The Color Purple Research Paper

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Themes in The Color Purple
“Tell nobody but God.” (Walker 1). The introductory statement from Celie in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple initiates her progressive journey of finding hope and redemption in the midst of opposition. Preston Mckever-Floyd describes The Color Purple labeling it as a “Veritable fusion of transformations of people, cultures, and worlds.” (Mckever 426). The Color Purple can certainly be classified as a story of transformation. Celie begins the novel as a young girl who lacks confidence, security, and faith, scarred by the horrific happenings of her childhood. While Celie could let the traumatic events of rape and abuse continue to turn her life into a spiral ride down, she instead allows the people who come into her …show more content…

With the appearance of her eye fixed, Alice’s confidence rose in her social and academic life. She began watching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak which inspired her to join the Civil Rights Movement (Lazo 31-33). Walker continued to excel in school, graduated as valedictorian of her class, and went on to attend Splelman College followed by graduating from Sarah Lawrence in 1966 (Lazo 34-35). Before graduation however, Walker became pregnant out of wedlock while traveling in Africa her junior year. Walker considered suicide as a way to escape the wrath she knew her parents would incur. Instead, Alice opted for abortion with the support of a friend. Experiencing extreme guilt, Alice turned to writing as an outlet. She moved to the poorest part of New York City and began her writing career (Lazo …show more content…

The simplicity of Celie’s plea in the midst of her struggle demonstrates her reliance on God as a listening ear even in the beginning stages of her underdeveloped faith. At this point in Celie’s life, she has already undergone the trauma of abuse, rape, pregnancy, and loss of a child at the young age of fourteen. Celie’s response to her baby’s assumed death displays her knowledge of God. When asked what happened to her baby Celie replies, “I say God took it.” (Walker 2). In reality her father, Alphonso, took the baby, but Celie blurred the distinction between God and man. Celie’s impression of God is that he is the murder of her child and can be equated with all other white men. She associated God with “fear and violence” because God is a “he” and the only men she knows in her life have been oppressive and insensitive (Hankinson 321). The reader can assume that the only reason Celie wrote to God despite her immature understanding of Him is because He acted as a captive audience to which Celie could express everything that happened to

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