The Freedom Writers Diary, written by The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell, is a book compiled of diary entries written by Erin Gruwell’s students. These diary entries detail the students’ lives; their struggles, their achievements, and their failures. Many say that this book is “inappropriate,” and try to ban this book from school curriculums because of the real topics that this book goes over, such as addiction, abuse, racism, and more. However, reading about these topics is actually beneficial to students. By allowing students to relate to characters in the book, students are able to see that they are not alone in their struggles.
Children are always being told what not to do. They are told: "do not touch that!" "Do not eat too much candy!" "Do not stay up too late!" So many things are off limits to them; however, being told not to read a book should not be one of them. Books should not be censored for children and young adults because in reality, life is not censored. One specific book that should not be censored, or challenged, is The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It is challenged for exposing the gruesome truth of racism and abuse along with the use of profane language. Although these elements these elements are not positive topics, they are necessary to depict the reality of life in the early 1900s. The Color Purple teaches the reality about the mistreatment of African-Americans
In the developing western world, women have always been considered the weak link of the society. For centuries they have been treated as less intelligent and less important than men, and therefore, subordinate to men. Since, as a general rule, men are physically stronger than women are, such domination wasn’t hard to achieve. For hundreds of years, this mindset has impacted humanity’s understanding of equality and has left its mark on the way our society functions to this day. For the western world over the past few hundred years, and sadly to this day still having its impact on the general public, white males have been considered the most righteous, intelligent, moral, and thus, supreme to the rest of society. However, the issue of gender inequality must be talked about and equality must be encouraged. There are two great pieces of work, the novel Salvage
Sacrifice can reveal what people value the most in their life. In the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Celie sacrifices her childhood, her education, and her freedom for her sister Nettie. Celie’s sacrifices are not only representative of her value of Nettie, but also of the lack of value she has for herself. Throughout the book, Celie sacrifices the majority of what she has and gets extremely little in return. She never fights for herself and does whatever people ask her. Celie is pulled out of school, beaten, raped, and forced into marriage at an extremely young age. All of these sacrifices kept Nettie safe and educated, but hurt Celie, who only thought of her sister and not of herself.
The Color Purple is important for teens to read because its most prominent theme is how family sticks together through thick and thin, and it talks about the value of it as well. Within the first 20 pages of the book, Celie is separated from her sister, Nettie. Celie is forced into a marriage, so Nettie doesn’t have to be. Celie takes all of her father’s sexual abuse, so Nettie doesn’t have to suffer. “They cry theirselves to sleep. But I don’t cry. I lay there thinking bout Nettie while he on top
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker that focuses on the
In various works of literature, numerous characters have found solace in believing divine figures. Commonly because said characters have experienced hardships within their personal lives. All of which, could be harmful to one 's mental health. Especially, when one lacks emotional support from her/him peers. Nevertheless, one’s faith in God, tends to give individuals strength to carry on because in countless cultures, God is considered being a symbol of guidance, which serves to people in need. In addition to, the theory above is accurately portrayed in The Color Purple, which was written by Alice Walker in 1982. The protagonist of the novel, whose name is Miss Celie, ongoingly, struggles with self acceptance, after being neglected and abused
Alice Walker had a lot to say about family in her book, The Color Purple, in this book family had loose conditions and was often inter tangled. Celie’s friends and family were remarkably confusing and complicated at times, because many people were sleeping with people they were not married to and that was married to their friends. However, no family is perfect, so why would this one be, in the end it was all Celie and everybody else really needed. Family is shown throughout this book as the people who stick with a person, a biological relative, and these people in turn contribute to Celie’s development as a character.
In the novel by Alice Walker, “The Color Purple” write about a woman’s right and status during the early 20th Century in Rural Georgia. In the beginning, Celie was living with her stepfather, Pa and later on living with her husband Mr.__ _, Albert. With the topics of rape, incest, abuse, and forced labor, the main character Celie weak and powerless was only able to tell these stories through letters through God. In the novel, Pa states “ You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy”(Walker 1). This quote means that Celie is taking the role of her mother, as Celie’s mother is ill and is unable to do what Pa wants, so he turns to Celie. Raping, abusing and making her do work. Celie is a 14-year-old girl living with her sister,
I also learned that not only women were oppressed during the time period of African Americans living as slaves but also men as well. As Celie is writing to God not only does she write to him in order to know what’s going on with her but she also writes to those letters to figure out who she is as she has experienced abuse from her father and Mr. ______. In the book, “Modern Critical Interpretations The Color Purple”, I learned that this novel was also used toward the fight for feminism not only for the colored people but also for the white women for everyone are considered a women who were female to gain the equality for them as well as men. (pg.137). I also learned that Walker compares the women to the color purple than to lavender for there is a difference in depth and intensity of it which she is referring to the races of women nationally (pg.136). On page 116, as Walker was writing this novel, it demonstrated the commitment she had to figure out a way to change the aspects of society as a different view toward women and social equality making it a
The Color Purple: A Novel. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. she talks about womanhood by stating how women are being submissive to their which leads to sexual assault and oppression. They are being forced to get marriage at the age of fourteen. The article also looks at one of the main character of the paper “Cellie” who was sexually assaulted by her own father and two children taken from her. Also, a minor character who first appears as "Squeak" serves as another example of womanhood. In the start of the story, she is quiet, submissive. Her lone claim to a positive personality is through her body, her yellow skin, which makes her as an even more sexually, racially, and thus socially adequate protest: Besides, she has been named by Harpo who, Celie watches as the story goes she just turns into a genuine person when she chooses to help her "adversary" Sophia escape from
Many factors go into how one thinks. A very important factor is relationships that occur throughout one’s life. In The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, the main character Celie experiences many different types of relationships that cause her to think differently. Celie interacts with men and women who cause her to feel many different emotions and change how she thinks about herself. When Celie views her relationship with herself she realizes she doesn’t understand who she is. Celie also looks to strengthening her relationship with God to help her be more hopeful. Walker reveals Celie’s developing relationships with people, God and self, can alter her state of mind.
The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker (b. 1944) is a novel of celebration of black women who challenge the unjust authorities and emerge beyond the yoke of forced identities. It is situated in Georgia, America, in 1909 and written entirely in the epistolary form, mainly by Celie, the main protagonist and her sister, Nettie. 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.
The domination of men over women is often characterized by physical and psychological victimization of women and enhancement of their misery. This male domination is not limited to any particular region or particular period but it is globalised problem of all the times. Many women writers enter the literary scene to motivate women and fight against male domination. Walker is one among these sort of writers. Alice walker in her novels portrays the world view of women and their worthy roles, as mother, sister, daughter, wife and beloved. She leaves the message that the valuable bond between men and women is possible only through the choice of freedom, desire and respect for each other’s individuality. She also believes the dominance of male is not good for any society. The present paper shows this view of the Alice Walker with a focus on the novel ‘The Color Purple.’
The Color Purple is a novel written by an American author Alice Walker and was published in 1982. It won numerous awards in literature and film as it had many musical, film and radio adaptations, particularly the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It primarily involves the subject of feminism and addresses issues in sexism and racism in the early 20th century in the United States. The story is all about a girl named Celie, a black woman who lives in the Southern part of US. It tells about how Celie’s life became a very hard one because she had undergone severe maltreatment, abuse and sorrows which started on her adolescent years until her married life. This essay will tackle the subject of feminism inspired from the story of Celie and how she was able to transform herself from a weak and vulnerable girl into a brave and self-sufficient woman who could prove her abilities to cope life’s struggle and became aware with her equal rights in the society.