Violence In The Color Purple

Words: 533

Pages: 3

Open Document

The Color Purple by Alice Walker tells the story of a poor, black, uneducated woman named Celie living in the south who experiences extreme violence at the hands of the important male figures in her life. The terrible abuse she endures leads to her being shy and withdrawn, and eventually losing her faith in God. Through the help of a blues singer named Shug, she is able to find her both her voice and her inner strength and is able to forgive those who hurt her. Even from the very first page, the story is full of violence. In fact, the majority of black women in the story are victims of violence. Reading these brutal scenes may be hard for some people, which brings forth the question of why it was included.

Physical violence occurs when someone uses a part of their body or an object to control a person’s actions, while psychological violence occurs when someone uses threats and causes fear in an individual to gain control. Both types of violence are used against the women in the book, with the most common offenders being their husbands. The men use this violence to assert their dominance over their wives. …show more content…
While some women in the story, such as the main character Celie, become submissive and desensitized; others stand up for themselves and are able to fight back. Although at first glance it may seem like the book is trying to portray love and violence as being mutually exclusive, it actually does the exact opposite. As the women in the story gain the strength they needed and are able to overcome their situations, they realize that the way they were treated was not love in any

The Color Purple-Violence Means Dominance

Violence Means Dominance- Violence was a widely used way of expression. There was physical and mental abuse that took place and the actions added different dynamics. The stories begin around the time of World War II. In this time period, men were already thought of as being dominant over women but to exemplify their superiority in The Color Purple, they often beat their wives. Different people react differently to different things. When Celie is beat by her Pa and her husband, she basically gets…

Words 200 - Pages 1

Gender Roles In The Color Purple

Through the eyes of an enslaved woman, The Color Purple, narrates the story of Celie, who encounters complications along her journey to understand who God really is. The Color Purple is Alice Walker’s third novel published, and it won her the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book award <>. Within the book, themes of violence, religion, defying gender roles and femininity are mentioned throughout. Celie, a fourteen-year-old girl, writes letters to God about her daily encounters because of her repeated…

Words 1641 - Pages 7

Essay on The Color Purple

Kaitlin Belew Mrs. Clark Honors English III 22 September 2014 The Color Purple The Color Purple is a great book to read. It shows the struggles that black women in the late 1900s faced. Throughout the book Alice Walker, the author, describes many different difficulties the main character encountered. This novel insights us on how poorly women were treated years ago. The Color Purple provides many details into the lives of African Americans in earlier times. Alice Walker was born on February 9…

Words 738 - Pages 3

Sexual Assault Against Women Essay

Sexual Assault against Women I choose this topic because sexual assault is one of the most offensive crimes committed in our society. Not only is it a threat to the community, but it has a physically and psychologically effect on the victim in many ways. For the last couple of decades, sexual assault, rape, and child molestation has become the focal point of public concerns today. According to a 1993 National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, about 500…

Words 956 - Pages 4

Essay about Colour Theory

Colour Theory http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/28/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/ Red Warm colour Fire, violence, warfare Both the devil and cupid Anger but also importance, danger Colours mean different things in different parts of the world In design red can be a powerful accent colour. It can have an overwhelming affect if it’s used too much especially in its purest form. Great colour to use when power or passion wants to be portrayed. Brighter versions can be more…

Words 326 - Pages 2

Mainstream Criminological Theory

or positivistic criminology. The theory also studies the reasons to commit crimes through analyzing individual behaviors such as society, psychological problems, politics, racism, oppression, poverty, and violence. The focal point of this paper is to study the female characters in The Color Purple, how their purpose to commit crimes are liberation and how they become offenders and simultaneously victims. This research studied the factors that lead women to commit crimes by using…

Words 261 - Pages 2

Alice Walker

Alice Walker “Womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender,” Walker explained of the crucial difference in inclusivity in Womanist ideology compared to Feminism and The Civil Rights Movement which excluded black woman. Alice Walker, as an activist and black woman writer, is deeply sympathetic with the oppressions encountered by black woman; therefore, she is deeply invested in the uplifting and self-realization of black woman and other marginalized groups through Womanism; an idea that is expressed…

Words 1459 - Pages 6

Sexism Exposed In Alice Walker's The Color Purple

The Color Purple, a dramatic, edgy, educational, award winning novel written by Alice Malsenior Walker. The novel not only tells a story but opens many eyes to multiple problems African American families faced in this time period. It also focuses on the lives of several African American women who faced abuse and cruelty. Walker shared many views, a contradiction to her personal views but very similar to her personal life. The award winning novel, The Color Purple, is a novel that unfolds in a series…

Words 1074 - Pages 5

Comparative Essay; to Kill a Mockingbird and the Colour Purple

One Will Take What He Is Given The purpose of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is to demonstrate the hardships that are met when ignorance and tradition bring about the influence of sexism, racism and genuine prejudice to the general public. Ignorance is the root cause of prejudice as it prevents one to see beauty, so when it comes to dealing with the discriminating behavior held in this social order, the vast majority of people are judged by the label…

Words 3835 - Pages 16

dis paper doe

Hankison English 3H 9/9/2014 The Color Purple Essay Alice Walker’s epistolary novel The Color Purple depicts a young woman constantly subjected to abuse and insults. One of the many prominent themes throughout the book is the power of female relationships; Walker portrays female relationships as a means to fight against injustice and suffering. These relationships form a refuge from a male dominated world full of brutality and violence. The relationships in The Color Purple take many forms for example:…

Words 744 - Pages 3