Literary Criticism In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

The protagonists in the novel are constantly being abused physically and mentally by their cynical husband. With this theme he also explores the inequality among men and women. Hosseini uses his powerful words to describe the horrors that women undergo through during their marriage. The theme of Spousal abuse also allows the reader to recognize and understand men 's superiority in

It’s the kind of violence you only read or see in fiction, and to here described as truth makes me sick to my stomach. Thompson knew that being this descriptive would help him make his point and provide persuasive evidence that the Southern slave system was morally wrong. Thompson makes it impossible to even begin to defend the slave owners and supporters of this system. My final example is when Thompson’s sister was sold to a new, crueler master, and upon seeing her mother for the first time since she was sold, wept. “As soon as my sister saw our mother, she ran to her and fell upon her neck, but was unable to speak a word.

Soon after her move to the Norcom’s estate, Dr. Norcom began pursuing her. Along with the constant sexual harassment, Jacobs suffered the wrath of a jealous Mrs. Norcom. After attempting to escape the evils of Dr. Norcom by bearing two children to a white lawyer, Jacobs suffering only worsened due to the fact Dr. Norcom now had leverage over her. With her children’s lives in mind, “the thought that her children would be made plantation slaves and subjected to all of the brutality that implied convinced Jacobs that she had no choice but to escape her enslavement once and for all. In her absence the children would not be sent to the plantation” (“Harriet Jacobs”).

Nightjohn, a novel written by Gary Paulsen, takes location throughout one of the finest periods of prejudice and racism in American records. Nightjohn is the story of a young slave lady named Sarny. Within the book, Sarny meets any other slave named Nightjohn, he teaches Sarny a way to study and write. Ultimately, after Nightjohn is punished for coaching Sarny, he runs away, however, later he returns to complete coaching Sarny. Sarny failed to accept the fact that she was a slave or the unfairness in opposition to her prevent her from learning.

It really is indifference. Sometimes I feel our position is like that of flies on an elephant’s hide”. What this quote means is that Nettie believes is that it isn't right for girls to be treated differently. In page 131 “Well I started to fight him, and with God’s help I hurt him bad enough to let me alone, But he was sum

Walker exposes the patriarchy that condones male domination of women. The novel is about the trials and tribulations faced by a black woman under colonialism and black male oppression and her journey to attain knowledge, identity and freedom. Walker’s womanism stems from her mixed ancestry-

After analyzing the pattern for awhile, the narrator witnesses a woman trapped behind bars. Eventually, we realize that the woman in the wallpaper is the narrator. Throughout the story, the narrator 's mental state continues to deteriorate. Being both the narrator 's husband and physician, John assumes that he knows what’s best for his wife. However, in this essay, I will argue that Gilman portrays John as an antagonist or “villain” in her story because, through his actions, he is the main reason for his wife 's descent into insanity which proves that he didn’t know what was best for his wife after all.

Morgan compares the historical account of black women in the antebellum south who were considered oversexed mistresses and whores to white slave masters. She exposes the brutality of black women, as they were considered strong for to taking it. This unrealistic myth of a strong black woman continues today while ignoring the fact they are not exempt from pain, they learn to adapt for survival. According to Morgan, black women are just as endangered as black men with illness, drugs and death. In the section of endangered black men, Morgan is unsympathetic of the black woman’s attitude toward black men and believes they are no difference than a white racist by not seeing the black men’s beauty and worth.

Slaves faced extreme brutality and Morrison focuses on rape and sexual assault as the most terrifying form of abuse. It is because of this abuse that Morrison’s characters are trapped in their pasts, unable to move on from the psychological damages that they have endured. “Morrison revises the conventional slave narrative by insisting on the primacy of sexual assault over other experiences of brutality” (Barnett 420). For telling Mrs. Garner what they had done, she was badly beaten by them, leaving a “chokecherry tree” (16) on her back. But that was not the overriding issue.

Mammachi, the mother of Ammu and Chacko is representative of the older generation of women in the novel and is a victim of oppression and discrimination at the hands of her husband, Pappachi. She was physically abused as she was beaten either with a brass vase or an ivory handled riding crop and psychologically traumatised by her husband. Mammachi however, kept mum and as a post-colonial Indian woman she succumbs to the lures of pre-colonial caste rules thus, she becomes an instrument of patriarchal domination despite being a victim herself. Moreover, it is evident that the men in the novel, particularly Pappachi, suffer from an inferiority complex. Pappachi expresses jealousy when he refuses to help her when she started a pickle making business even though

Linda Brent sought to escape Dr. Flint’s increasing threat and inevitable sexual abuse by having an extra-marital affair with his neighbour Mr. Sands. In comparison to Dr. Flint, Mr. Sands seemed to genuinely care for Linda, even helping and protecting her from Dr. Flint. Linda believed that being sexually involved with another man would deter Dr. Flint from pursuing her; however, this only worsened her situation -- Dr. Flint threatened to keep her as her slave forever, and Brent had two children with Mr. Sands. The greatest difference between the speakers of these two narratives is that one is a mother and the other is not; however, mother or not, they both understand the extremely terrible consequences of raising children as an enslaved

On the other hand, slavery did have some different effects upon men and women. Women suffered the consequences of sexual abuse. Jacobs relates such abuse: "Soon she will learn to tremble when she hears her master 's footfall. She will be compelled to realize that she is no longer a child.If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her greatest curse." The author tells how sad is the life of a slave girl and how, as soon as she is old enough, and against her will, she would learn about the malice of the world.

Another element in this novel is Melinda’s inner conflict, man vs. self. What Melinda has been through greatly affected her everyday life. She struggles with depression, dislikes her appearance, and feels ashamed of herself for something that isn 't her fault: “I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else...even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me” (Anderson 51). Andy Evans, the senior who raped her, made her feel worthless. This situation is much like the one in the novel The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

Not even saying a word, this man has Jacobs uneasy and her children fearful. When he does finally open his mouth is it to mock her by saying her master is tired of her, laughing in her face, and ridiculing her in front of her children. Being told all of these horrible qualities that Jacobs apparently has with her children present is demening. Although her children know that the doctor is a terrible man, having those kind of thoughts ringing though her head must have been awful for her mental state. It

Lennie began to stroke her hair and then he stroked it harder. Curley’s wife asked him to stop when he did not stop she began to scream. Lennie covered her mouth and nose with his and cause he was scared and did not want to get in trouble because she was screaming. Lennie ended up killing Curley’s wife (91). Lennie did not know his own strength so when he got scared and held on it got him in trouble.