The Color Purple (Morgan Ford)

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Date of Publication: 1982

Genre: Epistolary novel, confessional novel

Morgan213 19:41, 19 April 2012 (MDT)



Author Biographical Information
Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the eighth and youngest child of Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker and Willie Lee Walker. Her parents were poor sharecroppers. Alice grew up in an environment of violent racism which, along with her family's poverty, left a permanent impression on her writing. After graduating from high school in 1961 as the school's valedictorian and prom queen, Walker entered Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, on a scholarship. At Spelman she participated in civil rights demonstrations. She was invited to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home in 1962 at the end of her freshman year, in recognition of another invitation she had received to attend the Youth World Peace Festival in Helsinki, Finland. She attended the conference and then traveled throughout Europe over the summer. In August 1963 Walker participated in “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” where she heard King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Morgan213 19:25, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

Setting: Historical Information
The history of the American state of Georgia spans pre-Columbian time to the present day. The history of the state is formed by its original Native American inhabitants, European exploration and settlement, specifically British colonization, the American Revolution, the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Georgia's economy flourished due to cotton prior to the Civil War, thanks to the cotton gin created by Eli Whitney. Georgia was formed in 1732 as a trustee colony and was named for George II, but became a royal colony in 1752. The colony originally prohibited slavery, a prohibition which lasted until 1749. Afterward, slavery grew in the colony, with many slaves coming from Sierra Leone, the Gambia, and Angola. Morgan213 19:25, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

Genre
An epistolary novel is also called a novel of letters, because the narration takes place in the form of letters, possibly journal entries, and occasionally newspaper reports. It allows a writer to include multiple narrators in his or her story, which means the story can be told and interpreted from numerous viewpoints. Confessional writing is a first-person style that is often presented as an ongoing diary or letters. Morgan213 19:27, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

Plot Summary
Celie is abused and raped by her Pa, who takes away her children after they’re born. Eventually, Pa marries Celie off to a man who is just as abusive as Pa. Celie’s new husband, Mr.__ simply marries Celie to take care of his four children, look after of his house, and work in his fields. Celie is somewhat happy to marry Mr.__ because she can now remove her younger sister, Nettie, from Pa’s household. However, after Nettie lives in Mr.__’s household for a time without encouraging his sexual advances, Mr.__ kicks Nettie out. Though Nettie promises to write to her sister, Celie doesn’t hear from her. Celie’s life gets worse and worse, as she’s now separated from the only person in the world whom she loves and who loves her back. Celie’s life changes when Mr.__ brings his deathly ill mistress home for Celie to nurse back to health. Mr.__’s mistress, Shug, is everything that Celie isn’t: sexy, sassy, and independent. Celie quickly falls in love with Shug, and Shug falls in love back. For the first time in Celie’s life, she has a chance to enjoy sex, romance, and friendship. Together with Shug, Celie discovers the mystery of Nettie’s silence for so many decades: Mr.__ has been hiding all of Nettie’s letters in his locked trunk. When Celie finds her sister’s letters, it unlocks a new world for her. Instead of being submissive and downtrodden, she realizes the full extent of the abuses she has suffered from Mr.__. This knowledge gives her the strength to leave him. Celie heads off to Memphis with Shug to start a new life. Nettie’s letters transform the way Celie sees the world. From Nettie, Celie learns that Pa isn’t actually her biological father. Celie also learns that Nettie is living with the Reverend Samuel and his family, working as a missionary in Africa. The Reverend Samuel had also adopted Celie’s two children from Pa many years back. Nettie, Samuel, and the children plan to return from Africa soon. Celie learns that Pa has died. She also finds out that the house that Pa lived in actually has belonged to Celie and Nettie since their mother passed away. So now Celie owns a home, which she prepares for Nettie’s arrival. Now an independent woman, Celie remains close friends with Shug, although Shug is not faithful or constant in their romantic relationship. Celie also gains a new friend. After she left Mr.__, he became a changed man. He’s reformed and is now a pretty decent guy. Although Celie isn’t remotely romantically interested in him, they now enjoy each other’s company. After several decades abroad in Africa, Nettie returns with Samuel, who is now her husband, and with Celie’s two children. The sisters have a blissful reunion, and although they’re now old women, we get the sense that they’ve just begun the best years of their lives.

Morgan213 19:34, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Author's Style
Celie speaks in the first person through a series of private letters she writes to God and, later, to Nettie. At first, Celie’s letters focus only on what she does, hears, sees, and feels. Over time, they grow to include more complex themes and insights. Later in the novel, the narrative shifts back and forth between letters written by Celie and letters written by Nettie. However, the letters from Nettie are still read through Celie’s eyes. The tone is very confessional and uninhibited, as Celie’s letters to God are private, much like journal entries.

Morgan213 19:42, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

EXAMPLES

“Dear God,”

This is used at the beginning of each letter. She is writing letters to God like it’s her journal.

Morgan213 19:49, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

“I say, write.

She say, What?

I say, write.

She say, Nothing but death can keep me from it.

She never write.”

This shows she is using first person and what she does and feels.

Morgan213 19:48, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

Setting
The setting is in rural Georgia in the early 20th century and also in Western Africa in a small village in the early 20th century. The book begins about 30 years before World War II. It covers the first half of the 20th century, as Celie goes through thirty or forty years of her life. The setting of Celie’s story is unmistakable among poor blacks in rural areas of the South. As a poor black woman in the rural south, Celie’s bad treatment is largely ignored. Having very little exposure to education or the outside world, Celie lives most of her life very isolated and ignorant.

Morgan213 19:21, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Themes
Above all else, have faith

This theme occured throughout the entire novel. Faith is believing without seeing and there are more types of faith then having faith in God. You can have faith in a person that they’ll never let you down and always be there for you. Celie had faith in God where she wrote her letters to Him.

Morgan213 19:28, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Above all else, have hope

There are many places in this novel where hope is present. Celie hopes that Nettie and her two children that are believed to be dead are still alive. Luckily, it turns out that they are all alive.

Morgan213 19:28, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

When everything seems like a mess, there is a way out

Celie was subject to her “father” at the beginning. Then, she was given to Mr.___. Despite everything that happened with both male abuses, Celie ended up getting out of the relation with Mr.___ and started her own business.

Morgan213 19:28, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Characters

 * Celie - protagonist that is raped by her stepfather and is abused by her husband. She is a poor, uneducated black woman.


 * Nettie - Celie's younger sister that goes to Africa to preach to children and adopts from there. She is a faithful, caring Christian woman.


 * Mr. ______ - Celie's husband that rapes her for years and hides the letters Nettie wrote to her. He is cruel, disgusting, and sneaky.


 * Shug Avery - Blues singer that first appears as Mr. ___'s mistress but then ends up being very helpful to Celie. She is a gentle, assertive mentor.


 * Harpo - Mr. ____'s eldest son that marries Sofia and fails at abusing her. He is weak and abusive.


 * Sofia - Befriends Celie and marries Harpo. She is a strong independent woman who is sentenced to twelve years in jail for assaulting a police officer.


 * Squeak - Harpo's lover after Sofia leaves him. She is a small, mixed girl who is determined to get out of abuse and persue her singing career.


 * Alphonso - Celie and Nettie's stepfather that abuses and rapes them. He is a very mean, abusive liar.


 * Samuel - caring minister that loves to go to Africa as a Missionary.


 * Corrine - Samuel's jealous wife that moves to Africa and becomes very suspicious.


 * Miss Millie - wife of the mayor that asks Sofia to be her maid. She is racist and condescending.


 * Eleanor Jane - mayor's daughter that gets attached to Sofia. She is unjust and has low self-esteem.

Morgan213 19:20, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Symbols
Purple

Celie experiences purple in many different ways. Purple can be expressed as nobility, tranquility, and even depression. Celie was physically and sexually abused, so she experienced purple through her bruises. At the end of the book Celie had a positive interaction with purple when she left Mr. __ and became a successful woman.

Morgan213 19:25, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

God

Despite all the bad experiences Celie has had with men, she still believes God listens to her so she writes letters to him throughout the book. She does believe in God, but doesn’t truly know who God really is. As she began to lose faith in God, Shug influences her to picture God just as she needs him to be.

Morgan213 19:25, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Sophia punching the mayor

Racism happened during the setting of this novel. This was one way that showed how the characters fought back against the prejudice

Morgan213 19:25, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Significance of the Opening/Closing Scenes
The opening of the book foreshadows the entire novel. It starts out with domestic abuse, which is one of the main topics of the book. Celie is raped by her father which shows that not only is the story based on abuse, but is also about a young girl’s cry for help.

Morgan213 19:23, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

The closing scene ties everything in the novel together. Celie is finally independent of Mr. ___ and she is not being taken advantage of anymore. She is honestly free for once. Everything she wanted has finally fallen into place. Since she has written letters to God throughout this novel, the very last word,“Amen” is very appropriate to end the story.

Morgan213 19:23, 5 May 2012 (MDT)

Memorable Quotes
“Us sleep like sisters, me and Shug.”

Celie is recovering from the shock of learning that Mr. ______ has been hiding Nettie’s letters from her. For Celie to overcome her anger, Shug positions herself as a very maternal or sisterly figure that protects and arranges Celie’s outside environment and makes sure Celie does not act on her instinct to murder Mr. ______. As Celie and Shug’s relationship becomes more sisterly and familial, the intimate and sexual side does not disappear. In their relationship, Walker shows sexuality to be a complex phenomenon. Celie and Shug are sexual with one another, but they are simultaneously maternal, sisterly, friendly, and loving. Morgan213 19:38, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

'''“Harpo say, I love you, Squeak. He kneel down and try to put his arms round her waist. She stand up. My name Mary Agnes, she say.”'''

Squeak has just returned from an unsuccessful attempt to release Sofia from prison. The prison warden raped Squeak, and she returns home battered and torn. However, Squeak is not defeated and she decides to reject the belittling nickname, Squeak, that Harpo gave her. She insists on being called by her given name, Mary Agnes. By renaming herself, Mary Agnes resists the patriarchal words and symbols that Harpo has imposed upon her. Walker repeatedly stresses the importance of language and storytelling as ways of controlling situations and as the first steps toward liberation. Mary Agnes renames herself to show her refusal to let the man in her life gain interpretive control over her.

Morgan213 19:38, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

'''“It must have been a pathetic exchange. Our chief never learned English beyond an occasional odd phrase he picked up from Joseph, who pronounces “English” “Yanglush.””'''

Nettie shares with Celie her sentiments about the Olinka villagers. After the Olinka have this “pathetic exchange” with a white man from the English rubber company, the Olinka conclude that it is a waste of breath to argue with men who will not listen. The barrier between the Olinka and the English is so major that both parties readily give up. Samuel later mentions that the only way he and the other Americans could remain in Africa is to join the natives who have fled deep into the jungle and refuse to work for the white settlers.

Morgan213 19:38, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

'''“Well, us talk and talk about God, but I’m still adrift. Trying to chase that old white man out of my head. I been so busy thinking bout him I never truly notice nothing God make.”'''

Celie told Shug she stopped writing to God altogether. Shug tries to put a new understanding of God into Celie’s mind. Since Celie feels she has nothing in common with God, Shug gently suggests that instead of being mad at God for his injustice, Celie should reimagine God as a figure or entity with which she can more closely connect.

Morgan213 19:38, 19 April 2012 (MDT)

“You know Shug will fight, he say. Just like Sofia. She bound to live her life and be herself no matter what. Mr. ______ think all this is stuff men do. But Harpo not like this, I tell him. You not like this. What Shug got is womanly it seem like to me. Specially since she and Sofia the ones got it.”

By the end of the novel, mixing has occured as some characters’ masculine traits have rubbed off onto feminine characters, and vice versa. Shug, for instance, learns from and reciprocates Celie’s gentleness and care, while Celie picks up some of Shug’s sexual assertiveness and follows Shug’s suggestion that she become owner of a business, a traditionally male role.

Morgan213 19:38, 19 April 2012 (MDT)