The novel mainly deals with the struggle, both in Africa and America , of women to gain recognition as separate individuals who deserve equal and fair treatment. Male dominance is the major folkway which operates in both the countries. It takes different forms, not least of which is sexual aggression. In the very first letter, Celie talks about the abuse she suffers at the hands of the man she believes for a long time as her father. Mary Agnes is raped by the white uncle whom she approaches for help to get Sofia out of the prison and Mr Albert also. Physical violence also seems to be a very common occurrence, even in relationships which seemed loving, like that between Harpo and his wife Sofia. He beats her because it is a respectable thing …show more content…
She is also forced to accept Albert's affair with Shug Avery, which goes to an extent of him sleeping with her under the same roof. In fact fidelity is not viewed as an important quality by most of the men, although the same behaviour if exhibited by females is cause for comment. I personally feel that the character of Shug is certainly a symbol of feminism. The woman who manages to challenge the male dominance the most is no other than Shug, who depicts her independence by living according to her own principles. It is unsurprising, given the circumstances that Shug and Celie get involved emotionally . Shug is a powerful and determined woman who refuses to be stepped on by men. Celie is a victim of male abuse who has closed herself off from the possibility of trusting men. Another important instance can be of how the preacher attacks Shug by implication because of her loose lifestyle, but on the other hand men are allowed to behave as they wish. The main message of the novel is that women must stand up and fight against the unfair treatment they receive at the hands of
Shug Avery is Mr. Albert’s long lost love and she comes in to move in with Mr. Albert’s family since she had gotten very sick and needed the support. The minute Celie saw a picture of Shug she had fallen for her, finding her very beautiful. Shug has supported Celie in every possible way after she realized that when Celie puts her full effort in helping her even though she was rude to her when they had first met. Shug helps Celie with self-identity, which help builds her confidence. “She say my name again. She say this song I’m bout to sing is call Miss Celie’s song. Cause she scratched it out of my head when I was sick.” (Walker, 73). In this quote Celie recognizes that someone has done something for her, they have valued her enough to do something sweet as this. Celie realizes that she has one more person who cares and loves for her. This leads Celie to believe in herself be able to take control, since she is aware that she has someone next to her. Shug also has the effect on Celie to take control when Celie confronts Mr. Albert telling him that she is leaving him, “You bitch, he say. What will people say, you running off to Memphis like you don’t have a house to look after?” said by Mr. Albert who was referring to Celie. This is a big step for Celie because she is going to be living the life she wants with the person she loves, Shug Avery. Celie has wanted for so long to get out of the
Shug Avery is not only a friend to Celie but also a lover. It is by being a lover that Celie learns self-respect and a little happiness in her life. Like when Shug Avery showed Celie how to enjoy herself. Listen she say, right down there in your … is a little button that gits real hot when you do you know what with somebody. It get hotter and hotter and then it melt. That the good part. But other parts good too, she say… (P. 79). I found this real important as it showed Celie she can enjoy herself and there is more to her then just being a slave to Mister.
The strongest example of women’s empowerment is Celie’s character. She’s a victim of racism, men, sexual roles, and social injustices. Celie begins the novel completely powerless,
However, the pair forms a nurturing relationship in which they take care of one another. These days Shug is all about love, and touch and feeling. As Shug says of her love of cuddling, "I love to hug, period, she say. Don't need nothing else right now" (Walker 152). Celie learns from Shug how to care about people once more, including caring for herself. Celie begins this journey to independence and love of self and others through her relationship with Shug. At one point she and Shug have physical relations, but it is Walker's purpose to show this as a means of providing each other comfort, nurturing, and humanity - not as a display of homosexuality. The entire episode is treated in the novel as a nurturing act, akin to a mother compassionate mother nursing her needy child, "Then I feels something real soft and wet on my breast, feel like one of my little lost babies mouth. Way after a while, I act like a little lost baby too" (Walker 118). We can see in
Resilience is a factor that drives her survival and ability to persevere as a result of being a victim of circumstances. It is through her knowledge that acquires over time that enables her to fight back and put herself into a role of power within an environment promoting her oppression. Her mother, Georgia, Fanta and Aminata’s strong wills shows how women can take control of their lives and that they are more than just housewife’s, that they can change the world by standing up for themselves and showing other women the impossible, thus creating a movement resulting in how Aminata tells her story to the Abolitionists and how she destroys the stereotypical gender roles. Thus concluding to The Book of Negroes as an example that portrays female women to be strong and brave. It is through her knowledge she acquires over time that enables her to fight back and put herself into a role of power within a harsh
Firstly, oppression is evident through various types of abuse through the main characters, Aminata and Celie. Both have faced several forms of abuse such as physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse that have stripped away their identity and dignity. For instance, Aminata fights for her freedom throughout her entire life, only to suffer from physical abuse almost everyday on the slave ship and to suffer from sexual abuse on the plantations. Moreover, Aminata
“And she just about the color of a eggplant.” (87) Finally, Celie lives her life bitterly and does not notice or appreciate anything around her. Shug tells her, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” (p. 178) Shug feels that God created beauty in the world to make humans happy. She feels that it is important that people take the time to acknowledge everything around them. From this, Celie realizes that Shug has enlightened her. She admits that she does not appreciate the world she lives in. This changes the way Celie perceives her existence. She begins to have a more positive outlook on life, despite the hardship she experiences. Celie herself can also be compared to the color purple. She has lived her life unnoticed. Once she realizes this, Celie creates an identity for herself and is finally noticed amongst her community. Another important symbol in this novel is pants. Once Celie is liberated from her marriage, she starts a pant-making business. The pants represent independence, which again is a concept that relates to the theme of the novel. Celie can finally provide for herself. In her “previous life”, Celie’s only role in society was to bear children and keep house. The pants also symbolize a change in Celie’s relationship with men. Before, the idea that men and women had anything at all in common was completely daft.
Firstly, oppression is evident as various types of abuse through the main characters, Aminata and Celie. Both have faced several forms of abuse such as physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse that have stripped away their identity and dignity. For instance, Aminata fights for her freedom throughout her entire life, only to suffer from physical abuse almost everyday on the slave ship and from sexual abuse on the plantations. Moreover, Aminata becomes mentally unstable due to abuse and
Shug helps Celie with self-identification. A bondage that Celie faces is the discovery of Nettie’s letters that Albert has hidden from her. She has regained bondage with her sister whom she thought was no longer alive. She bonded with Shug to find the letters and with the help of Shug she was advised not to kill Albert even though it was tough for Celie to accept this for the love
Shug and Celie helped each other, but they did not need the system of gender roles to survive. They were both independent in their own way. Alice Walker's The Color Purple represents the flaws in gender roles by showing the characters opposing them. Gender roles did not allow independence for women and put
Question 1: The author of “The Color Purple”, distributed the title throughout the story. When reading about Celie’s life, seeing that she has not had it pleasant since she was born. The color purple in her point of view represents the great things in life that god created for all the people to appreciate. Although Celie thinks that it would be a miracle for something wonderful to finally happen to her. As all the events including Nettie running away, her dad selling her to a stranger named Mr, and his children being disobedient to her she has accepted life as it is.
Things Fall Apart is a novel in which the main character is a tragic hero who loses everything due to his actions which are a reflection of his flawed view on strength. Okonkwo never defines himself as a character in the story as he wants self satisfaction rather than the good of those around him. The strength ideal which wholly depends on traits associated with masculinity is what leads Okonkwo to make decisions that aren’t essentially good. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo’s individuality as well as his sense of self is lost in his constant struggle to be different than his father and fill the role of a strong man in his society.
Cinema is taken by feminists to be a cultural practice representing myths about women and femininity, as well as about men and masculinity. Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays. This blurring of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity, as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie and Shug. Disruption of gender roles sometimes causes problems. Harpo’s insecurity about his masculinity leads to marital problems and his attempts to beat Sofia. Likewise, Shug’s confident sexuality
During this section the narrator is asked to rape a white woman named Sybil. I think that this is done to show the power struggle between whites and Blacks in America. I gather this from the fact that in a rape the rapist is doing their best to overpower the victim and to make the victim feel powerless. I think that the reason that Sybil wants the narrator to rape her is because the pain reminds her that she is still alive without this she feels that she has no meaning or purpose. This shows that the White society not only disempowers Blacks but it also oppresses white women.Sybil is forcing the narrator to do what she wants him to do which shows that she is still in control of the situation. By doing this Sybil is gaining power over the narrator
<br>Shug, who was a dominant factor in her personal development, helped Celie's desperate situation. This personal development gave Celie the courage Walker refers to in her preface, to bring alive her dormant spirituality and abandon the prescribed form of church based Christianity. Shug builds Celie's confidence and in turn helps her to break away from her oppressive lifestyle including Mr., her household duties and the repressive church community. She provides her with a home and the money to start her own business making pants. Shug replaces Nettie as Celie's immediate source of strength and hope, although Nettie's presence returns later when Celie discovers the letters. Again this may not have happened without Shug's help, as she was the one who gave Celie access to her sister's letters. <br>