Three Messages From The Color Purple
A discussion of Three Messages From Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Alice Walker has distilled some of the most controversial literature of her time. Her work has been the foundation for many colored writer's ambitions as well as many others. Her work has stroked passion and evoked a copious amount of different emotion among not only Americans but people around the world. Her story The Color Purple is a prime example of the essence of her persona and the messages she tried to portray. Walkers ideas embedded into this story great strike the souls of Americans, even to the point where this story is being banned from high schools around the country. Jacqueline Bobo states in her book, “This analysis will show
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Charles Whitaker questions the fact, “Is this the Alice Walker, the alleged fire-breathing feminist, or "womanist" (to use her term) whose Pulitzer Prize Winning novel, The Color Purple, has, for many, come to symbolize Black male bashing at its worst? This novel that Walker has created is certainly a masterpiece, but as Whitaker shows with his questioning, this novel strikes immense amounts controversy among it’s readers and leaves most confused and concerned about Walker's intentions. On a more important note, it is important to consider the fact that this book has been banned all over the country by various schools and libraries due to its controversy. See, the problems with humans is that when they confront something they don’t understand or don’t agree with, the first thing they do is simply remove it. Very often does humanity take the effort to understand the things they don’t agree with, but quite often those ideas are crucial in our race's …show more content…
"29 n The Color Purple: Black Women as Cultural Readers." Cultural theory and popular culture: A reader (1997): 310.
APA
Doyle, Brian. "The Courage of His Convictions." U.S. Catholic, Nov. 2017, p. 23+. General OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514097532/ITOF?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=ITOF&xid=78df1c7f. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.
Hart, Hilary. "The Joy of Being -- Feminine Wisdom and the Power of Weakness." Spirituality & Health Magazine, May-June 2009. General OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A206951911/ITOF?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=ITOF&xid=a73ab7df. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.
Moore, Dianne-Jo. "The importance of friendship." Arthritis Today, Nov.-Dec. 1988, p. 40+. General OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A7055948/ITOF?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=ITOF&xid=1a078a2f. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.
Whitaker, Charles. "Alice Walker: 'Color Purple' author confronts her critics and talks about her provocative new book." Ebony, May 1992, p. 86+. General OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A12290929/ITOF?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=ITOF&xid=fadfb6f0. Accessed 28 Nov.
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Show MoreWalker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, Publishers. New York, San Diego, London, 1992
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 family, she is able to overcome her obstacles and grow into a stronger, more self-assured individual. While there are numerous themes transpiring throughout the course of the novel, the symbolism is one of the strongest prospects for instigating the plot. In The Color Purple by Alice Walker, numerous symbols influence and drive the plot of the novel.
Alice Walker’s writings were greatly influenced by the political and societal happenings around her during the 1960s and 1970s. She not only wrote about events that were taking place, she participated in them as well. Her devoted time and energy into society is very evident in her works. The Color Purple, one of Walker’s most prized novels, sends out a social message that concerns women’s struggle for freedom in a society where they are viewed as inferior to men. The events that happened during and previous to her writing of The Color Purple had a tremendous impact on the standpoint of the novel.
The author of “ The Color Purple “ was Alice Walker. The awards that the book won was the Pulitzer Award for fiction, the National Book award [hardcover], The National Board of Review Award of Best Film, and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress. It was made into a film and a musical. The publisher was Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. The publication date was 1982. The book's genre is a novel. It is in the hundred most Frequently Challenged books of 2000-2009 at number 17 because of the
Alice Walker grew up in rural Georgia in the mid 1900s as the daughter of two poor sharecroppers. Throughout her life, she has been forced to face and overcome arduous lessons of life. Once she managed to transfer the struggles of her life into a book, she instantaneously became a world-renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner. The Color Purple is a riveting novel about the struggle between redemption and revenge according to Dinitia Smith. The novel takes place rural Georgia, starting in the early 1900s over a period of 30 years. Albert, also known as Mr._____, and his son Harpo must prevail over their evil acts towards other people, especially women. Albert and Harpo wrong many people throughout their lives. To be redeemed, they must first learn to love others, then reflect upon their mistakes, and finally become courageous enough to take responsibility for their actions. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker effectively develops Albert and Harpo through redemption using love, reflection, and responsibility.
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2000. Print.
The novel, The Color Purple, is an epistolary novel. In the letterforms, Alice Walker gives several ideas, such as, friendship, domination, courage & independence. She impacts readers by looking at the story through the eyes of Celie and Nettie. The book describes the fateful life of a young lady. It tells how a 14 year old girl fights through all the steps and finally she is in command for her own life. Celie is the young lady who has been constantly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused.
In 1983 Alice Walker made history when she became the first female, African-American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and The National Book Award for her novel, The Color Purple (Alice Walker Biography). The book, The Color Purple, also happened to be ranked number 17 on the American Library Association’s 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990-1999 list (American Library Association) The novel is frequently challenged because of inappropriate language, racism, physical abuse, rape, incest, homosexuality, violence, and sexism. The Color Purple is a fictional novel that is told by a poor black woman, named Celie, living in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century. Her story is portrayed through letters that she writes to God and then later on too her sister. In her letters she writes about all the pain, humiliation, and struggles that she encounters throughout her life. Celie’s sister Nettie, whose story is also told through letters that she writes to Celie after she runs away from home is in the book. Through all the pain and suffering in Celie’s life, her letters help her to discover herself and eventually find joy.
Symbolism was a major literary element that is developed throughout The Color Purple. A model or image of God in the novel was a truly disturbing and yet a touching dedication to the female spirit and its search for equality, acceptance and independence. The meanings of names, clothes, quilting, occupations, power, and colors are only a few examples of the symbols used by the author to develop the characters of the story. No matter how hard and long Celies looks, it seems impossible to find love and happiness for herself. The purple color itself symbolized love while religion was often seen as offering a path of transformation-a way that leads through to happiness. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker used the symbolism of the letters to God,
I had the opportunity to read “The Color Purple” by Alice walker. Walker was able to illustrate neglect, abuse and oppression of a young black woman in the early 20th century. At the end, she shows how a woman must fight back to regain the self esteem and confidence lost way back in the early adolescent years. The Color Purple is a beautiful story about strength, growth, self-esteem, endurance, fight, all nurtured by love.
Alice Walker states that ‘The Colour Purple’ remains for her the “theological work examining the journey from the religious back to the spiritual”. How successful is she in revealing her purpose to the reader?
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple takes place in Georgia from 1910 to 1940. During this time racism was easily visible and apparent in society. Black people were seen as lesser beings in contrast to their white counterparts. However, not only are all of the colored characters within The Color Purple forced, by means of oppression, into their social positions because they are not white, but also because some of them are women, lesbian, and lower class. As Crenshaw explains, “[b]ecause of their intersectional identity as both women and of color within discourses that are shaped to respond to one or the other, women of color are marginalized within both” (Crenshaw 5). Celie, the main character in the novel, is given enormous adult responsibility from a young age. After the death of her mother, she is pulled out of school in order to...
Throughout The Color Purple, Alice Walker conveys the importance and the power of female friendship in all forms. It shapes and forms the strong bond of female companionship as means of refuge from oppression, male dominance and a world full of violence perpetrated against woman which the female protagonists wish to break free from. Walker constantly reminds the reader of the gruelling pursuit of identity that all are in search for, both in Africa and America; for females to gain equal recognition as individuals who deserve fair and just treatment in a patriarchal society where as Albert states “Men suppose to wear the pants" in soceity. In conclusion, not only leading Celies personal growth as independent woman but also to the extraordinary establishment of a female solidarity network within the novel. It is this network of female friends that wages a potent challenge to dominate over the patriarchal structure in the text.
Alice Walker's use of characterization in her novel The Color Purple depicts her main theme of female empowerment and the importance of maintaining an assertive voice. The tyrannical male characters, the victimized female characters, and the development of the protagonist, Celie, express Walker's firm views of female independence in a male dominated society. Her feminist views have been influenced by her experiences with discrimination as an African-American woman as well as her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. These experiences serve as an inspiration for developing the character Celie, a young black woman discovering her own sense of self while battling a male dependent environment. The progression of civil rights for black women that existed throughout the twentieth century mirrors the development Celie makes from a verbally debilitated girl to an adamant young woman. The expression of racism and sexism that evidenced itself during the postmodern era presented Walker with an opportunity to compose a novel that reveals her strong animosity toward discrimination. Without these outlets, Walker would not have had the ability to create a novel with such in-depth insights into the lifestyle of an immensely oppressed woman.
One of the most popular works by Walker was, The Color Purple. In this Alice Walker story, the reader meets a girl named Celie. In this novel, Walker takes the reader on a journey through much of Celie’s life. While taking the reader through this tale, Walker draws attention to a number of social aspects during this time period. Through Cilie’s life, Walker brings to light the abuse and mistreatment of African American women from 1910 through the 1940’s. “Women were also regarded as less important than men-both Black and white Black women doubly disadvantage. Black women of the era were often treated as slaves or as property” (Tavormina page 2...