The Color Purple - Analyse How Celie and Sofia Cope with the Problems They Encounter and Consider the Effects on Them of Living in This Society. Essay Example
In The Color Purple there are a number of female characters who respond in different ways to the problems of being a black American female at a certain point in history. Analyse how Celie and Sofia cope with the problems they encounter and consider the effects on them of living in this society.
Although in 1865 slavery was abolished in America, strong political themes of racism and sexism remained. The Color Purple’s characters of Celie and Sofia cope very differently to the problems they face as black American females in the 1930s, such as: enslavement, sexual and physical abuse in the powerful patriarchal black society. Alice Walker has received much criticism of her portrayal of black women of the time and this essay will analyse Walker’s approach to how she saw Celie and Sofia cope with their problems and some of the arguments towards the novel.
Celie is poor and uneducated; a black female in a triple oppressive society, one of race, gender and class degradation. It is evident at the beginning of the novel that Celie has little self-esteem but overcomes this by gradually learning to love herself, becoming independent and not having to rely on others for her own happiness. It takes Celie many years to learn these painful lessons. According to Harris, one of Walkers harshest critics, it would not have been unusual for Celie to have not understood her pregnancies as many black girls during those years were taught that babies were found in cabbage heads or in hollow logs (Harris, 1984, p. 156). In letter five we learn that Celie will not be having any more pregnancies in a very naïve, childlike way ‘A girl in church say you git big if you bleed every month. I don’t bleed no more’ (Walker, 2004, p. 7).
Walker suggests that the stereotypical patriarchal roles assigned to men and women can be damaging if strictly enforced and this is becomes evident with Sofia’s relationship with Harpo. She shows how this issue is overcome with role reversal between the two
Although in 1865 slavery was abolished in America, strong political themes of racism and sexism remained. The Color Purple’s characters of Celie and Sofia cope very differently to the problems they face as black American females in the 1930s, such as: enslavement, sexual and physical abuse in the powerful patriarchal black society. Alice Walker has received much criticism of her portrayal of black women of the time and this essay will analyse Walker’s approach to how she saw Celie and Sofia cope with their problems and some of the arguments towards the novel.
Celie is poor and uneducated; a black female in a triple oppressive society, one of race, gender and class degradation. It is evident at the beginning of the novel that Celie has little self-esteem but overcomes this by gradually learning to love herself, becoming independent and not having to rely on others for her own happiness. It takes Celie many years to learn these painful lessons. According to Harris, one of Walkers harshest critics, it would not have been unusual for Celie to have not understood her pregnancies as many black girls during those years were taught that babies were found in cabbage heads or in hollow logs (Harris, 1984, p. 156). In letter five we learn that Celie will not be having any more pregnancies in a very naïve, childlike way ‘A girl in church say you git big if you bleed every month. I don’t bleed no more’ (Walker, 2004, p. 7).
Walker suggests that the stereotypical patriarchal roles assigned to men and women can be damaging if strictly enforced and this is becomes evident with Sofia’s relationship with Harpo. She shows how this issue is overcome with role reversal between the two