The Color Purple Excerpt

4. Sofia, who is Harpo’s wife, is a strong headed and short tempered woman, and for this time period that wasn’t the expected behavior of women. Women were supposed to follow everything that their husbands said and this shows how the genders roles and switched in parts of this novel.

“All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid?

Sofia say, I say, Hell no.

She say, What you say?

Sofia say, Hell no.

Mayor look at Sofia, push his wife out the way. Stick out his chest. Girl, what you say to Miss Millie?

Sofia say, I say, Hell no.

He slap her.

I stop telling it right there.

Squeak on the edge of her seat. She wait. Look down my throat some more.

No need to say no more, Mr._____ say. You know what happen is somebody slap Sofia.

Squeak go white as a sheet. Naw, she say.

Naw nothing, I say. Sofia knock the man down.

The polices come, start slinging the children off the mayor, bang they heads together. Sofia really start to fight. They drag her to the ground.” (Walker 90-91)