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Patriarchs and Oppression in The Color Purple

"1. The role of woman was confined to the walls of her house with woman not having a voice of their own. The man was the master of the house. The twentieth century society was influenced by the "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy"2 of the white men. A black woman in this society could be most aptly described as the 'slave of the slave'. In a black patriarchal society, equality was subjective. The same morals and values of having equal rights did not apply to the black women. The black women faced a double jeopardy: they were not only victims to the ongoing racism and colonial subordination, but were also subjected to misogyny by the male members who looked down upon them and would exploit them. Written in the backdrop of the 20th century American patriarchal society is the epistolary novel 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker. Alice Walker likes to call herself a 'womanist'3 writer, which as described by her is a 'feminist of color or a black feminist'. Walker's collection of composing is described by particular intermittent themes, of which the most clear is Walker's regard for the Black woman as a creator and how her endeavor to become whole relates with the community as a whole as can be seen in her novel as the primary subject; an alternate theme that is seen is her requirement on examining the relationship in the middle of battle and change, a testing that incorporates the torment of black peoples' lives.
             The essay endeavors to investigate how gender oppression, colonial subordination and identity are portrayed in the novel. The main focus however, will be on the protagonist's subordination and representation of gender relations. The point will be to portray in subtle element of how these discoveries can be identified with the post colonial feminist criticism. The reason behind choosing The Color Purple is that it can be seen as both a feminist and a postcolonial novel and also because of how the protagonist, Celie meets through few of the aspects mentioned before.


Essays Related to Patriarchs and Oppression in The Color Purple

1. The Color Purple - Book and Movie

Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple to capture and illuminate the hardship and bitterness African American women had to face in the early 1900s. ... The Color Purple, was published in 1982. ... In The Color Purple, as in her other writings, Walker focuses on the theme of double repression of black women in the American experience. ... The primary theme of The Color Purple, though, reflects Walker's desire to project a positive outcome in life, even under the harshest conditions. ... Although her response sometimes varies, she most frequently answers, "Remember, the movie is not the boo...

  • Word Count: 1523
  • Approx Pages: 6

2. Celie in The Color Purple

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a fictional story that took place in the South during the early to mid 1900's. ... In The Color Purple, Alice Walker leads protagonist Celie on a journey of self-discovery where she has to overcome different obstacles because of her gender, race, and class. ... The women in The Color Purple are all expected to abide by certain standards that differ from the men. ... Black women, such as Celie, experienced double oppression not only for their gender, but also for the color of their skin. ... The Color Purple, by Alice Walker paints a descriptive pictu...

  • Word Count: 931
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Color purple theme reflection

The Color Purple Theme Reflection In The Color Purple Walker expresses many ideas and themes. A major theme that I saw was the gender roles were often confused from the traditional roles that are often portrayed. In present time many men and women have also strayed from the traditional ste...

  • Word Count: 810
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The color purple

Alice Walker takes on a feminist tone in The Color Purple, a novel about the struggles between salvation and independence in which she discusses the oppression of black women. ... Nettie, familiar to these oppressions, continues to teach girls and has a huge impact on one of the Olinka women. ... One of the themes of The Color Purple is love redeems, hate kills and for Walker, redemptive love requires female bonding. ... Through the close relationships of Celie and her sisterhood she finds peace and an escape from discrimination and oppression. ...

  • Word Count: 1257
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Color Purple. Letter. English as foreign language.

Recently I had the opportunity to study your novel The Color Purple in my English course. ... An even more obvious example is the final scene where Celie is reunited again with her sister and children whilst at the same time having overcome all the oppression she had suffered as well as starting her own business. ... The message that if women help one another they will be able from the long prevailing male oppression and liberate themselves is a great source of inspiration. ... Overall I can only say that the The Color Purple is an intriguing novel that has captured my interest. ... Yours sinc...

  • Word Count: 722
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6. The Color Purple - Shug

In Alice Walker's "The Color Purple", Shug provides Celie with emotional fulfillment, spiritual guidance and familial connections. ... Celie knows deep down that her image of God, as a white patriarch "don't seem quite right"(201). ... Shug says," I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it"(203) asserting her interpretation of God. Shug tells Celie, "You have to get man off your eyeball, before you can see anything a'tall"(204) The white God Celie imagines has obstructed her view that she has never really seen the wor...

  • Word Count: 1273
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The color purple

The Color Purple is clearly an example of this genre in that it is written using a series of letters written by the principal character, Celie, and also her sister Nettie. ... In The Color Purple, Walker effectively uses the epistolary genre to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the novel's central character, Celie. ... The Color Purple closely follows the growth of Celie on her journey of self-discovery. ... Walker appeared to learn from this problem and went on to write a sequel to The Color Purple which addresses Nettie and her outcome. Nettie still plays a significant role in Th...

  • Word Count: 1541
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. the color purple

THE COLOR PURPLE Alice Walker wrote this novel from her own personal experience, growing up in the rural South as an uneducated and abused child. ... In the novel she also uses color. The color purple is the color of royalty, which exemplifies the endless possibilities available to Celie and other black women if they stand up for their own rights. The Color Purple is a historical novel; it never refers to any factual events. ...

  • Word Count: 441
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Color Purple By Alice Walker

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is a novel that is written in letterforms. ... What does the color "purple" symbolize Why did Alice Walker title her novel the "The Color Purple"? The color "purple" is an important symbol because it concern the life of young Celie and the pains and sorrows she lives through. ... In 1982 Alice finished her novel "The Color Purple." "The Color Purple" is not like most novels. ...

  • Word Count: 484
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

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