The first few pages begin Walker's narrative of the life of Celie, a fourteen-year-old black girl who lives with her dying mother and her sister, Nettie. Her stepfather, Alfonso, is portrayed as the villain of the narrative, first demanding sex from Celie's sick mother and then demanding it from young Celie herself.
The reader is struck by the colloquial, black-southern language of the text, as well as the graphic scenes of sexual abuse. Celie writes her story in the form of letters addressed to God. It seems she can trust no one else with her secrets.
Soon Celie's mother dies, leaving her to tend to the family. The pattern of abuse from Alfonso, usually described as "he,"" continues, eventually leaving Celie twice pregnant. Her first baby is taken by Alfonso and killed, while her second child seems to have been sold by her stepfather. Celie hides all this from her dying mother however, saying that God took the children.
Eventually Alfonso comes home with a young girl who is apparently his new wife. Nettie, at the same time, seems to have become an older man's girlfriend. Celie hopes that Nettie will marry Mr. __ (this older man) because she wants to protect her younger sister from Alfonso, who seems to be thinking about raping her as well.
Celie believes that she can no longer have children. This pleases her, since she hates always being "big."".
Finally Alfonso tries to persuade Mr. __ to marry Celie instead of Nettie. Afer several months of consideration, Mr. __ finally agrees, saying that he needs a mother for his children. It seems that Celie is very hard-working and good with children, though very ugly. Her main draw-back is the fact that she spoils the children, always giving them what they want. Perhaps this is because she was so neglected and abused as a child-- she wants to give the other children what was never given her.
As in her old home, Celie isn't treated very well as the wife of Mr.
The Color Purple Theme Reflection In The Color Purple Walker expresses many ideas and themes. A major theme that I saw was the gender roles were often confused from the traditional roles that are often portrayed. In present time many men and women have also strayed from the traditional ste...
The Color Purple is clearly an example of this genre in that it is written using a series of letters written by the principal character, Celie, and also her sister Nettie. ... In The Color Purple, Walker effectively uses the epistolary genre to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the novel's central character, Celie. ... The Color Purple closely follows the growth of Celie on her journey of self-discovery. ... Walker appeared to learn from this problem and went on to write a sequel to The Color Purple which addresses Nettie and her outcome. Nettie still plays a significant role in Th...
THE COLOR PURPLE Alice Walker wrote this novel from her own personal experience, growing up in the rural South as an uneducated and abused child. ... In the novel she also uses color. The color purple is the color of royalty, which exemplifies the endless possibilities available to Celie and other black women if they stand up for their own rights. The Color Purple is a historical novel; it never refers to any factual events. ...
"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is a novel that is written in letterforms. ... What does the color "purple" symbolize Why did Alice Walker title her novel the "The Color Purple"? The color "purple" is an important symbol because it concern the life of young Celie and the pains and sorrows she lives through. ... In 1982 Alice finished her novel "The Color Purple." "The Color Purple" is not like most novels. ...
The Color Purple There is much controversy about weather or not the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, is an appropriate reading material for the high school classrooms. ... Additionally, it was not uncomfortable discussing any of the content of The Color Purple aloud in class. ... In conclusion, I consider Alice Walker's The Color Purple, to be a suitable novel for a high school classroom to read. ...
The Color Purple Essay One of the most widely known and false stereotypes is that women belong in the kitchen, and men are suppose to make the money. In The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, there are some main characters that prove this stereotype wrong. ... "I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it. " I believe a woman being inferior to a man is our society's color purple. ...
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a book about a young girl named Celie whose character undergoes a huge transformation in attitude from a passive and quite girl to a strong and courageously confident woman (Color 1). ... Throughout her life Walker went on to write many more books and win lots of awards, especially for her most famous book, The Color Purple. The Color Purple is said by many professionals to be Alice Walker's best piece of work. ... Peter Prescott comments in a Newsweek review that; "The Color Purple is an American novel of permanent importance, that rare sort of...
The Color Purple Alice Walker was highly influenced by the works of Zora Neale Hurston. Both authors show many similar ideas in their books. One similarity between the two authors was what they based the book on. Zora and Alice wrote their books on black women, and the struggles they we...
Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple to capture and illuminate the hardship and bitterness African American women had to face in the early 1900s. ... The Color Purple, was published in 1982. ... In The Color Purple, as in her other writings, Walker focuses on the theme of double repression of black women in the American experience. ... The primary theme of The Color Purple, though, reflects Walker's desire to project a positive outcome in life, even under the harshest conditions. ... Although her response sometimes varies, she most frequently answers, "Remember, the movie is not the boo...