The Color Purple Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Alice Walker’s illustration of an oppressed black woman in a racist society is remarkably vivid and powerful. Through the use of several literary devices and a first-person point of view, Walker gave the novel a realistic yet impactful effect. She applies her tone as an author and uses symbolism to convey a profound message to the readers.
Tone
Walker is adept at using tone to pull the reader into the minds of the characters. Tone fills in as an effective literary technique that personifies a character. The novel is written in first person which gives it a personal feel and allows the reader to understand the characters better. The effect of her brilliant syntax is demonstrated when Celie says “It all I can do not to cry. I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree. That's how I know trees fear man” (A. Walker, 23). By associating with Celie, the reader is able to have a better understanding of the character’s nature. In early parts of the novel, Celie showed humility in her speech and rarely responded to any form of abuse. However, as she attains power, her meek voice changes to one of pride and dignity. By applying a skillful use of tone, Alice Walker

emphasizes the improvement and progression of Celie’s character.
By incorporating detailed descriptions and the lively, vivid language of the characters, along with the special use of letter form in place of chapters, The Color Purple left a pleasant mark on my life.
Symbolism
Purple
Purple is commonly associated royalty and beauty which signifies power.

In The Color Purple, the color depicts the beautiful creations of God that both men and women enjoy. It symbolises Celie’s discovery of happiness after being perplexed by rape, abuse, and injustice. Celie isn’t aware of it’s existence until Shug sways her attention to the colour purple. Celie acknowledges the colour when Shug says “it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it” (A. Walker, 196). Like how Celie recognizes the colour purple, she accepts her own beauty and learns about the other creations of God that give pleasure to people’s life. As she begins to enjoy living, she paints her room purple which signifies that she now perceives herself as beautiful and appreciates

herself.
In the preface, the author Alice Walker writes “this color [purple] is always a surprise but is everywhere in nature” (A. Walker, Preface). This can symbolise the similarity of Celie’s hidden strength and the color purple. Just like how Celie surprisingly demonstrates her inner courage as she defies Mr. ______, the colour purple is present and common, yet it always seems to leave a passionate impression.
God
For much of the novel, Celie perceives God as a white man with a beard. Since Celie has been abused by men, she has a negative impression of God. With Shug’s help, Celie comes to the realization that God can be anything that symbolises happiness and joy. This is evident in her final letter when she says “Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God” (A. Walker, 285). Celie’s dramatic reimagination of God represents her movement from subservient to independence.