 |
|
 |
The Color Purple
|
Below is one of our free research papers on The Color Purple. If the term paper below is not exactly what you're looking for, you can search our essay database for other topics.
The Color Purple
Jon da Mack In the book The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Tashi is convinced that she doesn't want to go to America because no one will like her. Tashi has her doubts but Adam convinces her to come. I am not here to analyze the motives of the character's decision to go/not go to America, rather I will evaluate the historical factuality of her fears of going to the US Her fears are very realistic for any African woman coming to the states. She would have the same experience looking at modern magazines knowing how the public portrayal of woman is. In the 1930's most white people were very racist against Black people. People feared those that were different. They feared the tribal customs of Africans such as scarification marks, and saw them as savages. Tashi's fear is that "...because of the scarification marks on her cheeks Americans would look down on her as a savage and shun her." Tashi's fear is perfectly valid for any African coming to America in the 1930's because some people would shun her. In the '30's Black women made themselves look whiter because black skinned black people were not popular. Dark people tried to look naked, therefore Tashi feared that "Adam will be distracted by one of these naked looking women and desert [her]." With a bunch of naked women running around, any man would be distracted. She fears that he will leave her for a "more attractive" woman, but that is dependent on whether Adam really loves her. Any woman would have fears l...
|