Taking place mostly in rural georgia, this collection of letters weaves an intricate mosaic of women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them, and the children they care for. Alice walker in 1982 the color purple was written by alice walker as a novel. Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to mister, a brutal man who terrorizes her. Geared to what todays students need to know, sparknotes provides. Or grab a flashlight and read shmoop under the covers. Full text of thecolorpurplealicewalker see other formats.
The color purple is an acclaimed epistolary novel by american author alice walker. Later on, it won the pulitzer prize and is now accepted as a modern classic. Still, despite the undeniable impact the book has had on audiences around the world, it remains one of the most commonly banned books even todayover thirty. The color purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an academy awardnominated film starring oprah winfrey and directed by steven spielberg, and been adapted into a tonynominated broadway musical. 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. 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. Celie, the protagonist and narrator of the color purple, is a poor, uneducated, fourteenyearold black girl living in rural georgia. Financial analysis of the color purple 1985 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability.
Lets just put it this wayif oprah and whoopi care about this book, then you definitely should too. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a. Still, theres a whole lot of it in the color purple. In 1983, walker became the first african american woman to win a pulitzer prize for fiction with her novel the color purple, which also won the national book award. Alice walker received the american book award and a pulitzer price for fiction. 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.
It explores the modern search for wholeness, connection of people in an age of fragmentation and exploitation. See a complete list of the characters in the color purple and indepth analyses of celie, shug avery, mr. On the surface, the dissension has centered on the image of black people in media. The book vividly portrays the harsh life of rural, poor african americans especially women in the precivil rights south, and has been. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the musical the color purple, expert dionne bates reflects on growing up with the powerful love. 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. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. This is absolutely the best teacher resource i have ever purchased. Get all the key plot points of alice walkers the color purple on one page. Get free homework help on alice walkers the color purple. The color purple summary from litcharts the creators of. In 1983, the year after its first publication, it won a pulitzer prize in the fiction category. 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.
In the history of afro american literature, alice walker is not a mere name but a reality and has created history for her dominant themes. The color purple by alice walker overdrive rakuten. Shmoop s awardwinning learning guides are now available on your favorite. The color purple, by alice walker, is a very intense book to read. The color purple is written in first person in epistolary.
The color purple themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. For the first time in my life, i feel just right, showing her love for shug celie. The color purple is an american novel of permanent importance. A literary analysis of alice walkersthe color purple 834 words 4 pages. Her other books include the third life of grange copeland. 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. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary. The color purple isnt actually about the color purple. 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. The color purple is a novel by alice walker that was first published in 1982.
And one of the themes is, the theme of oppression and liberation in the female characters of her magnum opus the color purple. Walker in love and trouble, meridian has set herself the task of an epistolary noveland she scores strongly with it. The color purple, novel by alice walker, published in 1982. General fiction alice walkers masterpiece, a powerful. The color purple is truly an amazing book and one i wish i could give double the 5 stars to. 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. 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. In the color purple, celie is abused by her father, and husband. And now i feels sick every time i be the one to cook. Eventually, pa marries celie off to a man who is just as abusive as pa. Alice walkers iconic modern classic is now a penguin book.
The color purple can be pretty darn intense at points, but ultimately, its an uplifting story about one womans journey toward selfdiscovery and happiness. 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. 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. When it was written, the color purple stirred up a storm of controversies, and walker was accused of representing the black society in a very harsh light and tarnishing the blackmale image. Sure, it gets mentioned here and there, but if youre hoping this will be a book about all things purple in the world, youre probably better off checking out the classic childrens book, purple this novel features a bit more than pictures of grapes, eggplants, and that weird mcdonalds. Shes got it tough straight through the first part of the book. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sisters letters from. In her first letters, she details how her father has been sexually abusing her.
The book describes the life of a young black woman in the early 1900s and her journey of self discovery. She says that she thinks god gets angry when you walk past the colour purplemore if you read the book, its a reference to something shug says to celie. The color purple flliee walker r tl pulitzer prize winner ik f tl authors. 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. 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. 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. The color purple is a powerful book with an amazing cast of strong female characters, but in my opinion, it was 100 pages too short. The color purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by american author alice walker which won the 1983 pulitzer prize for fiction and the national book award for fiction. It was one of the first recognized books dealing with black women. He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it. The first words written by celie, the novels protagonist, are dear god, and the novel ends with a letter, the salutation of which reads, dear.
Shes repeatedly raped by her father, her children are taken away from her, and shes literally sold into marriage to a man who wants a servant, not a wife. The color purple sparknotes literature guidenook book. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name taking place mostly in rural georgia, the story focuses on the life of africanamerican women in the southern united states in the 1930s, addressing numerous. The color purple was written by feminist, alice walker and it was published in 1982. Separated as girls, sisters celie and nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide. A powerful cultural touchstone of modern american literature, the color purple depicts the lives of african american women in early twentiethcentury rural georgia. Winner of the pulitzer prize and the national book award. I can certainly see how this book made such an impact by its discussion of painful topics and its feminist messages, but it was mainly the second half that brought this book down to its 3 starrating. Most of the black female characters in this book tend to be victims of violence, and. Collecting the color purple by walker, alice first. Nettie is the only character who loves celie consistently and unconditionally throughout the.
The color purple is one of the most successful and controversial books ever written by a black woman. The color purple sparknotes literature guide by alice walker making the reading experience fun. 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. The color purplea contrast of the book and movie by amy harris 2. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated african american. 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.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the color purple, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. A girl at church say you git big if you bleed every month. Celie starts writing letters to god because her father, alphonso, beats and rapes her. Celie is abused and raped by her pa, who takes away her children after theyre born. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The color purple is considered a classic womanist text. 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. Fiction celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage.