Compare how each writer presents Black women's struggles in 'The Color Purple' and 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'.

Compare how each writer presents Black women's struggles in 'The Color Purple' and 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'. 'As if Black women did not have enough to contend with; being exploited economically as a worker; being used as a source of cheap labour because she is a female. And being treated even worse because she is black, she also finds herself fighting the beauty 'standards' of white western women'. These are the words of a black feminist, Pamela Newman confronting the issue of sexism as well as racism faced by black women. Black women are victims of oppression in society as they are classed as third class citizens. Maya Angelou in 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' and 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker brings out this truth. They each present the lives of Ritie and Celie, the main female protagonists who face great struggle in their lives. 'The Color Purple' is an historical fictional novel written in 1982 by Alice Walker. Celie, the main protagonist suffers verbal, physical and sexual abuse by different men in her life. This leaves her with little sense of self-worth, no narrative voice and no one to turn to. Walker uses letters to illustrate this characters position of complete powerlessness. She trusts and hopes that God would help her come through and start a new life. She has found the person that would fight for her, so she starts every letter in the

  • Word count: 2538
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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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.

  • Word count: 1287
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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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

  • Word count: 1148
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The women in 'The Color purple' and 'Beloved' face great struggle in their lives. How effectively do Morrison and Walker present women and the problems they face?

A2 English Literature Essay Question: The women in 'The Color purple' and 'Beloved' face great struggle in their lives. How effectively do Morrison and Walker present women and the problems they face? We are introduced to Sethe in 'Beloved', the pivotal character. The narrative voice of the novel is mostly hers as she relives and 'rememories' the awfulness of her life as a slave. Sethe, an escaped slave from Kentucky, 'Sweet Home' feels the impact of slavery to its fullest extent. Slavery pushes her to commit infanticide. She feels that is the only way to protect her beloved daughter from the pain and suffering she would endure if she became a slave. The minute she sees schoolteachers hat, Sethe's first instinct is to protect her children. Knowing that slave catchers will do anything to bring back fugitive slaves and that dead slaves are not worth anything, Sethe took matters into her own hands. Sethe says, "I stopped him. I took and put my babies where they'd be safe." But the situation changes and so "They ain't at Sweet Home. Schoolteacher ain't got em," replies Sethe. This one incident does not only affect Sethe, but it changes things for Beloved and Denver as well. Beloved loses her life to slavery. Her own mother sacrifices her existence in order to keep her out of slavery. As for Denver, she is indirectly affected by the horrors of slavery. She has to put up with

  • Word count: 2333
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In what way does Walker present the developments of the character Celie in the novel, and what are the influences which cause her to change?.

In what way does walker present the developments of the character Celie in the novel, and what are the influences which cause her to change?. The epistolary novel is set in Georgia. There were many racism in the early 20th century, as women especially struggling with this, as seen in the novel in the main character, Celie. Black men were mistreated by white men and women, which caused the black men to come home and take out their disappointment on the only people that would not harm them back, black women. Each woman in the book has her own personal fight to show that they are indeed human beings Celie, Nettie, Sophia and Shug, as they struggle to carry on with their life. The women experience double discrimination, being black and being a woman. The novel is written in first person narrative, which allows the reader to identify with the main character, Celie. The novel has an unusual set out; it starts off as a very violent and upsetting tragedy and ends up as a peaceful and happy story. The novel begins with the first private letters Celie writes to God. In her first letter, Celie asks for direction because she does not understand what is happening to her. Alphonso Celie's father, has turned to Celie for sexual pleasure because Celie's mother is ill and can no longer continue with Alphonso's sexual demands. He threatens Celie by saying "you better not never tell nobody

  • Word count: 1317
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How has Alice Walker explored the themes of love and friendship in "The Color Purple", and with what effect?

IB English The Color Purple Victoria Ulett Essay How has Alice Walker explored the themes of love and friendship in "The Color Purple", and with what effect? Love and friendship are a necessity in life and in growing as a person. Love gives people the ability to connect with and feel for another person on all levels, it also gives us the ability to have and maintain friendships allowing us to be a part of another person's life. A person without love and friendship has no form of emotion or feeling causing them to question their sense of self, and their ability to form personal relationships. In the novel The Color Purple, the main theme is that man we as humans often defeat our problems through the nurturing and growth of close relationships. From this, Alice Walker explores numerous themes of love and friendship between vast arrays of characters. One of the main forms that she addresses is the power of strong female friendships. Throughout the novel, Walker depicts this through the women's needs to tell their stories of hardship, therefore giving these women their chance to survive the constant oppression and dominance forced upon them by males. The friendships of these women are so strong that they can gain protection, giving them the chance to share love in a difficult world full of male violence and dominance. However, these female relationships also

  • Word count: 1337
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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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

  • Word count: 4172
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The impact of 'The Color Purple' is emotional rather than intellectual and this exemplifies the fact that for the society presented in the novel intellectual pursuit is futile

The impact of 'The Color Purple' is emotional rather than intellectual and this exemplifies the fact that for the society presented in the novel intellectual pursuit is futile Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple' is a controversial novel criticised positively and negatively by all walks of life. At first glance, the book affects the reader emotionally, but after a second reading it is clear that there are intellectual layers to the novel, such as women's rights and race relations. This text can change the reader emotionally and their views of the world in just 261 pages. I believe that although the novel does have some intellectual impact, there is more of an emotional experience to be had - however does this mean that intellectual pursuit for the society presented is futile? When reading this novel, we are presented with the shocking opening line 'You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy'. The language Walker has used here is intended to shock the reader and entice them to read on as the words creating a foreboding atmosphere. In this first letter we meet Celie - a fourteen-year-old black American girl who is raped by who she thinks is her father. From this age Celie is already used to being repressed by men, but soon after she is forcibly pushed into a marriage with Mr -, who really wants her sister Nettie. When Celie sees that Mr - wants Nettie she

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Color Purple is too concerned with the personal experiences of Celie to be a successful political novel

The Color Purple is too concerned with the personal experiences of Celie to be a successful political novel. Give your response to the above opinion. Written in 1982, it is clear several modern movements affected Walker's novel, The Color Purple. The impact of the Civil Rights Movement which took place during the 1950's and 60's compelled racial integration throughout the United States and thus in a novel written in its aftermath it is inevitable that Walker concerns her novel with political issues. I believe through using the character of Celie's experiences and encounters with the world as her pivot Walker explores a legacy of slavery, racial oppression and poverty, particularly for the non-mainstream majority groups such as black people, therefore making it a successful political novel. The stimulus statement suggests that the method Walker employs buries the public issues in the private emotions of the protagonist, Celie. The extent to which the novel is a successful political one is often open to debate, however, I believe it is through raising political issues, The Color Purple is able to look at topical areas more in line with every day life, and humanity in general. This piece of twentieth century American literature addresses political issues clearly influenced by the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements. Through engaging the reader by using the main character as

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comment on the growth of Celie's character throughout The Color Purple.

Comment on the growth of Celie's character throughout The Color Purple The Color Purple is a Bildungsroman novel which charts the growth of protagonist Celie through letters; primarily from her to God, but later to her sister Nettie. Its epistolary nature means the narration of The Color Purple is frank and confessional and Celie's development is shown from her perspective. Walker takes her protagonist on a journey towards self-actualization. The idea of self-actualization originates from Dr. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs. Maslow pioneered the concept that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs. We have basic needs which must be satisfied before we can fulfill the higher needs. His hierarchy begins at the fundamental physiological necessities for survival such as food and shelter. It then moves to the need for safety in a stable and predictable environment. Next is the need for love and social acceptance, fulfilled by affection and intimacy from others. Then the need for self-esteem, which include confidence in oneself and respect from others. Finally, Maslow argues, an individual needs to reach self-actualization, which is defined as "discovering and fulfilling ones potential". Celie's growth as a character very much parallels this basic hierarchy. The novel opens with an innocent description of Celie's rape by the man she believes to be her father.

  • Word count: 1881
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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