*What's unusual about Harpo and Sofia's marriage? Why is Harpo eating so much? Will his secret plan succeed?
*What does Celie tell Harpo about Sofia? What is his response?
*Analyze Sofia's statement, "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog."
*Discuss Sofia's departure. Why doesn't Harpo try to stop her?
*Discuss Harpo's new business, what makes it a success, and how this affects Celie.
*Discuss the conversation when Shug tells Celie she is leaving and what this reveals about both of them.
*Why is Shug important to Celie? What does she represent to her? What does Sofia represent to Celie?
*Discuss Sofia's visit to Harpo's roadhouse. What is the defining moment when Harpo must choose between Squeak and Sofia?
*Discuss the circumstances surrounding Sofia's arrest. What happens to Sofia and how does she cope in prison? What does this say about Celie?
*What does the family plan to do to save Sofia?
*What happens when Squeak visits the warden? How does this reinforce a theme of the novel?
*Analyze the allusion to Uncle Tom.
*Interpret Mary Agnes' song
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Edith Wharton
John Steinbeck
Mark Twain
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Ellison
Alice Walker
34 comments:
I feel that Sofia being arrested for refusing to accept the offer to be the white woman's maid reinforces the reader’s belief that she is a strong independent woman. I think she could have been less rude when she refused, but the fact that she was not shows how passionately she feels about living for herself and never being anyone’s "dog". It was unfortunate that she was beaten after refusing to work for the mayor’s wife, but this is just another example of the prejudice that is apparent of the times. To cope in prison Sofia says she acts like Celie would. This statement reveals that Celie is a prisoner in her own life, doing things whenever told with out complaining.
I feel that Shug is very important to Celie. Celie sees her a strong, beautiful woman. In this section Shug inspires Celie to no longer allow Mr. __ to beat her. Shug also tells Celie that she will not leave until Mr. ___ doesn't beat her anymore. Sofia also represents a strong woman, Celie wishes that she could be more like her.
Also, Sophia being arrested for not taking the offer to be a white maid is completely wrong. She should not have to be a maid unless she wants to. Sophia telling Celie that she just does what she is told, like Celie does, is how she copes from day to day. I agree with rachel, that this shows to Celie that she is living in what could be called a prison, because she does what she is told, and does it without complaining or fighting against it.
it sees like sofia and squeak are foils of each other. they both love harpo, but they love different harpos. sofia loved the nice one that didnt try to control her, and squeak likes the controlling one. harpo choosing to help squeak instead of leaving with sofia after the fight shows that he would rather have an obedient dog instead of an actual wife.
Sofia and Harpo's marriage is different because Sofia actually stands up for herself. With Celie and Mr.___ relationship Celie never stands up for herself; she does what ever she is told to do. Sofia is an independent woman, and Harpo wants an obedient wife. That is what Sofia means when she states that "he doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog."
To try to get Sofia to be a "dog" he tries to beat her, but Sofia is to strong and ends up hurting him. To try to win a fight, Harpo eats a lot of food so he will get bigger and win. Harpo is blinded by the ambition of having an obedient wife he does not see that his marriage is falling apart because of his ambition.
Squeak says in her song that she is yellow- a common term for Asian people. Although I'm not sure if she is Asian, it would fit with the theme of race in her song.
But if yellow is a name
Why ain't black the same
Well, if I say Hey black girl
Lord, she try to ruin my game.
So she is saying that it's unfair for her to be called yellow concerning her race, but if she calls someone black, they get mad at her.
It's been stated many times in the novel that Harpo is kind of scrawny, while Sofia is somewhat large and muscular. Harpo's eating so much so he can finally get his wife to "mind." Basically, he's beefing up so he can beat Sofia. Sofia even says "he doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog." Harpo may have married Sofia for love, but they have very different ideas on how a marriage should work. Sofia's always stood up for herself, and she's not going to let her husband get between her and her independence. While Harpo has grown up seeing his father beat his wives, and believe that a wife should do everything her husband says. Harpo's definition of a wife IS a dog, someone who does everything you say and has no independence whatsoever. Sofia believes that a husband and wife should be equals.
This is going to sound bad, but back in the time period that this book is set in, Sofia being arrested for beating up the mayor and talking back to his wife is perfectly normal. In fact, she got off lucky. African Americans were usually lynched when they attacked a white person, especially a person of such high standing as the mayor of the town. This is the south after all, and way before the Civil Rights Movement. We may think that this is wrong now, but both whites and blacks during the time accepted it as a fact of life. Even before Sofia was sent to prison, she was basically a prison of the racist system of America during the time. All African Americans were.
Even though slavery has been abolished, it doesn't keep white people from treating African Americans like they are still in bondage.
Was this even a topic or did I make it up myself...?
Sofia seems to "wear the pants" in her and Harpo's relationship. Sofia does the hard labor, while Harpo does work inside, such as cleaning. Sofia, unlike other women, stands up for herself when Harpo tries to beat her and starts hitting and beating on him. Harpo starts eating in order to bulk up and appear strong and big like Sofia does. In this time period, this sort of relationship seems strange and completely unorthodox.
Almost everyone so far has written about the fact that Sofia has more power than Harpo does in their marriage. When Sofia decides to leave and go live with her sister, Harpo acts like he doesn't care. However, deep down inside he truly did care about her. Celie even noticed that he did not whistle like he normally did, the tune seemed weak and sad. So why didn't he stop her? Harpo admitted that there was no way he could. Sofia was stronger than him and she had her mind set on leaving.
However, after Sofia left Harpo began to feel the feeling of freedom. He starts to feel like a different man and begins to be a man about town again. This leads to the building of his juke joint; an opportunity to earn money while relaxing and having a good time.
Sofia is sent to prison for not wanting to be a white woman's servant, and punching the mayor. This shows how she is strong and refuses to be told what to do. However, to survive prison, she always does what she is told to do. She acts like Celie does everyday. She does everything she is told without resistance.
Harpo eats so much because hes wants to be as big as Sofia to stand up to her hurting him, even though he's the one trying to beat her, but he only gets a gut, which doesn't make him any stronger. Celie tells Harpo that Sofia does love him, she just won't deal with him trying to beat her.
Sofia's statement just means that Harpo treats her like a dog, not a wife, because he just wants her to obey him and dos what hes says, like a dog would. For that reason Sofia leaves him, and he doesnt stop her because he knows he can't. But when she leaves, he builds a jukejoint, and Shug's regular appearances there are what make it successful.
When Celie tells Shug that she's the reason Mr.___ doesn't beat her, that really shows Shug how important she is to Celie, and that she represents what Celie wishes she could be. This brings them a lot closer together. Also, Sofia seems to represent the kind of woman who takes action for what she believes, like Celie would like to be.
Sofia goes to jail for sassing the mayors wife. Sheriff says that Sofia is crazy and lucky to be alive. She was beaten so bad that Celie wasn’t even sure if Sofia was alive but she was. This shows even when Sofia could have easily given up she didn’t just so she could stay alive. She is a lot stronger and tougher than Celie physically. But to cope in prison, Sofia actually acts like Celie to follow orders. This shows Sofia what life is like for Celie doing everything everyone tells her to do, to an extent. And in the long run I think going to prison might make Sofia stronger and more accepting, for example.
When Celie visits Sofia in prison, Sofia asked Celie to say thank you to Squeak for taking care of her kids. Before Sofia went to prison her and Squeak didn’t have the best relationship because they were both loving the same man. This shows a character change for Sofia and her being more accepting of the people around her.
Harpo and Sofia's marriage is unusual because Sofia beats Harpo as much if not more than Harpo beats Sofia. Harpo starts eating all the time to try and gain more weight/muscle so that he can beat Sofia when they fight.
When Sofia says that "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog.", she means that Harpo doesn't want someone to cheish and love or someone who contributes to the family. He just wants someone that he can order around and have them do whatever he says whenever he says it. He does not want Sofia he wants someone more like Celie.
When Sofia leaves, there is nothing that Harpo can do. Sofia is going to do what she thinks is best for her. Harpo has already ruined what they had together by treating her as a "dog" not a wife. The only think that can heal that up is time and for him to prove to Sofia that he really wants HER there and not someone to order around.
harpo is eating so much because he is trying to get bigger than sofia. he has a thought in hos head that if the man is bigger than the woman, then he will have more control over the relationship. but is never works because sofia doesnt let harpo instruct her to do anything different than what she wants to do already. the statement harpo makes about a dog is that he doesnt want a woman around the house so he can love her and treat her like a wife, he wants to feel power over her like an owner has with his dog and he wants her to do what he sais, simular to an owner and a dog.
Harpo and Sofia do not have your typical marriage in that time. Harpo is skinny and a little weak compared to his muscular and strong-willed wife. Sofia appears to wear the pants in the marriage. When Harpo tries to beat her she fights back and succeeds. Harpos defense is to try and eat as much as he possibly can. He does this to gain more weight in hopes of finally overcoming his wife and getting her to do what he wants. This method does not go well for Harpo. Sofia is still stronger then him and she gets fed up with him. She starts to feel differently about him compared to when they first met.
Harpo's new business is a roadhouse where men stop to have a drink and listen to a pretty woman sing a few songs. What makes is such a success is Shug. She is a beautiful woman with a talented voice. She sings there all the time and brings numerous customers. Shug and Mr.____ were once in love and Mr.____ still has feelings for her. He has her stay with him and Celie. This affects Celie in a positive way. When Shug is around Mr.____ does not beat her. Also Shug and Celie become very close. They share many secrets and stories together. Celie says Shug is the only one that truly loves her.
Harpo and Sofia's marriage is strange because Sofia does not always listen to everyone of Harpo's demands. Sofia is more independant, rather than most other women that are married during this time. Harpo begins to eat more and more in order to gain weight. Harpo hopes to reach Sofia's weight with the food he eats in order to be able to beat Sofia, so that she will listen to him. I don't think that Harpo's plan will succeed.
When Sofia says, "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog" she means that Harpo doesn't want a wife that would not always follow his instructions, but he'd rather have a "Dog" that would follow his demands.
This may be a stretch, but I believe Shug Avery is a symbol for Celie's voice. As Shug can sing well, I think it is an inspiration for Celie's own voice. Despite Shug's manner, specifically with Mr._____, Celie has a strong admiration for Shug. Shug appears to get her own way about things and has alternative meanings for many things. This to Celie opens up a window in the idea that things can have different meanings. This could allow her to realize that her life does not have one path, but has many different possibilities through the work of her own voice. So Shug, I believe, is critical to developing Celie's voice.
When Sophia said "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog." she meant that like a dog is obedient to its master, Harpo wanted Sophia to obedient to him. Throughout the novel there are several times when women are treated as dogs, like when Celie messes up or doesn't do what she's told what happens? she gets beaten. what do you do to a dog if it tries to bite you? you bop it on the head. The fact is that women are equal to men, and Sophia realizes that. I believe Sophia leaves because she is tired of fighting for an equality under her own household.
Harpo and Sofia's marriage is different compared to many of the other relationships in the book (ex. Celie and Mr. ____). Sofia doesn't mess around and knows what she wants and doesn't want in a relationship, causing her to leave Harpo when she isn't as in love as she used to be with him. When Sofia says, "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog," she is talking about how Harpo wants someone to order around, not someone to love and take care of. He treats her like a dog instead of a human, as he beats her and expects her to do whatever he says instead of what she wants or believes in.
Mary Agnes’ song seems to show a sort of reverse prejudice. Though at this time many people were obviously prejudiced against black people, she shows another side of things. Squeak’s life is made up of and surrounded by black people and culture. This makes her a minority among them. As she said in her song, they can call her yellow, a derogatory term for an Asian, yet if she calls them black then she is in trouble with them. She cannot act as freely as they act with each other; things that another black person could get away with saying, she can’t get away with. I think it is interesting that this book highlights this reverse prejudice since it is actually something that exists even to this day.
Just when I thought Sofia was not coming back, she does, and with a strong, independant woman attitude. The way she talks to Squeak in a, if you want him...take him, says to me that she is not messing around with the stuff she had to put up with before. When the fist fighting went down I think it was there that Harpo made the decision if he wanted Squeak or Sofia. Im glad with the decision he made in wanting Sofia. Now he knows that a happy marriage means treating your wife with respect. I feel thats how it should be.
Harpo and Sofia's marriage is unusual because unlike the other marriages in the novel Sofia is not pushed around and forced to do things like the typical wife in the book. This is because Sofia will not allow it like the other women. Because he can't beat Sofia due to her strength, Harpo begins eating large amounts of food to make himself big. This will not work because it will just make him fat, not strong.
When Sofia says, "He doesn't want a wife, he wants a dog," she is referring to his desire for her to do whatever he says instead of being happy just to be with her. They both want different things out of the marriage; Sofia wants to be equal with him in his eyes and Harpo wants to be in control.
All Harpo knew was how his grandfather treated his grandmother and his father treated his mother so he felt like he was not a man unless he was in control of every aspect of the relationship. But Sofia wasn't going to take his abuse and control and fought back. Harpo and Sofia had different views on what marriage is about. Sofia didn't feel loved by Harpo which was one of the reasons she left him, she felt "tired" or depressed all the time.
Sofia is definately the dominant one of that marriage. She isn't afraid to assert it, either. Harpo eats in order to 'bulk up' since he is rather scrawny. Maybe if he ate more he'd be able to 'take' Sofia, if you will, make her mind. In the time period in the book this type of relationship seems unlikely... even in the 21st century it's kind of odd.
Sofia is obviously a big, strong woman. Harpo has no control over her because she physically overpowers him. His plan is to eat, and eat, and eat, until he is as big or bigger than Sofia so that he can gain the power he believes that he deserves. This is unsuccessful though. When Sofia says that Harpo "dosn't want a wife, he wants a dog." she is trying to relay her desperation in Harpo trying to constantly have athority over her and have her follow his every command.
Sofia departs, leaving Harpo and taking her children. He makes no attempt to stop her because he has no power over someone who is completely independent. Harpo, instead, builds what seems to be a cross between a bar and night club, in which he allows Shug Avery to sing.
Sofia, being a woman who abides by her own rules, had been arrested for refusing to be the maid of a white woman. Weather she felt too much personal worth or not, this shows the prejudice of the community against blacks.
As Alicia explained, the black community was not looked down upon for calling indivudals from Asia "yellow", but that indivudal would anger many of the black community if he or she called someone "black girl". It just further portreys the feelings of racism and prejudice, as if calling someone by their race or skin color is more offensive than it really is.
The thing that is different about Harpo's and Sofia's marriage is that Sofia, the wife, is in control of the marriage and of herself. This is quite different from the marriage between Celie and Mr.____, where Mr.____ always dominates Celie.
Harpo is eating so much food so he can become bigger than Sofia, who is naturally a strong woman. He feels that if he becomes bigger than her, he will be able to dominate her. I don't think that he will succeed because it is Sofia's personality that dominates more than the size of her body.
Harpo wants Sofia to behave as a dog and not a wife, because he wants someone who will obey him. He wants Sofia obey his every command, not ask questions, and still love him. A relationship should be when two people love each other and do things for each other because they want to, not because their told to.
When Sofia leaves Harpo, Harpo just lets her go because he is tired of fighting with her. He relizes that she can't be controlled by him.
This is another example of how a persons parent affects how they behave when they are older. Mr._____ abuses his wife to get what he wants, and does not care about her. Harpo is slowly becoming more and more like his father.
When Sofia visit Harpo's roadside bar, Harpo must make a big decision between two women. He can choose Sofia whom he loves but cant control. Our he can choose Squeak who he can control but does not truly love. Harpo realizes that sometimes we cant always have what we truly love. After Sofia punches Squeak in the nose, he goes to Squeak to comfort her. Insted of going to Sofia.
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