The author and his or her times Alice Walker is a famous African American novelist, well known for the book The Color Purple. Alice was born in Eatonton, Georgia on February 09, 1944. She wrote The Color Purple in 1982, becoming her third published novel. Alice Walker came from a family of working sharecroppers, and lived in a poverty situation. She was the youngest of eight children. Unfortunately she attended a segregated school as she lived in a divided city in the south. Over the time of growing up, Walker had the honor to graduate as Valedictorian of her high school class. To further her education she was able to attend Spelman college in Atlanta and later go into Sarah Lawrence College in New York City. Her life has impacted the …show more content…
novel The Color Purple. It has a lot to contribute to her lifestyle in the south, like racism, segregation, domestic violence and sexism. Over the time after college, she had the privilege to work as a teacher and social worker.
In that time, Walker become an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement. She began to fight for the rights of all African Americans. She was also able to stand up for the Black Feminist Movement. Due to her life experiences she put it down all on …show more content…
paper. Her poems about her life experiences influenced the majority of her career. For Structure, and plot The novel begins with a fourteen year old named Celie writing letters to god. She has grown up being poor and uneducated. During the years of growing up she has been physically abused and raped by her own father, Alphonso. She then become impregnated by him and the babies are taken away from her. Celie has a best friend and that is her sister, Nettie. As a man they call Mr. wants to have Nettie as a wife, her father refuses and will only allow him to marry Celie the one who is called “ugly”. He then decides to take Celie into his home and her unfortunate misery begins. The novel begins as letters that Celie has been writing towards god. She writes her everyday feelings on how her life has been progressing over time and to how she is to be a housewife and is to care for other children that are not hers. It then transitions into letters from her sister, Nettie. Letters Celie has not been able to receive because of Mr. hiding them from her. It followed a chronological order of events in their everyday lifestyle. Celie then encourages Nettie to leave the abusive household she was living with her father. She went to live with a couple that have adopted Celie’s two children. There Nettie has been able to obtain an education and live a happy life. She spent some time living with Celie and Mr. Character Celie is the protagonist, she is a fourteen year old girl, she is hardworking girl regardless of how she emotionally feels. “I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me,” it is the first sentences she states beginning her letter. Celie is a fragile young girl, who doesn't understand why she gets physically abused and is sold of to someone like is she meant nothing. She is to be surrounded by Mr.’s old lover, Shug Avery, whom she builds a strong connection with. Over the time they both become close companions. She has a low-self esteem due to how others would have their perspective on her. It all changed because of Shug Avery, she helped her become confident within herself through her appearance. Nettie is Celie’s younger sister, unlike Celie she is well educated. She can read and write and makes the effort to She has been fortune of the couple that took her in their home, Samuel and Corrine. They adopted Celie’s children, Olivia and Adam. Alphonso he is the father of Celie and Nettie, which later in the novel Nettie finds out he is not their biological father. He is abusive to the girls and never makes a change in his life to stop causing harm to females because of how sexist he is. Mr, is an antagonist to the novel, he marries Celie and as well rapes her for his pleasure. He comes in contact with an old lover, Shug Avery who he has his moments with while married with Celie. Over the time, he begins to adapt to a new personality. He no longer intends to be sexist and mistreat women. Celie stands up to him and states his wrongs. Reason why they later have the ability to be respectful to each other as friends. Shug Avery is an independent woman who sings blue’s genre music. She is seen as a women with inappropriate morals in the beginning because of her personality and way of dressing. She feel the need to be a strong women so no man can disrespect her. Celie has looked upon her because of how she has influenced her life and self-esteem. Unfortunately, Avery becomes very ill and stays in the home of Mr. while Celie looks after her. Celie never thought of her a bad person she always felt she was a kind women. Harpo is Mr.’s oldest son.
He is nothing like his father, he is a respectful man with women and shows it to the one he marries, Sophia. He enjoys cleaning and cooking, but his father finds it wrong for him to be moving his hands around in the kitchen, Harpo doesn’t want to follow the stereotype that women are only meant to clean and cook. He faces issues in his marriage with Sophia because of his father’s word. Mr. tells him he is to beat women, but he doesn't have the heart to hurt Sophia in that manner. Sophia is a strong woman who does not allow a man to disrespect her. She stands up for herself and isn’t afraid to put an end to a stereotype of men treating women as an object. Setting Walker adds no specific description of the setting in the novel. However it does take place in Georgia. It took place in a time where people were still riding from place to place on a wagon pulled by horses. I can assume it was around an area in the south with poor African Americans and some rich White people. The letters don't state the date they were written. In the novel we begin with Celie being fourteen years old and follow her life for around thirty years.
Diction The novel is written with an informal diction, such as slang words. “Why, wasn’t nothing to come here in the winter time and all these children have colds, they have flue, they have direar, they have newmonya, they have worms, they have chill and fever,” the spelling emphasizes Celie’s inability to spell properly. She is an illiterate young girl who didn't have the opportunity to attend school and obtain an education. Throughout the novel it utilizes informal and colloquial diction. They use everyday words with no advanced vocabulary. On the other hand with Nettie, she has a more formal diction, She speaks different compared to Celie it is very obvious who is educated and who is not. She had the chance to learn from the couple that took her in their home. Nettie has had the opportunity to travel around other places in the world and expand her knowledge.
She was America’s first black, self-made female millionaire, but always remembered she grew up in poverty. She was deprived of an education, so she built a school, she was born to former slaves so she spoke out for equal rights for black Americans and spoke out against discrimination. She used her social status and power to have her voice heard. At the time of her death, Walker was the sole owner of her business which was worth over one million dollars, and her personal fortune was estimated between six hundred to seven hundred thousand dollars.
Alice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers. Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome arduous lessons of life. Once she managed to transfer the struggles of her life into a book, she instantaneously became a world-renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner. The Color Purple is a riveting novel about the struggle between redemption and revenge according to Dinitia Smith. The novel takes place rural Georgia, starting in the early 1900s over a period of 30 years. Albert, also known as Mr._____, and his son Harpo must prevail over their evil acts towards other people, especially women. Albert and Harpo wrong many people throughout their lives. To be redeemed, they must first learn to love others, then reflect upon their mistakes, and finally become courageous enough to take responsibility for their actions. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker effectively develops Albert and Harpo through redemption using love, reflection, and responsibility.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, Publishers. New York, San Diego, London, 1992
Alice Walker's short fictional story, "Nineteen Fifty-five", revolves around the encounters among Gracie Mae Still, the narrator, and Traynor, the "Emperor of Rock and Roll." Traynor as a young prospective singer purchases a song from Mrs. Still, which becomes his "first hit record" and makes him rich and famous. Yet, he does not "even understand" the song and spends his entire life trying to figure out "what the song means." The song he sings seems as fictional as certain events in this story, but as historical as Traynor's based character, Elvis Presley.
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2000. Print.
Alice Walker grew up the youngest of eight children. She was in an accident as a child that left her blind in one eye. She is best known for her work The Color Purple. Much of her work is focused on Civil Rights for African Americans. In Alice Walker’s poem Remember? she begins by posing a question. Just by the title, the reader begins to believe that this poem is taking place in the past, it may cause the reader to think of another time where they have been asked the question, remember? To paraphrase, the poem begins rather dark, a hate for Walker’s physical appearance, which makes reference to her past time when her eye had been shot by a BB gun. She continues with detest towards her life and the way that she is living her life, "holding their babies / cooking their meals / sweeping their yards / washing their clothes." After these first two stanzas, the poem shifts into a powerful and defiant outlook. She no longer lets this hate for herself, or the hate that comes from the oppression against her skin color to affect her. She turns from looking at the bad times that have struck her life, as moments for possibility for the future.
There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and family, she is able to overcome her obstacles and grow into a stronger, more self-assured individual. While there are numerous themes transpiring throughout the course of the novel, the symbolism is one of the strongest prospects for instigating the plot.
Alice Walker’s writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings around her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walker’s most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns women’s struggle for freedom in a society where they are viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel.
The author of “ The Color Purple “ was Alice Walker. The awards that the book won was the Pulitzer Award for fiction, the National Book award [hardcover], The National Board of Review Award of Best Film, and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress. It was made into a film and a musical. The publisher was Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. The publication date was 1982. The book's genre is a novel. It is in the hundred most Frequently Challenged books of 2000-2009 at number 17 because of the
• Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia. She was born into a poor sharecropper family, and the last of eight children.
Before the Civil Rights Movement, which took place from 1955-1968, African-Americans had a difficult time establishing an identity and their rights. However, for many African-Americans, the Civil Rights Movement developed a purpose for one’s life and progressed African-Americans’ status and rights in society. Although some people may argue that the Civil Rights Movement was not productive and only caused conflict and havoc, due to the majority of African-Americans still employed in low-level jobs and many towns affected by the Civil Rights Movement being torn apart and degraded, those effects were only temporary and tangible to others. The Movement had a much more profound effect of giving one a purpose or “spark” in life, which later led to African-Americans demanding more rights and equal status in society.
The novel, The Color Purple, is an epistolary novel. In the letterforms, Alice Walker gives several ideas, such as, friendship, domination, courage & independence. She impacts readers by looking at the story through the eyes of Celie and Nettie. The book describes the fateful life of a young lady. It tells how a 14 year old girl fights through all the steps and finally she is in command for her own life. Celie is the young lady who has been constantly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused.
Alice Walker, one of the best-known and most highly respected writers in the US, was born in Eatonton , Georgia, the eighth and last child of Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker. Her parents were sharecroppers, and money was not always available as needed. At the tender age of eight, Walker lost sight of one eye when one of her older brothers shot her with a BB gun by accident. This left her in somewhat a depression, and she secluded herself from the other children. Walker felt like she was no longer a little girl because of the traumatic experience she had undergone, and she was filled with shame because she thought she was unpleasant to look at. During this seclusion from other kids her age, Walker began to write poems. Hence, her career as a writer began.
The progression of civil rights for black women that existed throughout the twentieth century mirrors the development Celie makes from a verbally debilitated girl to an adamant young woman. The expression of racism and sexism that evidenced itself during the postmodern era presented Walker with an opportunity to compose a novel that reveals her strong animosity toward discrimination. Without these outlets, Walker would not have had the ability to create a novel with such in-depth insights into the lifestyle of an immensely oppressed woman. The novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the story of a poor, young black girl, growing up in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century.
According to the bibliography portion of “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, Alice was born in Georgia and attended Spellman College before transferring to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Her first work was a book of poetry that was published while she was still in college. She moved to Mississippi and became a teacher and a civil rights activist. Walker’s work is known for highlighting the struggles of African American women during her time and in the past. One of the most popular works by Walker was, The Color Purple.