Color Purple

Dear God

A writer must always live with his or her words, especially if they wind up in the big screen. And there is no better example of this idea than Alice Walker in her novel The Color Purple. Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia. As explained by Mason, J., “She is the youngest child of sharecroppers Willie Lee and Lou Grant Walker” (Mason, Pg. 2). When she was eight years old, her brother shot her with his BB gun leaving her scarred and blind from one eye. This mark made her shy and self-conscious, she began to use writing as a means of expressing herself. This accident also affected her relationship with her father, because he was unable to get the proper treatment for her. Her grades also drop after the accident. Because of the noticeable scar in her right eye, she became an easy target for children in her school to tease her without any compassion. She continues her education despite her disadvantage. Alice Walker became one of the leading voices among Black American women writers. The Color Purple Walker’s, most successful and critically acclaimed work. As stayed by Burns, A., “The Color Purple gave Alice Walker her greatest acclaim, but the novel and its movie adaption were not without controversy. Walker was attacked for portraying black men negatively, writing in dialect, and focusing on lesbianism” (Burns, A. Pg. 1). Walker faced major discrimination in the South, but survived suicidal depression, interracial relationships, and illegal abortion. She refuses to conform on society’s expectations; she married a white man, then divorced him and came out as a bisexual. The Color Purple has a lot in common with Alice Walker’s life because she was born in the South in the years when racism was a big issue and women were treated poorly by their husband. As explained by Kellog, A., “The character in The Color Purple were based largely on family members or acquaintances of Walker” ( Kellog, A. Pg 2). Alice Walker earned an American Book Award for the Color Purple. She was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for fiction which she went on to win in 1983. She became the first African-American novelist to win the Pulitzer Prize. As explained by Muellero, M., “Walker’s writings portray the struggle of black people throughout the history, and are praised for their insightful and riveting portraits of black life, in particular experiences of black women in a sexist society, The Color Purple chronicles the life of a poor and abused Southern woman who eventually triumphs over oppression through affirming female relationships” (Muellero, M. Pg 1). I agree with what Muellero M. says about the writing style of Alice Walker. In The Color Purple we could easily see her beliefs on how women were oppressed by men. An example of this in the book is when Harpo is complaining about his wife Sofia with Celie the main character in book. His complaining about Sofia because she does not do everything he tells her to do. He tells Celie, “I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa. When Pa tells you to do something, you do it. You don’t do what he says, he beat you” (The Color Purple Pg. 68). This phrase is a clear image of what Celie has to go through in the novel. The search for religious truth is a large theme throughout The Color Purple. The main character, Celie searches for God throughout the novel, eventually arriving at a conclusion to what and who she believes God really is. There are also two other character in the book that show signs of a religious awakening. These are Nettie, as she goes to work with the white missionaries, and Shung, as she tells Celie all about her beliefs. Christianity is presented in a positive way in the start of the book, but becomes increasingly negative as Celie becomes unhappy with God. For example, all of the letters at the beginning of the book written by Celie are addressed to God. This shows that she believes in god and that she relies on him for support, as she has