Free Color Purple Essays: It Was the Worst of Times :: Color Purple Essays

The Color Purple Essay: It Was the Worst of Times The book The Color Purple was written by Alice Walker.   The book was not written in a conventional manner.   It was a series of letters spanning the life of Celie, the main character.   Most of the letters were written by Celie and some by her sister Nettie.   The theme of the book is to be true to yourself in spite of difficulties and never let go of what you believe in.   Do not let people make you think you are something that you are not, then you have the will to survive during the worst of times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Color Purple is about Celie’s life.   In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Celie was raped by her father.   We also learn that Celie’s mother is ill and is unable to take care of the family.   Celie is forced to cook and clean for her family.   Celie conceived two children because of her father’s continuous raping.   She never sees her children and believes that her father killed them.   A man from town wanted to take Celie’s sister Nettie as a wife, but her father convinces the man to take Celie instead.   Celie is now forced to marry an older man who already has children.   Celie’s husband constantly beats and rapes her without any remorse.   He even made Celie nurse Shug Avery, his mistress, when she was ill.   It is now that Celie learns from Shug Avery about love.   Shug Avery encourages Celie not to take the abuse from her husband anymore and that she deserves bette r.   Celie would finally leave her husband when she found out that he kept her sister’s letters from her.   Nettie was the sole reason why Celie had managed to survive.   Celie could not tolerate any more abuse and left with Shug Avery and Mary Agnes.   Mary Agnes was Celie’s stepson’s mistress.   Celie eventually meets up with Nettie and her two children whom she believed to be dead.   She than goes back to her husband who has drastically changed since Shug Avery and Celie left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This novel was set in the early 1900’s.   During this time, the black people were oppressed by white people.   They were abused and taken advantage of.   Not only were the black people were oppressed but also women were oppressed.   They had little freedom and were unable to be self-sufficient.

Racism Essay

Today Racism is so common that it has finally been recognized as an issue, however it hasn’t always been like this. In the past there has been count less acts of racism. Racism can be defined as racial discrimination over skin color, ethnic background and race, or a belief that some races are by nature superior. History is like a giant mirror, it made up of thousands of pieces that creates the whole. It reflects what we do, When the European settlers came to North America, they came with a promise of peace, yet time soon revealed differently. They took the children of the inhabitants (like the Indians and natives) and separated them from their family and people. They were beaten and punished like dogs when they showed signs of their culture (language) and were harassed (raped). They were looked down for their ethnic backgrounds, skin color, language and traditions. We can write a Custom Research Paper on Racism for you! Its hard to believe that things could get any worse as time went by, but it did. In the 1900’ African Americans were looked as servants maids factory workers and other low class jobs. This continued for awhile and became o big that it was finally recognized. This was when the African Americans were separated from the whites, in school, work places and society. They did not have the same rights as the whites did. In Canada natives weren’t given any rights to vote until not long ago. However this act was not the worse image reflected upon by history. The holocaust was an event that began with a single persons hatred for the Jews that erupted into a conflict, which involved the world. This person of course was Adolf Hitler, and the conflict, which involved the world, was World War II. Hitler was a man who took the word racism to the ultimate level both metaphorically and literally. He believed that the Arians were superior to not only the Jews but also the rest of the world. He even consider those with the same skin colour and similar cultured background to be less superior, so this means that he is racist to even those that are similar to him. This wasn’t the worse part however; Hitler soon turned his attention to the literal meaning of racism and dealt with it in a dreadful way. He killed the Jews, thousands upon thousands in concentration camps, or even in their homes. They didn’t kill for money or land, but for reasons based on racism. This was the Holocaust and throughout history this act of racism killed the most and is looked at even today, with terror. To me Racism is something I was not exposed to much because it has gotten a little better today, but it is still out there all around us, this urge which makes us feel higher when compared to others just because of the simple differences. Racism is something that can never end, its like a cycle when one act is finished (African Americans is looked at as equals with the whites) another will start, but we have to try. Racism is not needed, therefore it must stop.

William Faulkner s A Rose For Emily - 957 Words

On Death and Bereavement While a â€Å"Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor share the common themes of unexpected death and the old south, the murders found in each story are vastly different. Both stories tell of strong female protagonists who don’t cope well with change and both foreshadow death right from the beginning, but the murderers themselves come from completely different worlds. Emily Grierson of â€Å"A Rose for Emily and the grandmother in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† both take on the role of protagonist in their respective stories and share many traits. They are both unbelievably stubborn and cannot cope when things don’t go their way. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† this is shown when Emily frequently goes unseen after the passing of her father and being abandoned by a love interest. â€Å"After her father s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all,† (Faulkner 301). Later on Emily shows, yet again, how she is unable to cope with change when she denied her father’s death and kept his body for three days before burying him (302), and when she killed Homer Barron before he had a chance to leave here. This theme is also prevalent in the opening lines of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† where the narrator states â€Å"The grandmother didn t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey sShow MoreRelatedWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily951 Words   |  4 Pagesliterary Response to â€Å"A Rose for Emily† â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner was published in 1930. This short story is set in an old southern town. I believe that this and several other combinations of events are what made the main character Miss Emily go insane. Miss Emily was an old school southern woman trapped in a modernizing society. She tried desperately to keep to her old ways, but the changes that happened around her were inevitable. This made me feel like something was going to goRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1316 Words   |  6 Pagesminuscule detail in the writing. In order to fully enjoy William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† readers must do the latter. Faulkner is a witty writer; some symbols are less obvious than others in his writing. To fully appreciate and obtain full meaning of the text readers must pay attention to his symbols and how they contribute to the greater theme. William Faulkner uses symbolization in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† to develop a theme of personal struggle. Emily faces many personal struggles: her relationship withRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1181 Words   |  5 Pages Is William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily iconic American literature? Faulkner uses setting, theme and plot to show the ways â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an iconic American literature. Faulkner saw the Forum magazine with his short story he wrote, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and found out that was his first national publication. The Mississippi Writers Page says, â€Å"The man himself never stood taller than five feet, six inches tall, but in the realm of American literature, William Faulkner is a giant† (MWP). Read MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1528 Words   |  7 Pagespoint of view is A Rose for Emily told? Why? In William Faulkner s short story A Rose for Emily the reader is given the account of an old woman who is rejected by society. The reader is acquainted with Miss Emily Grierson by a spectator, somebody who is not Miss Emily, but rather part of the town that rejects her. The storyteller has a somewhat omniscient perspective, knowing more than the normal town s individual, however not all that matters there is to think about Miss Emily. The storytellerRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1801 Words   |  8 Pages William Faulkner is known for his many short stories, however, many has wondered what has influenced him in writing these stories. Like his well known, most famous short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, which has always been compared to â€Å"Barn Burning†, one of Faulkner’s other short story. It only make sense to compare them two together because these two stories has may similarities , whether it may be in setting , characters or style they favor each other . Nevertheless they also have many differencesRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily879 Words   |  4 Pagesare both similar due to how these emotions cause a human to act irrationally. The lone woman in A Rose for Emily and the cashier, Sammy, in A P both portrayed a greater sense of hate which overcame their love. We as humans, capable of powerful emotion typically act too quickly to even understand the consequences of our actions. One prime example is portrayed in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, Emily loved Homer tremendously, however he did not feel the same way †he liked men, and it was knownRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1682 Words   |  7 PagesLyons Professor Amy Green Writing about Literature COM1102 Oct. 06, 2015 William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily is a short story that has also been adapted into a short film; both have been largely debated. Faulkner’s lack of a normal chronology and situation-triggered memories generates a story that has many understandings among its readers, but surprises everyone at the end. When asked about the title of his story, Faulkner said, [The title] was an allegorical title; the meaning was, here was aRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily854 Words   |  4 Pages Literary Response to â€Å"A Rose for Emily† â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner was published in 1930. This short story is set in an old southern town. I believe that this and several other combinations of events are what made the main character Miss Emily go insane. Miss Emily was a old school southern woman trapped in a modernizing society. She tried desperately to try and keep to her old ways, but the changes were inevitable. This made me feel like something was going to go wrong very early inRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1810 Words   |  8 Pages William Faulkner is one amazing writing ,who is known for his many short stories .However, many has wondered what has influenced him in writing these stories . Like his well known, most famous short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, which has always been compared to â€Å"Barn Burning†, one of Faulkner’s other short story. It only make sense to compare them two together because these two stories has may similarities , whether it may be in setting , characters or style they favor each other . NeverthelessRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Of The Sky And A Rose For Emily1540 Words   |  7 Pagesgeneral has affected all societies in all time periods, and reading is more than just an everyday task. These two authors affected society in their time, with their reappraising stories: A Horseman In The Sky and A Rose For Emily. However, William Faulkner (author of A Rose For Emily) and Ambrose Bierce (author of A Horseman In The Sky) have different views and affects on so ciety by when the particular story was published, the use of figurative language, and different genres. Back in the time of William Faulkner s A Rose For Emily - 957 Words â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, written by William Faulkner, is a story about a lonely upper-class woman who is struggling with life and the traditions in the Old South. Besides the effective use of literary techniques, such as symbolism and a first plural-person narrative style, Faulkner also succeeds in creating a suspenseful and mysterious story by the use of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a device used to give hints about what is going to happen in a story without giving the ending away, which also allows the reader to become completely involved with the story and predict the outcome of the overall work. Foreshadowing gave a powerful description about death and the tragic struggle of Miss Emily and in general, the use of this technique often relates to the events in the story rather than to describe a character. The overpowering stench inside Miss Emily’s home, the second floor of the residence being completely closed away and the discovery of the iron grey hair when the bedroom door finally opened up, are all strong foreshadowing tactics that were used to achieve such a surprising and strong but also believable ending to such a twisted story. Faulkner’s use of foreshadowing is used ingeniously to achieve a shocking and powerful ending. Faulkner uses the smell of Miss Emily’s home throughout the story to foreshadow Homers atrocious fate. For thirty years, Miss Emily has kept Homers body in the bedroom upstairs that was shut off from everyone else. Because of this, it gave herShow MoreRelatedWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily951 Words   |  4 Pagesliterary Response to â€Å"A Rose for Emily† â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner was published in 1930. This short story is set in an old southern town. I believe that this and several other combinations of events are what made the main character Miss Emily go insane. Miss Emily was an old school southern woman trapped in a modernizing society. She tried desperately to keep to her old ways, but the changes that happened around her were inevitable. This made me feel like something was going to goRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1316 Words   |  6 Pagesminuscule detail in the writing. In order to fully enjoy William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† readers must do the latter. Faulkner is a witty writer; some symbols are less obvious than others in his writing. To fully appreciate and obtain full meaning of the text readers must pay attention to his symbols and how they contribute to the greater theme. William Faulkner uses symbolization in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† to develop a theme of personal struggle. Emily faces many personal struggles: her relationship withRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1181 Words   |  5 Pages Is William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily iconic American literature? Faulkner uses setting, theme and plot to show the ways â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an iconic American literature. Faulkner saw the Forum magazine with his short story he wrote, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and found out that was his first national publication. The Mississippi Writers Page says, â€Å"The man himself never stood taller than five feet, six inches tall, but in the realm of American literature, William Faulkner is a giant† (MWP). Read MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1528 Words   |  7 Pagespoint of view is A Rose for Emily told? Why? In William Faulkner s short story A Rose for Emily the reader is given the account of an old woman who is rejected by society. The reader is acquainted with Miss Emily Grierson by a spectator, somebody who is not Miss Emily, but rather part of the town that rejects her. The storyteller has a somewhat omniscient perspective, knowing more than the normal town s individual, however not all that matters there is to think about Miss Emily. The storytellerRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1801 Words   |  8 Pages William Faulkner is known for his many short stories, however, many has wondered what has influenced him in writing these stories. Like his well known, most famous short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, which has always been compared to â€Å"Barn Burning†, one of Faulkner’s other short story. It only make sense to compare them two together because these two stories has may similarities , whether it may be in setting , characters or style they favor each other . Nevertheless they also have many differencesRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily957 Words   |  4 PagesBereavement While a â€Å"Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor share the common themes of unexpected death and the old south, the murders found in each story are vastly different. Both stories tell of strong female protagonists who don’t cope well with change and both foreshadow death right from the beginning, but the murderers themselves come from completely different worlds. Emily Grierson of â€Å"A Rose for Emily and the grandmother in â€Å"ARead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily879 Words   |  4 Pagesare both similar due to how these emotions cause a human to act irrationally. The lone woman in A Rose for Emily and the cashier, Sammy, in A P both portrayed a greater sense of hate which overcame their love. We as humans, capable of powerful emotion typically act too quickly to even understand the consequences of our actions. One prime example is portrayed in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, Emily loved Homer tremendously, however he did not feel the same way †he liked men, and it was knownRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1682 Words   |  7 PagesLyons Professor Amy Green Writing about Literature COM1102 Oct. 06, 2015 William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily is a short story that has also been adapted into a short film; both have been largely debated. Faulkner’s lack of a normal chronology and situation-triggered memories generates a story that has many understandings among its readers, but surprises everyone at the end. When asked about the title of his story, Faulkner said, [The title] was an allegorical title; the meaning was, here was aRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily854 Words   |  4 Pages Literary Response to â€Å"A Rose for Emily† â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner was published in 1930. This short story is set in an old southern town. I believe that this and several other combinations of events are what made the main character Miss Emily go insane. Miss Emily was a old school southern woman trapped in a modernizing society. She tried desperately to try and keep to her old ways, but the changes were inevitable. This made me feel like something was going to go wrong very early inRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1810 Words   |  8 Pages William Faulkner is one amazing writing ,who is known for his many short stories .However, many has wondered what has influenced him in writing these stories . Like his well known, most famous short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, which has always been compared to â€Å"Barn Burning†, one of Faulkner’s other short story. It only make sense to compare them two together because these two stories has may similarities , whether it may be in setting , characters or style they favor each other . Nevertheless