Essay on Abuse of Women in Alice Walkers Color Purple

The Abuse of Women in The Color Purple Alice Walkers The Color Purple is an excellent account of the life of poor black women who must suffer not only social ostracism due to gender and skin color but also women who suffer greatly at the hands of black men. This is true in terms of infidelity, physical and verbal abuse, and sexual abuse. The Color Purple revolves around the life of Celie, a young black woman growing up in the poverty-ridden South. In order to find herself and gain independence, Celie must deal with all manner of abuse, including misogyny, racism and poverty. When she is a young girl of just 14, Celie is sexually assaulted by a man she believes is her father. She has two children by her rapist, both of who†¦show more content†¦In other environments she must play a role. With Celie, she is able to be herself. Celie, too, benefits from her nurturing relationship with Celie. Shug is used to a living a life that had about as much nurturing and love in it as Celies. She says of her mother, Mama never love to do nothing had to do with touching anybody, she say. I try to kiss her, she turn her mouth away. Say, cut that out, Lillie (Walker 125-26). 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. Dont 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 Walkers 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 inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Color Purple By Alice Walker776 Words   |  4 Pages Alice Walkers rough life growing up, gives us a clear image of how her background impacted the delicate themes she writes about in her novels. For example, at a young age, Walker was insecure about her appearance, which led her to a new mental state of mind. In an interview of Alice by OBrien, she describes, I daydreamed of falling swords, putting guns to my heart or head, and of slashing my wrists. (OBrien). Alice Walkers insecurities led her to be depressed, which then introduced her passionRead MoreThe Color Purple by Alice Walker926 Words   |  4 PagesThe award-winning novel, â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker, is a story about a woman going through cruel things such as: incest, rape, and physical abuse. This greatly written novel comes from a very active feminist author who used many of her own experiences, as well as things that were happening during that era, in her writing. â€Å"The Color Purple† takes place in the early 1900s, and symbolizes the econom ic, emotional, and social deprivation that African American women faced in Southern states ofRead Moreâ€Å"All segments of the literary world—whether establishment, progressive, Black, female, or1200 Words   |  5 Pagesthey do not know, that Black women writers and Black lesbian writers exist.† During the 1970’s to 1980’s, African American studies of Black’s steep legacy was a dying trade. Alice walker stepped up in this time period as an influential writer of the recovery movement for African American studies. Three well respected works from Alice Walker are: The Color Purple, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, and Meridian. We will focus on Walker’s narrative, The Color Purple which details the story of aRead MoreAlice Walkers Themes of Womanism, Community, and Regeneration1968 Words   |  8 Pages7th February 2011 Alice Walkers Themes of Womanism, Community, and Regeneration Alice Walker is considered one of the most influential African American writers of the 20th century, because of her raw portrayal of African American struggles and the injustices towards black women. She was the first African American female novelist to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for The Color Purple. Her work is appealing and powerful because â€Å"Walkers novels can be read as anRead MoreCritical Essay on the Color Purple1343 Words   |  6 PagesWalker’s Purple is Not Just a Color Alice Walker’s epistolary novel The Color Purple demonstrates how the mistreatment of a woman cannot prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Celie, is a young, uneducated black girl who is verbally and sexually abused by her supposed father, Alphonso. He fathers two children with her, kidnapping both and presumably killing one, if not both. Because of the unwarranted trauma, she struggles for the rest of her lifeRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Color Purple1074 Words   |  5 PagesMiss Celie’s Pants/Ms. Walker’s Novel Alice Walker is a world renowned novelist, poet, short story author and political activist, with works including The Temples of my Familiar and In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. Yet Ms. Walker’s most critically acclaimed novel remains The Color Purple. The Color Purple tells the complex tale African American women, their brutal living conditions, everyday abuse, and their instinct to survive. The Color Purple was an immediate success due to its simple writingRead MoreThe Sociological Criticism of Alice Walker537 Words   |  2 Pagesdefinition of sociology is the study of society. Social criticism is blah. Alice walker’s work demonstrates this type criticism very well; from The Color Purple to Everyday Use or any of her earlier short stories. Most of her work demonstrates the struggle of African Americans in society especially women. This makes Alice Walker the epitome of sociological criticism. According to â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker Alice, walker was born in Georgia and attended Spellman College before transferringRead MoreInfluence Of Life In The Color Purple By Alice Walker1192 Words   |  5 Pageslker Commonly known as the author behind the epistolary novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker is a native Georgian who considerably influenced the culture of the state. Her legacy begun February 9th, 1944 in Putnam County, Georgia when she was born to proud African American parents as the youngest of eight children. Her father, Willie Lee Walker, was a sharecropper blessed with a mind adept in mathematics, but cursed with substandard farming skills, and therefore was not a good source of incomeRead MoreThe Color Purple by Alice Walker675 Words   |  3 Pagesreasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.† Straight from the mouth of Alice Walker this quote was spoken in order to point out that fact that none of God’s creatures were put on this Earth to be someone else’s property. Alice Walker is an African-American novelist and poet who took part in the 1960’s civil rights movement in Mississippi . Walkers creative vision was sparked by the financial suffering and racial horror of African AmericanRead MoreThe Color Purple by Alice Walker1342 Words   |  6 Pagesare infused with the mindset that they must act a certain way. Likewise, in Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple, the protagonist Celie, believes that she is obligated to do what men tell her to. She starts writing letters to God since she has nobody else to share her secrets with. Soon she meets a woman named Shug, who makes her realize that there is more to life than she really thinks. Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple demonstrates the progression of gender roles by emphasizing the importance