The Color Purple - Hell No
Though the film “The Color Purple” takes place in the 1900’s
to 1930’s, the film was made in 1985 based on the novel written in 1982. This particular scene shows the struggle of a
lower class woman to protect her pride when degraded by an upper class woman. Mrs. Millie, the mayor’s wife, asks Sofia to
be her maid. When Sofia attempts to
stand up for herself and her rights, she answers with a blunt, “Hell no!” When the mayor hears her response, he slaps
her to punish her for her lack of respect.
Sofia then slaps him back to defend her self worth and knocks him
out. She is sent to jail and sentenced to
12 years of being the mayor’s maid- the very thing that hurt her pride to begin
with. This is both a battle of
socioeconomic class and race. Mrs.
Millie believes that she is kind to the lower class Sofia, but in actuality,
she is unknowingly oppressing her and her family. Because Sofia is of lower class and a minority
race, Mrs. Millie assumes that her offer is morally correct and should be
appreciated. This is a struggle that
continues to exist today between the upper and lower class.
- Carly Cibelli
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