Life Struggles and Themes in Alice Walker's The Color Purple

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Born in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944 Alice Walker was last of her eight siblings. As far as becoming author, Alice walker herself was faced with many struggles throughout her life. After a childhood accident blinded her in one eye, she went on to become valedictorian of her local school, and attend Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College on scholarships, graduating in 1965(Janet Witalec). Her biggest turning point/ motivation was an author named Zora Neale Hurston, who made a great influence on Walkers later life. Later in her life she edited one of her fiction called “ I love myself when I am laughing”(Janet Witalec).

Further on in her career, she wrote“ The Color Purple” which was brought to audience in 1982, as she became a famous named author. She then, received an award called Pulitzer Prize and the movie by Steven Spielberg, which brought her both fame and controversy (Jone Lewis). Much of her work known to have the vivid sexism, racism and poverty which often brings struggle in life. As in the color purple she mentions much of how she is being treated by her husband.

Throughout, “The Color Purple” Walker shows much understanding of struggle and realizes that her life is filled with pain and struggle of all sorts. Her husband and love of her life is mostly the cause of it. By the time she realizes it jus becomes to too late to find a turning point to it. So, therefore she chooses to live with it. “Love, as much as Walker celebrates it, is never an unconflicted garden of earthly delights, mystic, romantic, lush. It is, rather, learned, often fought for, birthed in pain”(Pamela A smith). Basically, smith describes that walker has gone through much pain in life then happiness ...

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... tone and the irony creates the practical ending to the story.

Much of the book relevance was with the civil rights movement, which then created a great significance to women’s struggle and women’s rights. In today’s world we see the fact that we learn much understanding of marriages. Oprah Winfrey has also brought The Color Purple to Broadway with a musical and a great performance through one of the close and known character or role player. It has also become a hit Hollywood movie, which is recommended to see reality, played upon the screens. Further more, we see that Alice walker has made it and life changing journey for each one of us no matter what color? What race what background and what cultures? I have learned much from the novel and now know the fact that speaking up in a crowd or for your right will never be wrong no matter whom the person is….

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