A journey is an experience that every individual undergoes from the day they are born. A journey comes in a physical, inner and imaginative form, all of which lead a protagonist to new sights, cultures and perspectives. As the life of the protagonist changes, it leads them to making decisions which will ultimately alter their way of viewing themselves and the world around them. In the texts “The Colour Purple”, by Alice Walker and “The Road Not Taken”, by Robert Frost, the protagonists are forced to make significant choices which will feature as a catalyst to the change within themselves, and their perspectives of the surrounding world.
The Color Purple explores the concept of Journeys through a protagonist, Celie. She is a poor, uneducated black woman who undergoes many hardships. “He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it. But I don’t never git used to it. And now I feels sick every time I be the one to cook – page 3” The use of a high modality language ‘you better shut up’ is to reinforce and highlight limited freedom. This portrays that life is not always smooth-sailing and there are always obstacles and challenges in life that we must stumble upon. The quote, “But I don’t know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive,” demonstrates Celie’s choice in life and her struggles for self-determination.
In the Color Purple, the concept of journey can also be seen through the character, Sofia. She is a mentally and physically strong woman who encounters the challenge of survival in jail as a consequence to fighting with white-men. “When I see Sofia I don’t know why she still alive. They crack her skull, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm, it stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She can’t talk. And she just about the color of a