Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole. Pretty colors a literary analysis on alice walkers, the color purple alice walker was a writer who influenced many people in her time, and continues to influence a copious amount of people still today considering she is still living. A literary analysis of alice walkersthe color purple 834 words 4 pages. The color purple the color purple, novel by alice walker, published in 1982. In the first few letters, celie tells god that she has been raped by her father and that she is pregnant for the second time with his child. The book paints a vivid picture of life in the rural south during the 1930s. Chapter 6 pages 126150 most of this section is taken from the narrative of the letters from nettie to celie. Celie, nettie, sophia, shug avery, each of them must fight her own battle against repression and prejudice, each of them must help themselves and each other.
Today in schools and churches around the nation, fundraising different things for their club or church to help them either travel or help pay the expenses of things. The color purple is considered a classic womanist text. Walker does social criticism in her novel, mostly criticizing the way black women were treated in the early twentieth century. As an adult, celie befriends and finds intimacy with a blues singer, shug avery, who gradually helps celie find her voice. But the title undoubtedly comes from a passage near the end of the novel, in which shug says that she believes that it pisses god off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and dont notice it.
Colours such as purple in this novel play a very important role in the way that they. General fiction alice walkers masterpiece, a powerful. Note that the novels title is alluded to in letter 12, when celie associates the color purple with royalty and longs for a purple dress. Explain the title of the color purple in relation to its theme. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class. In liberia, where nettie and company are being missionaries, there are many strange customs which they must get used to. The color purple flliee walker r tl pulitzer prize winner ik f tl authors. The book describes the life of a young black woman in the early 1900s and her journey of self discovery. Her other novels include by the light of my fathers smile and possessing the secret of joy. The color purple won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1983, making walker the first black woman to win the prize. The color purple sparknotes literature guidenook book. It uses detailed imagery to paint a picture of all of the characters, their physical and emotional attributes.
It is jubilee by margaret walker, and it is just a gorgeous book with an amazing heroine. Integration take control celie stands up for herself by moving out, leaving her husband, and starting a new life contemporary context. This is absolutely the best teacher resource i have ever purchased. The colour purple is a relatively recent novel though, so in this case it may be used to add to the sense of realism by blanking the name, it makes you feel as though the author is trying to protect a real persons identity. It gave me the same feeling as the color purple, and i deeply associate the two books since i read one right after the other. A powerful cultural touchstone of modern american literature, the color purple depi. The story takes place in rural georgia for most of the book. The novel, the color purple, is about the main character, celie, and her sister nettie. May 28, 2003 the color purple is one of the most successful and controversial books ever written by a black woman. The color purple is an american novel of permanent importance.
Like celie in the color purple, she eventually develops selfesteem. Alice walkers pulitzer prizewinning the color purple weaves a mosaic of women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them, and the children they care for. In this lesson, we will summarize her book, the color purple, and take note of some the key quotes that make the novel so memorable. Free summary for the color purple study guide analysis book summary free book notes online download by alice walker. She is also the author of three collections of short stories, three collections of essays, seven volumes of poetry, and several childrens books. Nov 26, 20 the color purple is the international bestselling novel by alice walker, an african american writer from eatonton. Free summary for the color purple study guide analysis book. The color purple sparknotes literature guide by alice walker making the reading experience fun. Published in 1982, walkers epistolary tale chronicles the startling tragedy and triumph of a poor black woman named celie in her struggle for selfempowerment, sexual freedom, and spiritual growth in rural georgia in the early twentieth century. The color purple is truly an amazing book and one i wish i could give double the 5 stars to. Alice walker won the pulitzer prize and the national book award for her novel the color purple.
The color purple opens with celies memory of her fathers command that she stay quiet about his abuse of her. The selfactualization celie achieves transforms her into a happy, successful, independent woman. Having first seen the film on a flight to vancouver, i knew this would be a good story but i was unnerved by the epistolary approach, the dialect and the first person pov. And now i feels sick every time i be the one to cook. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide. Some other characters are celie and netties stepfather, celies husband, and celies lover, shug. The 4 healing processes womanist theology parallels to hagar forced surrogacy ravaged abuse exploitation liberation by initiative 4. In her first letters, she details how her father has been sexually abusing her. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes. In 1983, the year after its first publication, it won a pulitzer prize in the fiction category. The color purple is a novel by africanamerican author alice walker. Louis with her mother, she is raped and remains mute for a number of years. Oct 19, 2008 the color purple was written by feminist, alice walker and it was published in 1982.
She believes that god places beauty in the world to make human happy. He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it. Reading the color purple by jacqueline bobo the color purple, the novel and the film, have both been the subject of intense opposition since the arrival of alice walkers book in 1982 and the release of steven spielbergs film in december 1985. Books like the color purple by alice walker suggested. By intense, it is a book touching very difficult and hard aspects of life of a poor, black oppressed woman in the early twentieth century. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the color purple, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The color purple study guide contains a biography of alice walker, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and an. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated african american womans struggle for empowerment, the color purple was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black english vernacular. Her other bestselling novels include by the light of my fathers smile, possessing the secret of joy and the temple of my familiar. Get free homework help on alice walkers the color purple. Alice walker won the pulitzer prize and the american book award for her novel the color purple, which was preceded by the third life of grange copeland and meridian. It explores the modern search for wholeness, connection of people in an age of fragmentation and exploitation. The color purple reflection by chantal mcmahon on prezi. The color purple, by alice walker, is a very intense book to read.
The color purple cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Essence banner winner of the pulitzer prize and the national book award bio bestselling novelist alice walker is also the author of three collections of short. The tribal people, called the olinka, are not used to black missionaries all the previous ones were white. Okay, i remember this book bc i read it in the same summer i read the color purple. The color purple, novel by alice walker, published in 1982. Alice walkers iconic modern classic is now a penguin book. Celie, a young girl who lives with her abusive father, her sick mother, and her younger sister nettie, begins writing letters to god. Walker emphasizes throughout the novel that the ability to express ones thoughts and feelings is crucial to developing a sense of self. On the surface, the dissension has centered on the image of black people in media. A girl at church say you git big if you bleed every month. Walker in love and trouble, meridian has set herself the task of an epistolary noveland she scores strongly with it.
Alice walkers biography and its correlation to the color purple pg. The color purple deals with a black womans struggle to free herself from a position of servitude in a maledominated society. Parents need to know that the color purple is a moving, inspirational novel told in letters that includes an abundance of mature content explicit sex, rape, incest, sexism and violence toward women, and a lesbian relationship. Celie is abused and raped by her pa, who takes away her children after theyre born. Book summary alice walkers the color purple weaves an intricate mosaic of women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them, and the children they care for. Books similar to the color purple meet your next favorite book. She say, my first step from the old white man was trees. Susan kim the authors style plot summary historical information about the period of publication characteristics of the genre in the color purple, celie tells her story through series of letters written to god. In the color purple, in the color purple, nettie and celies daughter and son travel and they start to try and raise money for their missionary jobs in africa. The color purple is a novel by alice walker that was first published in 1982. It is about being a woman and a black, living in the frame of male civilization, racist and sexist, being subject to all possible forms of oppression.
Eventually, pa marries celie off to a man who is just as abusive as pa. It was published in the united states in 1982 and won the national book award for fiction and the pulitzer prize for fiction in. Full text of the color purple alicewalker see other formats. See a complete list of the characters in the color purple and indepth analyses of celie, shug avery, mr. The color purple by alice walker plot summary litcharts. Nettie runs away from alphonso and finds refuge with celie and mr.
Celie, the protagonist and narrator of the color purple, is a poor, uneducated, fourteenyearold black girl living in rural georgia. The book vividly portrays the harsh life of rural, poor african americans especially women in the precivil. Celie takes the act of sewing, which is traditionally thought of as a mere chore for women who are confined to a domestic role, and turns it into an outlet for creative selfexpression and a profitable business. It was an international bestseller, won both the american book award and the pulitzer prize, and in 1985 was made into a muchdiscussed movie directed by steven spielberg. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis.