Kacie Griffin

How does the time period affect the characters?

I believe the time period of the novel, The Color Purple, has a big impact on the characters. It is set in the 1930's which was a time not only of segregation but depression. America was a struggling, especially African Americans. In one of the letters Celie wrote, she talks about how Mr.____'s land does not bring in as much money as it used to. I took this as a example of how the depression was hurting Celie and Mr____'s family along with the other characters. Also, in the 1930's women did not have the rights we have today. Every character that is a wife seems to be mistreated by their husband. Beatings were common in households back then. Celie and Sofia are greatly affected by this, for it upsets Sofia so much she leaves. Celie, on the other hand, sits there and takes it. I believe she does not know what else to do. She is lost and has never seem another way. The women seem to be the prime aspect of this novel, and I am interested to see how they deal with their gender equality struggles as the book progresses.
   The 1930's also come with major discrimination against blacks. Segregation was put in to play, and whites felt they were superior. One character that color discrimination greatly affected was Sofia. While driving away from Harpo's a white women, the mayor's wife, approached her and her children. Mr___ tells the story of Sofia being jailed and says, "She say to Sofia, All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid (Walker 85). The mayor then slaps Sofia for her answer. To me, Sofia felt threatened and dehumanized by this woman asking her to be her maid just because her children were clean. The  mayor's wife only though of her as help and not a person. Sofia was then put in jail, for she was lucky she was not executed for crimes like many blacks were at this time. African Americans were not treated fairly and would continue to be mistreated for years to come.