Analysis Of Alice Walker's The Color Purple

but I didn't wink”. This important to the overall mood of the story because Celie is sad throughout most of the book because she is physically abused by Mr._____ for stuff she can't control or because he wants to make sure she knows who has the upper hand. The format of the letters which are addressed to God but the way Alice Walker writes the

The book focuses mainly on a woman named Celie, who has lived a hard life already when, at the age of 14 she begins

There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and

Commonly known as the author behind the epistolary novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker is a native Georgian who considerably influenced the culture of the state. Her legacy begun February 9th, 1944 in Putnam County, Georgia when she was born to proud African American parents as the youngest of eight children. Her father, Willie Lee Walker, was a sharecropper blessed with a mind adept in mathematics, but cursed with substandard farming skills, and therefore was not a good source of income for his sizable family. Alice’s mother, Minnie Lou Tallulah Grant, was a hardworking woman who made up for her husband’s low income by working as a maid. Walker’s mother was also a woman who valued and recognized the importance of education. Jim

    Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, is a novel about a young girl named Celie and the events of her life.  When she is young, she is abused by her father which results in her becoming pregnant by him.  She is forced by her father to marry a man who the novel names Mister, who prefers Celie’s sister, Nettie, over Celie.  Later in her life, she comes into contact with a woman named Shug Avery, who is a former lover of Celie’s husband.  Over the course of her life with Mister, she becomes more independent due to Shug’s influence, eventually moving with Shug to Tennessee to get away from Mister.  She eventually returns to Mister, who has changed for the better realizing how much he needs Celie and his son, Harpo.  When Celie returns to Georgia, she reunites with her sister Nettie and Celie’s two children by her father.

The book is basically a collection of letters that is for the first half of the book, addressed to God. In the very beginning of the book, Celie’s father says, “You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” (Walker 1). Celie’s father has her convinced that her only confidant is God, and that telling anyone else of her abuse would only cause unwanted trouble and pain. Celie believes this and starts writing letters to God, telling him of all that goes on in her everyday life. Walker has Celie write letters to God to demonstrate how the abuse that she endures not only affects her physically but also mentally. She has succumbed to the beliefs of her father, which forces her to believe that her only purpose is to be an obedient wife and mother. He breaks her down by abusing her and persuading her not to tell anyone or her mother’s death would be her fault. He then shapes her into a submissive woman who thinks that the abuse is normal. Her father is able to brainwash Celie to think that she is “…a nonentity, merely a receptacle through which he can fulfill his sexual desires” (Huskey 102). She is nothing more than an object in her father’s eyes. He has abused her so much that she believes what he says, which affects her relationship with men. The abuse has tore Celie down, but she doesn’t fully realize it. She thinks that it is completely

Celie was born into an underprivileged family of African American farmers in the early twentieth century. Celie’s story is parallel to the post civil war era of the United States, educating the reader of the African Americans’ low position in society. Even though blacks were free from slavery, prejudiced Jim Crow Laws controlled them. When the characters were in public, they were forced

Celie isn’t forced to keep all the problems she has to deal with inside. She is able to release it as it comes in her writing to Nettie. It gives her the dose of hope she needs to deal with Mr. ________. In her writing, Celie describes her suffering, “Shug laugh and laugh when he got anything to say. Show teef and tits aplenty Me and grady try to carry on like us civilize. But it hard. When I hear Shug laugh I want to choke her, slap Mr. _______ face. All this week I suffer” (119). Subsequently, she then reveals that in this darkness, this time of suffering, she turns to prayer, writing letters to God (199). Her writing is her escape, her fantasy, where she can let her imagination flow without barriers: “I lay there thinking bout Nettie while he on top of me, wonder if she safe. And then I think bout Shug Avery”

Throughout these chapters it was shocking for me to discover that Olivia and Adam were in fact Celie’s biological children. But it was even more surprising how Alphonso lied to Samuel claiming that his wife was too ill to take care of the children. Because Samuel’s wife, Corrine, was not able to conceive a child, they couldn’t turn down Alphonso’s offer to raise Olivia and Adam as their own. Moreover, I felt sympathy for Celie after discovering from Alphonso that her biological father was lynched to death. After learning about her true family background, Celie begins to lose her faith with God. Rather than writing to God like she has done previously, she writes letters to Nettie instead. When Nettie confesses that she is Adam and Olivia’s aunt, Corrine becomes defensive

The society in which she lived forced her to act the way she did. Walker shows Celie as part of a community which shares struggles, and women are oppressed by men. In this society, " The white man destroyed the black man, the black man destroyed the woman( Klosowski 5). Celie is dominated and abused by the majority of the male figure in the novel including her stepfather. Her stepfather was a major influence in her life. Her stepfather raped her, causing the birth of two children whom he gave away to an old friend. The second man in her life, her husband, abused her not only physically by beating her but he also abused her verbally by calling her names. These two men left her subdued and passive. She became emotionally dead with this

This idea develops in Celie’s mind when she witnesses both Shug Avery and Sophia talk back to their lovers and still managing to come out of a disagreement unharmed and unpunished. The first time Celie notices this is when Sofia and Harpo get into a big fight after Celie and Albert tell Harpo to beat her if she is not minding her as any regular wife should. However, the significance of this fight is that it does not end in the woman being harmed, but rather the man losing the battle and being harmed himself. “Next time us see Harpo his face a mess of bruises. His lip cut. One of his eyes shut like a fist. He walk stiff and say his teef ache.” (Walker 37) During Harpo and Celie’s conversation, Harpo simply pushes his cuts and bruises off as a mere incident with their ignorant mule, even though Celie assumes it must have been Sofia after she and Mr._____ told him to beat her. Despite Harpo’s best efforts Sofia refuses to do anything he says and only does what she would prefer or whatever her main concerns are. In doing so, Harpo and Sofia get in multiple fights, which typically result in Harpo getting hurt and scratched up after trying to beat her, which is not revealed until their second fight that Celie happens to witness. “Harpo and Sofia. They fighting like two mens....He try to slap her. What he do that for? She reach down and grab a piece of stove wood and whack him across the eyes.” (Walker 38). This intrigues Celie since her entire life has been the exact opposite, and she even reveals to Sofia that she is jealous of her lifestyle and how she is able to call the shots rather than Harpo. “I say it cause I’m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can’t...Fight. I say.” (Walker 40) Celie begins thinking about being a free woman more after seeing

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! “Her writing explores multidimensional kinships among women and embraces the redemptive power of social and political revolution.” (Whitted) Her works range from short poems to long novels that have been read by thousands. In each, she presents several messages. In the novel, The Color Purple, Walker is able to portray three main messages.

Celie has every reason in the world to hate God from being repeatedly raped, forcefully married, and separated from her children, but she “leans not to her own understanding”. Throughout all her life, she has consistently been betrayed, exploited, and abused by the men designated to protect her. “He said he wouldn’t do it to me if he was my uncle”, she cried as she struggles to understand why she was betrayed by her love ones (Walker). She places all of her faith in God to resolve her current gender role with no rational reason other than she has nothing to lose. God sends his greatest battles to his strongest warriors.

The comfort of knowing that the oppressive man who rapes her isn’t blood related to her in any way and that her children aren't actually her siblings gives her a sense of freedom and relief. This encourages Celie to form her own identity, not as Alphonso’s daughter nor victim, but rather as an individual, now that she knows the accurate story behind her mother and biological father. Although Celie is not able to become completely free from Alphonso nor Albert right away after reading these letters, she is one step closer to obtaining freedom; she feels free spiritually and emotionally learning the truth that has been hidden from her for several

Alice Walker is a phenomenal novelist who is best known for her stupendous, award-winning piece on the Color Purple. This book not only appealed to the readers emotional sense, but provided an unforgettable impact to listeners across the nation. This novel provided me with a new perception concerning relationships and how to know my worth. It also allowed me to be more cognizant and appreciative the materialistic things I possess that others would love to have. The Color Purple is also a very graphic novel that displays depression, violence, intimacy, poverty, and discrimination. Within the Color Purple, Walker gives various scenarios that can be applied to real life situations and later provides solutions on how to overcome these scenarios.