Comparative
Analysis
Digital
Presentation
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker &
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Katherine O’Laughlin
Professor Adam Colton
English 121 – 803
26 November 2013
Prominent American civil rights leader and feminist who played
a pivotal role in the 19th century women’s rights movement and
introduced women’s suffrage into the United States once said…
• “I declare to you that woman must
not depend upon the protection of
man, but must be taught to protect
herself, and there I take my stand.”
– Susan B. Anthony
About the Author of The Color Purple:
Alice Walker
• Born on February 9th 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia
• Youngest of eight children
• Alice’s mother’s name was Minnie Lou Tallulah
Grant and her father’s name was Willie Lee Walker.
Alice grew up in such a large family with a very
limited income,
• Her father only making $300 per year as a dairy farmer
• Her mother supplemented the rest of the family’s income by working as a maid.
• Education for young African American girls in the United States was something
that was uncommon at the time but Minnie Lou believed that Alice should be
educated, so, at the age of four she enrolled Alice into the first grade. As a child
Alice was around her grandparents and parents a lot therefore stories of their
lives were passed down onto the children.
About the Author of Beloved:
Toni Morrison
• Born on February 18th 1931 in Lorain, Ohio.
• Second of four children born to her mother, Ramah and
her father George Wofford.
• When Toni was young she was constantly reading novels
by Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy,
which were her favorite novels.
• Toni claims that the inspiration
for her novels was based on the
imagination those two authors
gave her as a child.
Thesis
Comparative Analysis Paper
• In essence, the paper describes how various elements of
feminism contribute to the understanding of AfricanAmerican literature.
• Such as the different values
associated with womanhood
and femininity as a reason
why men and woman
experience the social aspects
of the world differently.
Context and background information
for Beloved and The Color Purple
• Beloved is not narrated
chronologically; but rather
composed of flashbacks,
memories, and nightmares.
• Toni Morrison chronicles the
hardships Sethe and her family
endure before, during, and after
the American Civil War.
• The novel’s complex interweaving
of past and present produce a
compelling portrait of a black
family’s struggle with the
devastating and inescapable
effects of slavery.
Alice Walker's The Color Purple tells the
story of women joined by their love for
each other, the men who abuse them, and
the children they care for.
Role Reversals in The Color Purple
• There are several role reversals that take place
between men and women in The Color Purple.
• For example, Harpo, Albert’s son, tries to surpass his
father in attempt to dominate his willful wife, Sofia.
Commonalities between:
• The Color Purple
By: Alice Walker
• Beloved
By: Toni Morrison
• The struggle for women to identify themselves was a
prevalent issue present in both novels
Compare and Contrast
The Color Purple
•
1930s: The relationship between men and women is clearly defined.
• Today (2013): Men and women share the economic burden of the household. Many married women
with children are in the workplace. Preschool children are cared for in daycare centers or at home with
paid baby-sitters.
•
1930s: Racism is condoned throughout the country, and laws in the South enforce segregation.
• Today (2013): Discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, or disability in the workplace is
illegal.
•
1930s: Violence against women is widespread and ignored by the police.
• Today (2013): Violence against women is illegal, and perpetrators are being vigorously prosecuted in
both civilian and military life.
•
1930s: Most religious African Americans belong to either a Baptist or Methodist congregation.
• Today (2013): Many African Americans have turned away from Christianity to the Muslim religion.
•
1930s: Colonialism dominates the African continent. It is carved up among the major nations of
Europe who exploit it for its rich resources.
• Today (2013): All nations in Africa are self-governed, but the remnants of colonial mismanagement has
led to unrest in a number of African countries.
Works Cited:
"Novel Summaries Analysis." Novel Summaries Analysis RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Compare and Contrast
Beloved
•
1963: President Kennedy is assassinated, plunging all Americans into mourning.
•
1970s: President Nixon resigns after being implicated in the Watergate scandal.
• Today (2013): President Clinton is impeached, becoming the butt of jokes because of his affair
with Monica Lewinsky.
•
1963: Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is assassinated and his assailant brags about the
murder before being acquitted by an all-white jury.
•
1970s: Americans of all colors are inspired by the television miniseries Roots.
• Today (2013): Byron de la Beckwith, the murderer of Medgar Evers, is sentenced to life in prison
by a mixed-race jury.
•
1963: Many schools are still racially segregated by law.
•
1970s: Because of “white flight” to the suburbs, many schools become resegregated.
• Today (2013): Some blacks begin to question the value of integration and instead work to
strengthen all-black institutions
Works Cited:
"Novel Summaries Analysis." Novel Summaries Analysis RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Historical Perspective
• The Color Purple
• Black-White Relations in the Rural South
• African-American Religion
• Beloved
• Post-World War I America
• Civil Rights Movement
Themes
• Feminism (Beloved and The Color Purple)
• Both novels relate to feminism and the belief that
men and women should be treated equally
• Slavery (Beloved)
• The time period of Morrison’s novel describes the period of slavery
just after the Civil War.
• One of the most striking elements in Beloved was the story of Sethe, a
black female slave, who kills her own daughter to protect her from the
horror of slavery.
• History of African-American Women (Beloved and The Color Purple)
• Beginning in the 1970s, African-American literature reached the
mainstream
Common Theme
• Woman Suffrage
• The portrait of black woman in
both novels can be described
through woman suffrage.
• The women in The Color Purple
and Beloved face great struggle in their lives.
• Beloved
• Explores the experience and roles of black women in a racist and
male dominated society.
• The Color Purple
• Centered around the mistreatment, inequality and total disregard for
women.
Woman Suffrage
• “The first examples of literature written by AfricanAmerican women appeared around 1859, as part of a
general renaissance of black literature in the 1850s” (Black
Women in Art and Literature).
• “One can say that being colored women, both Walker and
Morrison have the advantage of portraying what it is to be a
woman of color in the society. It is obvious that their slave
ancestors and the years of struggle of woman rights give
them the opportunity to create life-like characters in their
novels” (Kohzadi & Azizmohammadi & Afrougheh).
Discussion of Morrison and
Walker’s Pulitzer Works
• Beloved - A story about the continuous attempt for psychic
wholeness stemming from the aftermath of slavery, given the
horrific events that took place during that time.
• The Color Purple - A beautiful yet disturbing story about love,
hate, yearning and loss.
• A story about a young woman and the mental and physical
mistreatment of her by the black men in her life
Lesson learned from both novels
• People can over come the most difficult of circumstances
• Psychological healing within the main characters in each
novel
• The Color Purple –
• Celie finds solace in her life
in writing to God.
• Beloved –
• Sethe's mind splits in order to survive.
Focus of Comparative Analysis
• Analyzes feminist elements in literature
• Compares and contrasts the feminist elements of The Color Purple by
Alice Walker and Beloved by Toni Morrison.
• Describes how various elements of feminism contribute to the
understanding of African-American literature
• Such as the different values associated with womanhood and
femininity as a reason why men and woman experience the social
aspects of the world differently
• The focus of this paper recalls the
issues of female victimization,
gender roles and feminist liberation.
In abstract
Toni Morrison and Alice Walker
• “Both Tony Morrison and Alice Walker as well-known pioneers of Black
Feminism in their writings frequently stimulate black women to love
themselves, their race, and their culture and not to trap in white superiority
or white beauty standards” (Kohzadi & Azizmohammadi & Afrougheh).
• “Alice Walker in her theory called Womanism just like Toni Morrison
believes that survival of black women in a white racist society greatly
depends upon their emphasis on loving their own race, their own culture,
and loving themselves and not on engrossing themselves in white culture or
white beauty standards” (Kohzadi & Azizmohammadi & Afrougheh).
Conclusion:
Relationship to ENGL 121
• Focus: key aspects of history and feminism, as did the texts we read
throughout the semester.
• Such as, “The Women Hanging from the 13th Floor Window” and “Barbie”
which displayed efforts of both past historical events and feminism.
• In particular, “The Women
Hanging from the 13th Floor
Window” was a Native
American women wanting
happiness like other women
in many ways similar to
The Color Purple and Beloved.
Works Cited
•
"A Web Case Book on BELOVED by Toni Morrison." Web Case Book on BELOVED by Toni Morrison. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 06 Nov.
2013.
•
"Alice Walker Essay - Walker, Alice - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
•
"Beloved Group6 Period1.”: Biblical Allusions, Archetypes Symbols, Christian Symbolism. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Nov. 2013.
•
"Black Women in Art and Literature." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
•
"Colorpurpbeloved." Colorpurpbeloved. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
•
"Example English Literature Essay." Black Culture in Beloved by Toni Morrison. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2013.
•
"Historical Context of Beloved, Morrison." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
•
Kohzadi, Hamedreza, Fatemeh Azizmohammadi, and Shahram Afrougheh. "A Study Of Black Feminism And
Womanism In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye From The Viewpoint Of Alice Walker." International
Journal Of Academic Research 3.2 (2011): 1307-1312. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
•
"Novel Summaries Analysis." Novel Summaries Analysis RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
•
"Professor Wanda's Posse." Professor Wanda's Posse. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
•
"The Color Purple by Alice Walker Teacher Guide - Harcourt." The Color Purple by Alice Walker – Teacher
Guide - Harcourt. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2013.