Slomski, Genevieve. "The Color Purple." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 8 Nov. 2016. This article begins as most of the other articles looked at do, with a summary of the novel The Color Purple. In the summary there isn’t any analysis, but as the article progresses there are critical evaluations. It begins by saying how this novel has won the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. The article continues to elaborate on the main themes presented in the novel. Some of the themes mentioned are the successes of black women, insanities, and oppressions. Slomski brings up how most of the characters are very isolated in the small town of theirs, but they are still able to find ways to work through
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Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Nov. 2016. The article first begins with introducing the character Shug Avery. Smith describes her as, "...sassy, sensual, bounteous woman who awakens the brutalized and silenced Celie to her own strength and sexuality". Shug Avery also introduces a God who is of the birds, air and trees instead of him being known as the old, gray bearded guy. As the article progresses Smith talks about Walker's, "womanist credo", which basically means that Alice Walker articulates womanism throughout the novel. Next the article discusses Eros, which is the Greek God, son of Aphrodite. Smith explains how Walker concentrates the novel around the thoughts of love, gay love, old love, and new love. Pamela Smith also explains eros and the womanist theory of Walker relating to each other. She says, “men and their religions have tended to make love for anything and anybody other than themselves and their Gods an objectionable thing, a shame”. Smith then begins to transition into activism. Smith explains how Walker ties in her Native American ancestry in one way or another. However, Walker does not only tie in her own background, she stands up for those who are voiceless. In many of her writings Alice Walker dedicates her writing to emotional suffering, the silencing of women, growth and one’s well being, cruelty, decision making, and so much more. The second to last topic discussed in this article is about pantheism. Pantheism is a …show more content…
Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea House of Publishers, 2000. 34-36. Print. The article begins to describe Walker’s novel Meridian. It describes how she personifies her own life growing up and political realities she faces. The novel is centered around a child who is surrounded by Indian galore; on her walls there are Indian leaders and her father’s farm is on ancient burial grounds. Meridian, the main character in the novel, learns from many mystical experiences. The article then begins to analyze how the Indian’s in this story relate directly to Walker’s life. The main theme between the two is that there is a community between man and nature. In the article it states, “The Power if the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round”, this furthermore explains how everything in the world wraps up together and relates to one another. This article will be of good use if a research paper is written about the author, Alice Walker. However, if the research paper is written focusing on The Color Purple then this article will not be of great
Alice Walker's rough life growing up, gives us a clear image of how her background impacted the delicate themes she writes about in her novels. For example, at a young age, Walker was insecure about her appearance, which led her to a new mental state of mind. In an interview of Alice by O'Brien, she describes, "I daydreamed of falling swords, putting guns to my heart or head, and of slashing my wrists." (O'Brien). Alice Walker's insecurities led her to be depressed, which then introduced her passion for writing. Alice Walker's history of depression may pinpoint the reason she started writing but moreover, what she started writing. Alice Walker writes about sensitive topics including racism, sexism religious views, and homosexuality. Many
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a very controversial novel, which many people found to be very offensive. It is basically the struggle for one woman’s independence. The main character in The Color Purple is Celie a coloured woman with little or no education at all. She is one who has been used and abused by all the men in her life, and because of these men, she has very little courage or ambition in her life. She has so little courage, that all she wants to do is just survive. Through the various women she meets throughout here life like: Shug, her sister, and Harpo’s wife, she learns how to enjoy herself, gain courage and happiness. She finally learns enough and with the final straw she could no longer bare, she leaves her husband
The most important aspect of The Color Purple is the growth and maturity of each individual. There is a huge transition of many of the characters from the beginning to the end of the novel. This evolution of the characters is a recurring theme that runs throughout the novel and can be tracked by Celie’s letters. The women struggle for freedom in a society where they are inferior to men. Towards the end of the novel one can sense the slow evolution towards the increasing empowerment of women.
The essay "In Search of Our Mother's Gardens" by contemporary American novelist Alice Walker is one that, like a flashbulb, burns an afterimage in my mind. It is an essay primarily written to inform the reader about the history of African American women in America and how their vibrant, creative spirit managed to survive in a dismal world filled with many oppressive hardships. This piece can be read, understood, and manage to conjure up many emotions within the hearts and minds of just about any audience that reads it. However, Walker targets African American women in today's society in an effort to make them understand their heritage and appreciate what their mothers and grandmothers endured to
Firstly, The Color Purple (1982) is written by the African- American novelist Alice Walker. For creating such an innovative novel, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award. Walker initiated her novel by a confession that The Color Purple is her spiritual journey and the female protagonist represents her during this journey. The novel is made up of 90 letters written by Celie to God and some of these letters are written by Nettie to her sister Celie. These letters are similar to a diary that Celie finds as a way to express her feelings , emotions and thoughts in a place she is not permitted to be free. Generally, the novel portrays a life and a journey of a young fourteen -year- old black girl who is persecuted throughout her life from her stepfather who repeatedly raped her and forced her to marry a cruel man who, in turn, oppressed her.
A common theme among the black female characters of each novel and their need for freedom is their desire for emotional, spiritual, and mental freedom. It is significant because it shows that there is a specific experience that only those who are black and female can truly and sincerely understand. The authentic experience of the black female is expressed by Alice Walker as being the “mule of the world,” in her work, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” She discusses the obstacles that girls faced when trying to earn success, in her work she states, “Hindered by contrary instincts..that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty”(235). These contrary instincts are the societal obstacles placed in the system to prevent women from
The Color Purple is an honest emotional story about love, trust, respect, separation, friendships, and the bond between sisters. It was published back in 1982 by Alice Walker. Walker is a huge activist, and even participated in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movements in Mississippi. Throughout her novel she uses excellent rhetoric to convey her strong emotions. The Color Purple uses ethos to show you how horrible abuse is, logos to help give the characters confidence, and pathos to convey the pain.
As Nettie receives opportunities Celie could never fathom, their relationship comes to a halt. Celie stops receiving letters from her sister and is left to take care of her husband’s obnoxious children from a previous marriage, and is verbally/physically abused on a daily basis by both her husband and his children. Celie’s husband has a torrent affair with Shug Avery, a blues singer with a practical mentality who does not endure any mistreatment from anyone, regardless of their gender. When Shug Avery falls into Celie’s care, Shug Avery teaches Celie a thing or two about self-confidence and the strength she must find within herself to stand up to her husband. Towards the end of the novel, Shug Avery encourages Celie to leave her husband and move with her to Memphis, where she can escape the pain of her past and for once in her life be happy.
Color of Purple is a Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular.
Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2591800015/GVRL?u=lawr16325&sid=GVRL&xid=1e7cd2ff. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.In this article, the author discusses sexism in the novel The Color Purple. Specifically, the author uses Celie as an example of how sexism is portrayed in this time period. For example, Celie's dad would not let her continue her education at school. Her dad believed she needed to find a husband and take care of their house.
The Colour Purple is a novel that was written by the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winner, Alice Walker. The Novel was published in 1982 and was later turned into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985. The book is about a young girl, Celie who was oppressed and seek to find happiness in life. Despite her inner turmoil, she had a strong belief in God, and also hopes that she would find her estranged sister, Nettie who loved her with all her heart. She got pregnant at an early age by the man she thought was her father. Celie was also a young bride who was being abused by her husband.
Life is a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs. Left turns, right turns, and sometimes completely upside down loop de loops. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story about a colored woman named Celie who writes letters to God while living through extreme oppression and abuse. Celie eventually overcomes her oppressors by finding her purpose in life through friendship, love, hope, and change in faith. Discovering hope, love, and faith leads to a fulfilling life through difficult times.
This upbringing is exhibited in her writing where, “black vernacular was prominent and the stamp of slavery and oppression were still present” (Alice Walker). Additionally, Walker’s parents faced many obstacles in order to provide the best life possible for her, influencing her childhood, and consequently her
The women of the late sixties, although some are older than others, in Alice Walker’s fiction that exhibit the qualities of the developing, emergent model are greatly influenced through the era of the Civil Rights Movement. Motherhood is a major theme in modern women’s literature, which examines as a sacred, powerful, and spiritual component of the woman’s life. Alice Walker does not choose Southern black women to be her major protagonists only because she is one, but because she had discovered in the tradition and history they collectively experience an understanding of oppression that has been drawn from them a willingness to reject the principle and to hold what is difficult. Walker’s most developed character, Meridian, is a person
In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, she explores the thin grey line that stands between survival and living. Through her protagonist, Celie, she examines the dramatic shifts of empowerment; focusing on the young black girl in the 1850’s.