The Color Purple

A detailed Summary of The Color Purple

Rape, incest, sex , forced labor, and a little reefer on the side. These are all of the components of a Novel by Alice Walker. All of these views are illustrated proficiently in Alice Walkers third novel, The Color Purple. Each one of these aspects had a lasting impression upon the ideals and notions of the time. Walker's writing's helped to break the racial barrier that existed in some people's minds.

One way that the barrier was destroyed was through Walker's depiction of an imperfect black person. If a white person wrote about a less than perfect black person than it was considered racist. Now that a black person is writing about other blacks that are foretaking in acts that are, in their eye's, immoral and corrupt, the subject is brought into a new light. These actions are discussed out in the open, and the idea that all people have their own "flaws", is thought to be more fisable. Walker combines all of these issues in her story in a deceptive way.

They all are linked together by way of a semi-believable story line with one major overlaying theme. Prescott sums it up nicely, "Love redeems, meanness kills"(p74). This is illustrated in many ways in Walker's novel. One perfect

Celie starts out in the beginning of the novel as the "slave" to her father. First allowing herself to be raped and bearing his children and taking his abuse. Then on to the abuse that her "husband", Mr.____ shows towards her. Celie takes all of this treatment in stride, this is the only life that she has known. She thinks that since she is only a woman this is the way that she is supposed to be treated. Then, all of the sudden a certain event causes her to dramatically change her course of thinking. This change is caused by the influence of a character that is new to the book. This character gives Celie the love and the respect that she always lacked. Celie was given the sense of being, a sense that she was a real person. A person with feelings, with a heart and a soul. A person that could love and be loved. This person gave her all of these feelings as well as a fresh new start and a new outlook on life. "For Walker, redemptive love requires female bonding." (Prescott) This person became her lover. This person was Shug Avery.

Mr._____ is a good example of one such character. In the beginning of the novel he is a mean, strange old man who only marries Celie because he needs somebody to look after his kids. Mr.______ is really in love with her sister, but their father decides that her sister Nettie is too young for marriage so he settles for Celie. This shows how unfeeling Mr.____ is in the first portion of the novel. He beats his wife and overworks her and rapes her and abuses her. He is an all around bad guy. "First he put this thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it." (Walker, pg. 1,2) However, Mr.____ comes upon a big change in his life when Celie finally leaves him. Mr.____ is left all by himself and forced to survive and maintain himself on his own. Here is where he runs into some problems. Here is where the big change takes place. Mr.____ changes his evil ways and begins to show some compassion and love. The end of the novel depicts a markedly different Mr.____ then the beginning of the novel portrays. In the end of the novel Mr.____ and Celie actually have a civilized conversation and begin to se

Some common words found in the essay are:
Color Purple, Mr____ Celie, Sofia Walker, Shug Celie, Nettie Nettie, Celie Shug, Shug Avery, Celie Mr____, Anonymous Rape, Alice Walker, walker pg, story line, black person, beginning novel, black idiom, sister nettie, walker's novel, celie takes, husband mr____, outlook life,

Approximate Word count = 1544
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English