The novel ‘The Colour Purple’ is one of the most prominent works of Alice Walker. She won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the year 1983 for this novel. She was involved in a lot of campaigns, drives and black movements. Her writings mostly consisted of black injustice, women suffering, the hard times and her experiences. common themes in her writings include religion, love, civil rights (was part of the civil rights movement and tought for women rights), freedom and individual expression and racism. She herself suffered pain and injustice when she was young among her family. She couldn’t be open about anything to her family to an extent that she began writing privately at the age of 8 without their knowledge. …show more content…
In the beginning of this novel it is seen that Celie the protagonist is writing letters addressed to God. The very first line of the novel states this, “You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.” This line probably indicates that her step father (Alphonso) had threatened her about not telling anything to anybody other than God or else her mother would die. Hence all her letters were addressed to God until there comes a point in time where she starts losing her faith in God often questioning ‘why’ she had to go through all the pain first her separation from her children, then her sister Nettie after sometime Shug Avery and Mr.____ hiding away Nettie’s letters from her. Before all of this she never felt hopeless and alone as she had God in her life. She would visit the church regularly and give the preacher all the help he needed in order to spread God’s word in town. Shug is seen as an object of sin and sexuality by the church and the townsfolk. Off and on Celie calls on God’s help and guidance in her day-to-day life. When Nettie runs aways from home and then Celie’s house she stays with a man and his wife. This couple are Christian missionaries and the man, Samuel being a reverend has devoted their lives to God. They have two children who according to them are God’s gift. Being deeply religious they teach Nettie the bible and narrate to her different bible
It is this epistolary form of storytelling that allows the characters introduced to the reader by the character of Celie to reveal themselves their roles and their culture in an authentic sounding way. Celie, writes as she speaks, in a colloquial manner not normally considered 'proper English' For example the word 'us' is substituted for 'we' and there are misspelled and phonetically spelled words throughout. In other novels, when a character's speech is written in colloquial language it usually signals their comedic role in the story. However, in the beginning of The Color Purple, Celie's letters to God, poignantly (sometimes painfully so)reveal the confessional narrative of a young girl whose sex and race excludes her from formal education. She can say plainly what is happening to her but she cannot interpret he actions of the people around her. She must unburden herself somehow and courageously breaks the silence with her letters to 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.
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2000. Print.
Alice Walker is woman of class, diversity, and feminism. More importantly, she is a civil rights activist, novelist, poet, and essayist. Growing up poor, I would like to think motivated her, and crafted her to the woman she is at this time in her life. Her works is a tasteful gratification of what it was like fighting for equality for all African Americans, affirming the possibility to love and forgive amongst black and white people, and just writing impeccable wisdom. While attending Spelman College, she turned down a scholarship to study abroad in Paris, and instead she went to Mississippi to pursue civil rights.
A common human behavior due to illusory superiority is to overestimate skill, capability or perception of oneself in comparison to others or underestimate it. Alice Walker, a black woman herself, a partaker of feminist and anti-racist activism has created a scenario that nearly every person from any cultural background can identify with. Miss Millie in the Color Purple has, in fact, internalized racism and refuses to acknowledge it, maintaining that she is “less racist” than the “other white people”. While viewing herself as superior among blacks and whites, Miss Millie remains in denial about her subtle racism and is unaware of the fact that her comments are insults rather than the compliments she assumes them to be. This disconnect fuels Sofia’s response, “Hell no”, as an offended person of color. With the use of imagery, language, and the character’s unconscious and conscious motives, Walker accurately depicts a scene bursting with themes of racism, sexism, and cultural stereotypes.
At the beginning of the book Celie announces her dependence on God by recognising that she can “tell nobody but God” about the abuse she is receiving from her stepfather.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, Publishers. New York, San Diego, London, 1992
In 1983 Alice Walker made history when she became the first female, African-American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and The National Book Award for her novel, The Color Purple (Alice Walker Biography). The book, The Color Purple, also happened to be ranked number 17 on the American Library Association’s 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990-1999 list (American Library Association). The novel is frequently challenged because of inappropriate language, racism, physical abuse, rape, incest, homosexuality, violence, and sexism. The Color Purple is a fictional novel that is told by a poor black woman, named Celie, living in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century. Her story is portrayed through letters that she writes to God and then later on to her sister.
In Alice Walker’s book The Color Purple, she was portraying the life that African American women had to go through daily. The books tells a story about how black men would mistreat black women; sexual and physical abuse (Kauffmann). The Color Purple’s purpose is to recognize the heartaches, but by telling it in a story form; showing that by writing a story that can be learned from ones suffering (Fiske). According to Fiske, “The Color Purple is continually equated with suffering and pain… described as the color of "eggplant" (Fiske).The women went through physical abuse, mental abuse, and sexual abuse throughout the whole book.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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...