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What are the central issues raised in Alice Walker, the color purple
What is the significance of the color purple by alice walker
Alice walker female character in literature
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The Color Purple is an epistolary novel written by Alice Walker. This novel displays the growth and development of an average African-American woman. This novel demonstrates the everyday hardships that were placed on blacks, and how they battled to overcome them. It is a very controversial novel, and touches on a variety of sensitive topics, from spousal abuse, incest, to even lesbianism.
Alice Walker vividly explains the difficult, yet realistic, life of blacks in their communities. She writes of how the black men, who at this point in time are inferior to the white men, use their wives to provide them with feeling of importance. Women, in this period of time, were viewed as workers, housekeepers, and objects. “Celie’s object status is evident in the beginning when she is given to Albert [Mr.___] in the place of Nettie [Celie’s sister] … she is also a substitute for Albert’s true love Shug” (Tucker 84). In The Color Purple the relationship between Celie and Mr. ___ undergoes many changes. Throughout the novel, you begin to visualize the unpleasant relationship they have and you start to see how this will ultimately transform Celie into the strong individual she really is.
There are several events that contribute to the transition of Celie. “From the beginning of the novel there is an element of fantasy in the book.
Smith 2
Celie becomes the ugly duckling, who will eventually be redeemed through suffering” (Harris 159). After being separated from her sister, Celie begins to realize that there is no one else there for her, but God. Walker captures this this sense of abandonment by using epistolary to tell of Celie’s conversations with God through letters. Celie at this point in the story could be described as imageless. Wit...
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...ldren who were taken from her at the time of their births. Celie also becomes aware that her father, who indeed was her stepfather, left her a house. Celie finally leaves Mr.___ to reunite with her sister and her children, whom she had never met. After their remarkable journeys in life, Celie and Nettie finally reunite and live a happy and satisfactory life together with their family.
Having won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, and also the National Book Award for Fiction, Alice Walker will forever be noted in history for breaking the literary barrier in African American literature. She not only conveyed the importance of blacks, but also distinguished the necessity of African American women in America. “ No one has ever written a novel which so unequivocally posits that the lives and freedom of black women are of crucial importance and concern (insert 111)
Alice Walker’s love of Zora Neale Hurston is well known. She was the only one who went looking for Hurston’s grave. She describes her journey to get to the unmarked grave in her book, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. During that journey, Walker started to feel as if Hurston is family to her, an aunt. “By this time, I am, of course, completely into being Zora’s niece… Besides, as far as I’m concerned, she is my aunt – and that of all black people as well” (Ong). Walker’s book, The Color Purple, was influenced by Hurston and her works. Walker was greatly influenced by Hurston and her book The Color Purple has similarities to Hurston’s book Their Eyes Were Watching God.
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.
2. Write a brief summary of the events that made Celie decide to take control of her life.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, Publishers. New York, San Diego, London, 1992
With Shug being a famous singer, Celie had admired her from before they had even met. When she entered Celie’s life, she then became the most inspirational person to Celie. Throughout the novel, Shug taught Celie how to become a person who explores her spirituality and help recover her family history. This all leads to Celie getting a sense of self identity. An important part in the book is when Shug tells Celie that she has never been sexually pleased. “Here, take this mirror and go look at yourself down there…” (Walker, 77). This for Celie is similar to an infant looking at themselves in the mirror for the first time. In Celie’s case, she is able to claim her body as hers for the first time in her life, (Lister, 67). In some ways, Shug was also a mother figure to Celie. She gave Celie love and affection in ways that she had never gotten before. “Us sleep like sisters, me and Shug.” (Walker, 146) The affe...
Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston are similar to having the same concept about black women to have a voice. Both are political, controversial, and talented experiencing negative and positive reviews in their own communities. These two influential African-American female authors describe the southern hospitality roots. Hurston was an influential writer in the Harlem Renaissance, who died from mysterious death in the sixties. Walker who is an activist and author in the early seventies confronts sexually progression in the south through the Great Depression period (Howard 200). Their theories point out feminism of encountering survival through fiction stories. As a result, Walker embraced the values of Hurston’s work that allowed a larger
One of the most important symbols that Walker incorporates into the plot is the letters written by Celie to either God or Nettie, signifying the power of voice. The epistolary format of the novel itself enables readers to understand Celie, whose letters are initially addressed to God. After being raped by her stepfather at the age of fourteen, he tells her to “never tell nobody but God” (Walker 1); thus, Celie’s original letters are presented more as confessions and prayers. This first letter itself “initiates the story of Celie's unrelenting victimization” (Bloom, and Williams 77-88), and the audience notices that the way in which Celie narrates ...
In the book “The Color Purple” the writer Alice Walker illustrates a story of bravery, struggle and oppression. The main character in the book, Celie, is shown as a submissive woman with no intention of changing. Celie turns into a strong independent woman at the end of the novel, but first she faces some very large obstacles. Walker, from the beginning, illustrates what the story will contain: “You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mommy.”
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.
Alice Walker is vital to the ideas of literary traditions because she is a writer who speaks about how she feels. She writes from what she knows, not what she has learned. Walker, in her stories expressed the problems that may have kept a group in people from achieving what they wanted in life, but still managed to show that these people still had joy in their lives. Her works should continue to be incorporated into Literature on the college level in order to maintain for those who do not understand the plot of African Americans the struggle they faced. She is a powerful force in the Literature that can stand with the likes of Shakespeare because she presents her works in a manner to make the reader think about what life and what is really important. All three of these short stories support the main thought in this essay because Walker as a writer, wrote from what she knew; she grew up in a culture where African Americans seemed to be enslaved to their race which in turn, forced them
Throughout The Color Purple, Alice Walker conveys the importance and the power of female friendship in all forms. It shapes and forms the strong bond of female companionship as means of refuge from oppression, male dominance and a world full of violence perpetrated against women which the female protagonists wish to break free from. Walker constantly reminds the reader of the gruelling pursuit of identity that all are in search for, both in Africa and America. For females to gain equal recognition as individuals who deserve fair and just treatment in a patriarchal society where, as Albert states “Men suppose to wear the pants” in society. In conclusion, not only leading Celies personal growth as an independent woman but also to the extraordinary establishment of a female solidarity network within the novel.
The Color Purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, Celie. Celie, a clear victim of abuse, narrates the story through a collection of writings that starts with her confession of “Dear God.” Celie’s story encompasses around her life and the characters that breaks the common gender depiction. The story heavily addresses the subject of social and behavioral standards for either men and women. It raises an issues on traditional marital subjects, family patriarchy, and social topics. In a traditional take of the family structure, the man often exhibits the dominant male figure head with the final say. The father provides the money and security for the wife and children as well as claim authority over the family. He becomes very work oriented and cares for the children only in times of need. On the other hand, the woman acts to be passive and pleases her husband. She plays a major role in raising and educating the children in every way possible. Often times, the woman takes a small part in maintaining a profession; although, she holds responsibility for all house work. The societal perspective of the patriarchal family system relies so heavily on gender roles that it becomes an expectation and the regulated norm. The Color Purple disrupts this gender norm by introducing characters that faces marital issues due to being the opposite of the typical gender role. Because they embody the opposite gender’s likely attributes, it becomes a questioning issue that leads to striving to live up to social norms or dealing with society disapproval. Within the progression of the novel, the women possess a sense of empowerment while as the men accept how things are in the world. The introducti...
Celie expresses this accomplishment when she states at the end of the novel that "this the youngest [she] ever felt" declaring that her final step into female empowerment has allowed her to begin her new, independent life (Walker 295).
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple takes place in Georgia from 1910 to 1940. During this time racism was easily visible and apparent in society. Black people were seen as lesser beings in contrast to their white counterparts. However, not only are all of the colored characters within The Color Purple forced, by means of oppression, into their social positions because they are not white, but also because some of them are women, lesbian, and lower class. As Crenshaw explains, “[b]ecause of their intersectional identity as both women and of color within discourses that are shaped to respond to one or the other, women of color are marginalized within both” (Crenshaw 5). Celie, the main character in the novel, is given enormous adult responsibility from a young age. After the death of her mother, she is pulled out of school in order to...
One of the most popular works by Walker was, The Color Purple. In this Alice Walker story, the reader meets a girl named Celie. In this novel, Walker takes the reader on a journey through much of Celie’s life. While taking the reader through this tale, Walker draws attention to a number of social aspects during this time period. Through Cilie’s life, Walker brings to light the abuse and mistreatment of African American women from 1910 through the 1940’s. “Women were also regarded as less important than men-both Black and white Black women doubly disadvantage. Black women of the era were often treated as slaves or as property” (Tavormina page 2...