The Color Purple Feminist Analysis

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength” (Anderson, n.d.). According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, Feminism is defined as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” Many feminist today, such as actress, Emma Watson, fight for equality between men and women, such as equal pay. Why should a woman be seen as lesser than a man? Alice Walker’s The Color Purple displays the idea of feminism through strong and inspirational female characters, such as Celie, Sofia, and Shug Avery. Walker portrays the inequality and oppression of women through many characters like, the main character, Celie. Celie experiences a growth throughout the novel and aids in expressing the togetherness of women. Celie experiences emotional and physical abuse from her father and husband. As a child, her father raped her and impregnated her twice by the age of fourteen. Celie first expressed her strength by letting her children go after giving birth. She endured the pain of losing her children throughout the novel, but luckily was reunited with her son and daughter. When married, sex was seen as a duty rather than a symbol
A few years pass, Harpo and Sofia are no longer together. Sofia, her boyfriend, and children are in the town. The mayor and his wife approach Sofia and offer her a job as a maid. She responds with “Hell no!” A response in with I find extremely humorous. The mayor slaps Sofia and Sofia responds with a powerful punch. This event exhibits not only sexism, but also racism. Since African-Americans were seen as lesser than a white person, Sofia was offered the role of a maid, a role in which many African- American women played. I applaud Sofia’s attitude towards being mistreated. She goes against the stereotype of women having to stand there, look pretty, and keep their mouth