Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity †The Color Purple Essay

watch totally the boys. 1 (Page 146) In m either an(prenominal) cases this term would be considered sexist However, when reading The people of colour gallant it becomes evident that the manpower as well as the boys are the wizs who are in need of command. This education is non confined to the academic sense, but foot none rather emphasises their need to acquire the comprehending of comprise rights. The women may not receive any academic education but they were still equal to men in their ability to work, as footer shows through several strong fe manful mapping models throughout The Color Purple.The things that the women reserve experienced have taught them things about life that no man would ever under die hard The gift of tolerance, understanding and a positive mind. Celie has to undergo a lot of traumatic experiences throughout The Color Purple. Walker uses this to mould her into the stereotypical submissive woman. Walker then continues to develop Celies stereotypical role of mother and wife by forcing her into another destructive relationship, both emotionally and physically. This relationship affected her placement towards men but also her self-confidence towards women and children who possess the confidence she does not.Although Walker has portrayed Celie as a weak individual, Mr calls her You black, you pore, you ugly, youa woman. Quotations like this show just what level of racism and sexism Celie and maybe Walker herself had to compete with. Walker may have portrayed Celie in this way to exaggerate the fact that she is also filled with courage. She tries to stand up to Mr ____ , and claims she will curse him until you he do right by me. Mr ___, claims Celie is nothing at all. scorn this abuse Celie has the courage to carry on and live her life despite its restrictions.Walker uses each credit to reflect all the different elements of female identity. Celie is portrayed as weak, Sophia is portrayed as puissant, Nettie educated and Shug leads the exciting life every women dreams of. Walker seems to use a variety of different characters to provide comparison and set in all of the female characters lives. The ongoing influence is the typical 1930s society. Society is responsible for dire the status quo, which heaven forbid Celie would ever rebel against. I dont fight I stay where Im told.But Im alive. (Page 22)She has lost her sister, her freedom and her self detect she cant lose her life as well. Sophia however is an excellent example of a powerful woman in society. Not only powerful in body, but also in mind. In the beginning of the book she seems to show no fear and determination no to be moulded by society. regrettably this is a short lived dream. Even though Sophia is a powerful woman, she is still victim to discrimination payable to her sex and race which results in hr being moulded into the typical stereotypical woman.After being impel out of Celies house by Mr ____, Nettie finds refuge in the home of a missionary couple, who apprize her the importance of god and educating others. She abandons the role of housewife and takes on a role more favourable which benefits others and not just her self. Shug Avery abandons all traces of the female stereotype. Her life revolves around the finer things. Her music offers the passion and yearning for the glamourous life, especially for Celie, whose life is made up of orders and abuse, whereas Shug is a woman who doesnt take orders and on many occasions is the one who makes them.Parts of the prejudice society of the 1930s were the men. In Celies mind, men have a kind of meanness that women dont possess. Women, though they may scream and swear, are not harmful in the way men like Pa are Mr_____ When she was younger the only male she knew was Alphonso, who she then believed to be her father. Although she was treated poorly by her father, she listens to the bible and Honors father and mother no matter what. (page 43-44). This even included forg iving him for the constant sexual abuse.By obeying the Bible she had to obey her father, no matter what the consequence was. The dramatic betrayal of someone she could trust had been destroyed and therefore jeopardised her relationship with any other man, instead of feeling love or respect, she only felt fear. Thats the truth. I hold back at women, tho, cause Im not scared of them. Although Mr_____ is her husband,their relationship appears to be one of convenience. When he first approached Alphonso it was to marry Celies sister, Nettie. Alphonso however refused.Claiming that Nettie was too pretty and that he should have Celie instead. Compared to Nettie, Celie was hardly the award wife that Mr___ desired. She ugly. .. But she can work like a man. (pg. 18. ) Mr ____ only wanted a wife to look after his kid and to satisfy his own selfish needs. Walker portrays Celie as an object only to be used and abused by men. Walker shows a very dysfunctional relationship in the midst of Soph ia and her husband Harpo however it is not abusive as all of Celies relationships have been. It is a veritable relationship that was built on a love and not on necessity.Another factor that Walker has used to create the couple is the reversal of personas. So Walker has created her to be the man of the house, as she is stronger than Harpo in more ways than one. This is alien to Celie and she advises Harpo that Sophia needs to be taken down a peg (Page 35) so he can become head of the house again. Nevertheless Sophia refuses to accept this treatment and fights back. Although Sophia managed to defeat one member of society, it was her second and final confrontation that would finally destroy the confidence that Celie so desperately wanted.