Basic Essay Instructions

Introductory Paragraph

1. Choose an important and interesting word or phrase from your thesis and write about it
generally to create your opening. Remember that general does not mean vague. Basically, it
means that you are not referring to the piece that you are analyzing yet.

Social norms and stereotypes have been a thing since, well forever. There has always been an
idea that people should be and act in a way that is excepted by others. When social norms are
broken it is comes as a shock to many. But if they are never broken then there will never be
any change.

2. Transition to what you are specifically responding to by inserting the title(s) and author(s) and
how it connects to the important or interesting word or phrase you chose.

In The Color Purple by Alice Walker she includes many ways the characters in the book break
social norms and the after math of their actions. Throughout the book each character has a
different journey and the choices they make affect that.

3. Transition to your thesis statement by providing context about the text(s).

This will set up your thesis statement and create flow between the title and author and your thesis
statement.

Many of the characters rely on each other for help and reassurance. The collaboration that
occurs pushes the characters in the book to accept who they are and what they believe in.

4. Add thesis statement. Remember that this is declarative, debatable, has depth and is precise.
Everything in the essay should relate to the thesis!

Social interaction leads the characters in The Color Purple to break social norms leading to the
acceptance of themselves.

First Body Paragraph

5. Create a topic sentence. The topic sentence should answer how your thesis statement is true.
 Throughout the book gender norms are broken when interactions between characters.

6. Transition to your evidence by adding in some context of where the quote is in the book,
article, or story, who is saying it, and/or what is happening during the quote.

In The Color Purple there are many instances when gender norms are broken. Sofia for
instance doesn’t follow gender norms. She always is doing a mans job or putting others in their
place. Since she was brought up fighting her family, she acts more manly rather then feminine:
“She say, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to
fight my cousins and my uncles” (page 40). Sofia also has a desire for doing a mans job. For
example she says, “I rather be out in the fields or fooling with the animals. Even chopping
wood” (page 59). This is how Sofia perceives herself and how she has always accepted herself.
Harpo also breaks gender norms when Sofia says to Celie that he likes to cook: “But he loves
cooking and cleaning and doing little things around the house” (page 59). Cooking is known as
a womens job. Sofia acting more manly pushed Harpo to see change and accept himself. Celie
breaks gender norms when she starts making pants. Men and women have very different
wardrobes in terms of the book. They were never supposed to wear the same thing, making
Mr. ___ question Celie when he goes to visit: “That was the day he come to visit me while I
was sewing and ast me what was so special bout my pants. Anybody can wear them, I said.
Men and women not supposed to wear the same thing, he said. Men spose to wear pants” (page
271). Celie had accepted the fact that men and women can both wear pants, now Mr. ___ just
has to except that it is okay. The interactions Celie and Mr. ___ have changes his view on
pants and sewing. Mr. ___ breaks gender norms by sewing with Celie and talking about alike
interests. One interaction Celie and Mr. __ have he states that he has always liked sewing:
“When I was growing up, he said, I used to try to sew with my mama cause that’s what she
was always doing. But everybody laughed at me. But you know, I liked it” (page 272). Mr. ___
used sewing as a way to spend time with his mother and now he uses it as a time to spend with
Celie. Mr. ___ sewing with Celie and not caring what anyone thinks shows that the
interactions with Celie and lead him to accept that dewing isn’t just an activity for women.

7. Add in the evidence in the form of a quote or quotes.

8. Interpret the quote and tell how it proves that your topic sentence is true.

9. Finish by synthesizing the whole paragraph. Write about how the paragraph proves that your
thesis statement is true.
 The Color Purple has many examples of gender norms being broken and what leads to them
being broken. The characters are accepting and grow throughout the book due to gender norms
being broken.

Second Body Paragraph

5. Create a topic sentence. The topic sentence should answer how your thesis statement is true.

Social interactions lead to the breakage of social norms in The Color Purple.

6. Transition to your evidence by adding in some context of where the quote is in the book,
article, or story, who is saying it, and/or what is happening during the quote.

Social norms are in the mind; shaped by the experiences of other people actions. In The Color
Purple characters justify the presence of social norms, for example it is a social norm for a
man to beat his spouse when she does not do what he says. This social norm lead Harpo to
believe that all women are going to take the beating and listen to what a man says. Not in his
case however, Sofi, being brought up fighting, is very strond willed and will not go down
without a fight. Feeling frustrated Harpo goes to Celie for advice on what to do: “Harpo want
to know what to do to make Sofia mind. He sit out on the porch with Mr. ___. He say, I tell her
one thing, she do another. Never do what I say. Always back talk” (page 35). Being raised and
exposed to a father who beats his significant other when she does not do what he ask lead
Harpo to think that it was okay. Harpo felt like he was not embodying the role of a male
partner correctly, leading him to say, “I want her to do what I say, just like you do for Pa”
(page 62), to Celie. The constant loss lead Harpo to accept that his relationship would not
involve violence. Another example is Mr. ___ and Celie, ontop of physical abuse he also
verbally abuses her. Mr. ___, like Harpo was raised with a father like he has become. Being
raised by a father figure like Old Mr. ___, lead Mr. ___ to think it is okay to physically and
verbally abuse his spouse, just like Harpo having the need to beat his significant other just to
feel manly enough. Throughout Mr. ___ and Celie’s relationship it was very toxic. When Celie
says she is going with Shug to Tennessee Mr. ___ doesn’t agree. He doesn’t think Celie will be
successful. Mr. ___ says to Celie when she exclaims she is leaving, “Look at you. You black,
you pore, you ugly, you a women. Goddamn, he say, you nothing at all” (page 206). Though
the time spent away from each other was helpful. When Celie returned, Mr. __ and her got
along. The time spent apart helped Mr. ___ to accept and change himself to be more respectful
of others decisions.

7. Add in the evidence in the form of a quote or quotes.

8. Interpret the quote and tell how it proves that your topic sentence is true.

9. Finish by synthesizing the whole paragraph. Write about how the paragraph proves that your
thesis statement is true.

Social norms in The Color Purple help the characters to accept themselves and accept the
situations they are in without feeling the need to fulfill the acceptance of others in a
community.

Third Body Paragraph

5. Create a topic sentence. The topic sentence should answer how your thesis statement is true.

When interactions occur between people in The Color Purple cultural norms are broken.

6. Transition to your evidence by adding in some context of where the quote is in the book,
article, or story, who is saying it, and/or what is happening during the quote.

There are a few examples of cultural norms in The Color Purple and how they lead someones
to accept themselves. Cultural norms are the shared expectations and rules that guide the
behavior of people within social groups. The cultural norms in The Color Purple help to bring
social groups together or other times tear them apart. One example of cultural norms in The
Color Purple is people thinking women are meant for doing housework like cleaning, cooking,
reproduction, etcetera. Women were expected to do the cooking and the cleaning while men do
all the dirty work around the house. Women weren't supposed to do a man job or else she
would be looked at as masculine and disobedient. A lot of the time women stuck to the normal
cultural norms and did what they were supposed to do around the house. When Celie was
being showed to Mr. ___ for the first time to be his wife, Celie’s “Pa” described Celie in a
degrading way: “She ugly. He say. But she ain’t no stranger to hard work. And she clean. And
God done fixed her. You can do everything just like you want to ane she ain’t gonna make you
feed or clothe it” (page 8). This quote from the book showed that women were just used for
labor. A quote from the book also supports women being used and looked at for the same
things. This quote from Mr. ___ explains how women are looked at in their culture: “All
women good for- he don’t finish” (page 22). The different interactions had between the
characters lead women to break free out this this norm and do the things they want to, instead
of being forced to do something they don’t. Women interaction and coming together helps then
to feel important. Feeling important and doing something you enjoy leads to the acceptance of
oneself. Another example of a cultural norm in The Color Purple is when Sofia talks back to
 and hits the mayor. This was very unexceptable for Sofia to do, especially because she is a
balck women and the mayor is a white male. A series of quotes from Celie explaining how the
whole situation happened: “Sofia say, Hell no.” (page 85). Celie explains more of the situation
saying, “Sofia say, I say, Hell no” (page 85). After Sofia repeated herself Celie explains, “He
slap her” (page 85). Sofia not being one to lose a fight: “Sofia knock the man down” (page 85).
Sofia didn’t help the situation by talking or fighting back. It is known culturally that women
are not supposed to talk back to men, especially men that are not your husband. Sofias actions
went against all cultural norms. This situation led Sofia to spend time in jail, then finally being
released to go work for the mayors family. All the time Sofia spent in jail and working for the
mayors family helped her accept her actions and herself as a person.

7. Add in the evidence in the form of a quote or quotes.

8. Interpret the quote and tell how it proves that your topic sentence is true.

9. Finish by synthesizing the whole paragraph. Write about how the paragraph proves that your
thesis statement is true.

Cultural norms are something that everybody knows and follows and when they are not
followed consequences arise, which then lead to acceptance.

Conclusion

11. Begin by repeating the word or phrase that you wrote about in your opening and why this
word or phrase should be important to your reader. You are creating a springboard to launch
your explanation of why this essay should be important to the reader.

Social norms are everywhere, they are the guidelines of life, they lead to the behavior of
people. When people break social norms acceptance becomes present. Social interactions are
the catalyst for acceptance and changes in The Color Purple.
12. Think about why your essay should be important to the reader. In other words, why is it
important to others besides yourself. You are making your opinion more valid by saying that it
is also true for others, community, country and/or world.

People all around the world have different ideas of what social, gender, and cultural norms are.
These norms are made up in ones mind and are later the criteria for a person for what is right
and wrong. It all depends on how you are brought up in this world and what you do with the
knowledge you retain. Norms can be the thing that changes a persons life, if they have broken
them or continued to follow their idea of them.

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The social norms brought up in The Color Purple are still enforced today.
The characters decide who they want to be and they don’t let others decide for them.
The way some characters were raised helped them to finally accept the situations they are in.