of the struggles Celie must contend with; oppression of poverty, racism, and sexism, she sustains her dignity and even after all she has faced, when she is presented with the opportunity to love, she is openheartedly willing to accept. Jeannette's confusion is due to the contradictions she is confronted with in her early life: her religion verses her personal feelings. She is told that what feels right to her is wrong, but this is never explained to her. What aggravates this confusion is that the religion in which she is raised is based on absolutes; there are no grey areas in fundamental religious practices. However, protagonists of both novels share a repressed and dysfunctional family background, the catalyst for their struggle. The main similarities in 'The Color Purple' and 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' are that both Celie and Jeannette have one passive
Discuss Alice Walker's presentation of the plight of women in a mans' world in "The Color Purple".
The Color Purple By Alice Walker Discuss Alice Walker's presentation of the plight of women in a mans' world in "The Color Purple" Throughout the story, men mistreat many women. Through the collection of letters that Celie wrote, the reader could see that Celie has struggled for her happiness her entire life. As a positive criticism, Gloria Steinem believes that the reason Celie changes from writing to god to Nettie is because 'she must tell some one the truth and confirm her existence'. When she was only a little girl, her stepfather sexually abused her. He than sold her to a man named Albert or Mr._____ who had no intention of loving her, 'No matter what I feel. It just him'. Mr. _____ verbally and physically abused her. He made her do all the housework and demanded that she took care of his children, 'they look at me there struggling with Mr._____ children'. If Celie refused, she was punished. In the marriage of Celie and Albert there was no love or devotion1. They were just stuck with each other. Celie married Albert because her stepfather told her to and Albert married Celie because he wanted a full time maid. Albert gave orders and Celie like a duty full wife carried out these orders. The women in those days were thought of as something that a man owned. Once the woman was his he was to do what he pleased with her2. Celie was to obey him and only him, she was to be
How does the author use descriptive language to show how Myop changes throughout the story? After reading the story 'The flowers' by Alice Walker I observed that Myop, the main character in the story, slowly matures throughout
English Assessment: How does the author use descriptive language to show how Myop changes throughout the story? After reading the story 'The flowers' by Alice Walker I observed that Myop, the main character in the story, slowly matures throughout her experience. At the beginning of the story Myop in mind is a young child. She is joyful and has very little problems to worry about. 'Days had never been as good as these' this suggests that she feels the best that she had ever felt before. She feels continuous waves of excitement through her body and happily moves from object to object 'striking at random chickens she liked' which shows a small hint of cruelty, perhaps a strange way of showing her fondness for them. She is not shocked or surprised when she hits the chickens. She is only 10 years of age and has nothing to worry about apart from the task at hand; she taps to the tune of her song. The words used are fair and light. They describe the happiness that Myop is feeling. 'Myop watched the tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin black scale of soil and the water that silently rose and slid away down the stream' this shows that she is getting more observant of her surroundings and if fascinated by a small happening. She is becoming more adventurous as the story progress's. She wonders in to the part of the forest that she had never been on her own before. 'Bouncing this way
The Colour Purple - Analyse Walker's language carefully in letters 43 and 44. What do we learn about Miss. Millie, her family - her household and their attitudes towards Sofia.
Analyse Walker's language carefully in letters 43 and 44. What do we learn about Miss. Millie, her family - her household and their attitudes towards Sofia. Letters 43 and 44 are two interesting letters to analyse linguistically, the use of language to describe the Mayors household bear more conscience than is gathered at a passing read. The description of Miss Millie's son in letter 43, "He maybe six years old, brown hair, ice blue eyes" This reveals a little about the boy. When he and his sister are playing with the ball, it rolls to Sofia's feet; the boy stands with his hands on his hips and demands the ball to be thrown back to him. His 'ice blue eyes' illustrate this, to be Icy is to be without feeling and remorse, this is shown in the boy, the way he demands his ball, on one part signifies his position in the social scale as the son of the mayor, but also signifies his 'hierarchical' over Sofia and Celie, any normal child of that age would ask nicely for the ball to be thrown back, or go themselves and get the ball, maybe also in hope of some affection from his elders, but his hostility only provokes further hostility in Sofia towards him. The description of his hair also signifies his position, presumably the Black population all had black hair, therefore the description of him having brown hair again, raises him above the two ladies before him, because he is white.
Essay on The Colour Purple
In what ways does Celie's character develop in 'The Colour Purple' and what are the influences on her that cause her to change? This essay will describe how the character of Celie changes throughout the book The Colour Purple. It will also discuss how the letters she writes tell you how she feels; furthermore it will show how her language, punctuation and vocabulary gets better throughout the book and how this reflects her growth as a person. In the beginning of the book, her second letter reflects exactly how she speaks. She uses incomplete sentences which are very short and she does not spell her words correctly. Celie's vocabulary is very basic; she sticks to simple words and phrases. Adjectives are not really used in her first letter as she has nothing to talk about. She only describes what she does; she uses all verbs, like the phrase which only tells the audience what is happening to her, such as; 'by time I git' or 'she scream at me' Celie can not express the true meaning of her words so she repeats her words to express her 'slave life', which is considered a domestic routine. She repeats the words 'He' and 'She' that refer to her mother and father. The repetition of those words shows she has very little respect and has a lot of hate for them. In this letter the audience can also see that she really does not like men for the way she stresses the word 'he' which
An Analysis of Daughters of the Dust and The Color Purple using Black Feminist Theory
Belinda Clarke Student No: 9505215 An Analysis of Daughters of the Dust and The Color Purple using Black Feminist Theory Over the last three decades traditional feminism has been attacked by black feminist theorists who say they have been racially oppressed in the Woman's Movement and sexually oppressed by men in the Black Liberation Movement. Black feminists have accused the latter of representing only black men and have accused white feminist women of concentrating on oppression in terms of gender whilst ignoring other forms of oppression like race, class and sexuality. In an effort to resist this marginalisation, new black feminist and womanist theories have been produced to represent the needs of and account for the differing historical experiences of black women. Film makers have also begun to address the misrepresentations and exclusions of black women in white aesthetics. During this essay I will use black feminist theory to analyse the films Daughters of the Dust and The Color Purple. Firstly, a brief explanation of the black feminist theory that is relevant to this essay will be given, using the work of a number of theorists. This will be a very condensed outline and will in no way encompass the full richness of black feminist thought. Then an analysis of the above two films will ensue in order to investigate if and in what ways these films
The “Color Purple” and “Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit” are both disturbing and uncomfortable novels, compare these two novels
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database Click here to visit Courswork.Info The Color Purple and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit are both disturbing and uncomfortable novels. Compare these two novels in light of this observation. Pay close attention to the methods used. Both The Color Purple and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit are written in the first person, "I am fourteen years old", "I lived for a long time with my mother and father". This means that the reader is engaged with the central characters in both novels from the start. Celie and Jeanette come from very different countries, cultures and races, but have fundamental similarities that both authors use to create feelings that are uncomfortable and disturbing within the reader. However, both authors also succeed in transforming that which we perceive as uncomfortable into something we view as empowering and liberating by the end of the novels. Thematically both novels deal with similar ideas, religion, spirituality, identity, sexuality and making the most of your birthright, but reducing the novels to such a list of ideas fails to communicate the intricate patterning of the themes throughout the lives and experiences of the novel's central characters. Both authors use first person narrators as the primary means of engaging the reader with the text and both authors
Review of Alice Walker's essay on the creative spirit of her female ancestors
Kieffer, Joshua College Writing Essay 1 Part 1 Alice Walker uses Virginia Woolf's phrase "contrary instincts" to describe the creative spirit that her female ancestors valued while working and living in oppressive conditions. Throughout Walkers essay she made many connections between these "contrary instincts" and how she perceived the constraints on the knowledge of women in her childhood era. Although, the knowledge Walker talks about in her essays is not the kind that most people think of when they hear the word. It is the knowledge and creative spirit of ourselves that she talks about; the primary source of what we need to get us through life. She made the relation of how women used art to express their creative spirit; their knowledge. Walker depicted how her ancestors expressed their knowledge through their creative spirits, whether it be through sewing a quilt or creating a garden. She tries to get us to realize that all we have to do is to find our hidden creative spirit and that will be where we will find our knowledge. Walker speaks about how creative spirit can be passed down from generation to generation. At the age of 17 Walker's mother ran away from home to be married. While taking care of six children, Alice's mother also had to battle with a white landlord over her children's education, make clothes for all of her children, make sheets and towels,
The portrayal of women in The Color Purple has been controversial. Explore the opinions of the two critics and explain your own views of the way Walker presents women in the color purple.
The portrayal of women in The Color Purple has been controversial. Explore the opinions of the two critics and explain your own views of the way Walker presents women in the color purple. The novel 'The Color Purple' has conveyed much controversy over the way women are presented. Some have argued that it is of the 'struggle of redemption and revenge' while others see the marriage of the novel as going beyond plot and character to protest against oppression. Women in the novel are victims of violence as men are the dominant ones over women in the southern American states. This leads to women bonding together by supporting, talking and protecting one another. Mel Watkins sees "The Color Purple" as "the friction between the black men and women" we can see from the start of the novel that men are the dominant in the relationship and society with women. Celie says that Pa "beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church." Women are presented as weaker and they have to totally obey the men, the men assert their power and gain total control. However in the Southern states of America black male were also dominated by a superior race, the whites. The male would feel the need to exert some kind of power on the weaker as they have no power in society, so black male tend to dominate women or children as they are weaker. Watkins goes on to explain that one of the
To What Extent Do You Find The Color Purple An Optimistic Novel
To What Extent Do You Find The Color Purple An Optimistic Novel The Colour Purple consists of a collection of letters written mainly by Celie, a poor, uneducated black girl, who lives through many misfortunes including rapes and beatings at the hands of men. She survives and grows up to be a mature and independent woman who is helped by her love of, and relationships with other women, especially the singer Shug Avery. Shug becomes her mentor and idol, "She bout ten thousand times prettier then me". Shug gives her hope and courage to stand up to Mr__, Albert, her husband, and this sets her free. Alice Walker deals with conditions of black people who live in America and she also shows the lives of black peoples in Africa who have different problems. The title of the novel "The Color Purple is very appropriate because purple is a positive and optimistic symbol. It is the colour that Royalty and the nobility wear. Roman emperors were dressed in purple. When Kate took Celie to buy clothes, Celie immediately wondered what colour Shug would wear. Her conclusion was that as Shug was "like a queen..." to her she would wear "something purple"- the royal colour. This colour represented dignity for Celie. Towards the end of the novel Celie had matured enough to assert her independence and leave the oppressive Mr__. At this point she was finally emancipated, however