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TCP - Coggle Diagram
TCP
Religion
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'God all white too, looking like some stout white man work at the bank'
Traditional white norms of God, whitewashing of religion, suggests black is inferior due to 'holy' connotations of white - religion was just another way to oppress black people
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'Angels all in white, white hair and white eyes'
Religious symbols, white supremacy drilled into the culture, legacy of slavery
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'Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. dear everything. Dear God.
'God love everything'
Equality, God doesn't seek to control anyone's life
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'Man corrupt everything [...] soon as you think he everywhere, you think he God, but he aint'
'The God I been praying and writing to is a man... trifling, forgitful and lowdown'
Gender Roles/Sexism
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'Look down at his hands. Nah suh, he say low, embarrass'
Albert asks Harpo if he hits Sofia - men during this time would hit their wives to show that they are physically dominant and in control, but by Harpo not doing this he is regarded as weaker
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'Harpo say, I love you Squeak. he kneel down and try to put his arms around her waist'
Romantic, shows a change of character, getting physically lower than her to show he doesn't dominate her
'Strumpet in short skirts, smoking cigarettes, drinking gin... Talk bout slut, hussy, heifer and streetcleaner
'Shut up Squeak, he say. It bad luck for women to laugh at men' (Harpo)
'Women weaker, he say. People think they weaker, say they weaker, anyhow'
Sexuality
'I finally made the perfect pair of pants. For my sugar, naturally'
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'I still don't like frogs, but lets us be friends'
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'Where the button'
Lack of knowledge about her own physical body, begins exploring her sexuality
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'I cry and cry and cry, seem like it all come back to me, laying there in Shug's arms'
Confronting her trauma and experiencing the emotions that come with that, link to female solidarity
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Racism
'They calls me yellow'
As Squeak is mixed race she often faces racial prejudice as she doesn't 'fit in' with white or black people, she wants to be an independent singer like Shug
'Black as my shoe'
Simile, oppression yet she is still successful
'They crack her skull, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye'
Semantic field of destruction, institutional racism
'I'm at they beck and call all night and day. They wont let me see my children. They wont let me see no mens'
'They' = difference, segregation, family, she will create no relationship with her children. She is lonely
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Abuse
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'He don't want a wife, he want a dog' (about Harpo)
Family
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'Us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this is the youngest us ever felt'
'Harpo force his way in. Clean the house, got food. Give his daddy a bath.
Shows no matter how stereotypical Harpo outwardly seems to be, he is caring and breaks the stereotype
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Female Solidarity
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'She like a queen to me... something purple, maybe a little red'
Shug is a role model for Celie, she embodies female independence and power - purple is a symbol of womanism, purple could also link to lavender haze as well as royalty. Red could symbolize passion
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Insecurity
'I hate the way I look, I hate the way I'm dress'
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'You sure is ugly'
Said by Shug to Celie, weak example of sisterhood, high status vs low status
Letters
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Celie addresses her letters to God at the beginning of the book, almost as though she is using them as a confession. This also showcases how lonely she is.
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