The Color Purple By Alice Walker

In Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, black feminism is the main focus for women in the 1900s. Likewise, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, is an autobiography on the struggles she personally went through in life. The constant segregation and bullying was hard on Angelou and this novel vividly illustrates the struggles. The themes are very similar and show how the struggles are ongoing and spread throughout the black society. God is a special person in both situations and is the savior to the affected women. The pyramid of power clearly states what each person is entitled to due to their skin color, gender or even family name. The white men take power over everyone, then the white women and power was then passed to their …show more content…
The men in this time are more powerful and allowed more privileges. Walker focuses more on overcoming the struggle women are put through. Being bossed around occurrs daily and it took a while to stand up to become free, or as free as the women could get. “ Finally she say, Sofia, with a little laugh, This is the South. Yes ma’am, I say… Look where you’re sitting” (Walker, 104). Just from the color of their skin, they could not do something as simple as sit where they wanted. Standing up for the small situations like this, led to the bigger ones which soon led to total freedom. In Walker’s novel it also proves just how much power the men had and how it make the women feel. “He been keeping your letters, say Shug” (119). Shallow actions like this proves how much the men use the women to get what they want and the extremes they go to gain power. Angelou focuses more on making a comfortable lifestyle for herself. The rules were never fair for blacks in the South, especially for little girls. Not only the men but older women abused the youth and these situations burden them for life. “...so, obedient to the unvoiced command, I sat still” (Angelou, 38). The black children in this novel have the toughest time accepting defeat. They want to show people they can make their own decisions, but are not allowed. They are under the impression that they cannot have their own thoughts or beliefs because they have to have the same thoughts and …show more content…
These novels show the pain and troubles that everyone is put through in this time period. Being able to be yourself should be your choice and society should not have a say in how you can do that or how you cannot. The Color Purple focuses on the abusive relationships with men and how they limit the women’s lives. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings dials in on more racism as a whole for all the blacks. The black children had it the worst since they had to obey so many people. God was a big factor in both novels since they knew he would always be there and support them. Some days praying is their only hope to stop the pain of troubles they are forced through. When Maya attends church she feels like she belongs, but still has to be on her best behavior. Celie prays that she can get her family back that is lost and eventually it paid off, and this is the start for her in gaining a life for herself. Poverty did not help the matter either. “Poverty also plays a big role in Celie’s oppression” (Martin, 30). Being limited by money makes it even harder for Celie to become free from the nonsense. Maya also finds her choices limited due to the lengths she has to go just to become happy on her own. The whites in her community make her feel so small and powerless compared to them. The unfairness of blacks and whites is also a huge factor in the process for Maya to gain freedom. She has to go through the multiple