Alice Walker's The Color Purple, published in 1982, tells the story of Celie, a Black woman whose journey toward self-realization and growth as a person is filled with many joyous moments, as well as, many moments of tragedy and abuse. According to Dale and John Reed, authors of 1001 Things Everyone Should Know about the South, Southern writers display several characteristics in their writing (Reed and Reed). The most important characteristics that Walker used in writing The Color Purple are: "Sense of Community," "Family," "Love of Storytelling," and "Love of Language." (Reed and Reed)

One of the first characteristics shown in this novel is Walker's love for storytelling. The novel is written in the form of letters. According to David Bradley, "it was an epistolary novel, with most of the letters written by Celie, a black Southern woman, the victim of every virulent form of male oppression short of actual femicide, who eventually finds true love....." (Bradley 32). This novel is clearly written so the reader can see things through the eyes of the main character, Celie. In the beginning of the novel, the letters written by Celie to God are written in first person; she never signs

her name at the end of the letters. When her husband, Albert, brings home his old flame, Shug Avery, Celie's transformation starts to take place. Once a relationship has formed between Celie and Shug, Shug seems to be the major influence that has turned Celie away from God (187-192). After Celie's change in thoughts regarding God, she starts writing her sister, Nettie, exclusively (187). Her loss of faith in God is seen in letter seventy-five: "Anyhow, I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. And act just like all the other mens I know. Trifling, fogitful, and lowdown" (Walker 187). Another milestone in Celie's transformation is shown in letter seventy-eight; Celie begins to sign the letters that are written to her sister, Nettie (Walker 212). As shown at the beginning of the novel, Walker has mastered the epistolary form because the reader begins to see and understand situations as they are happening through the eyes of Celie. These situations are shown only in the form of letter writing which ties beautifully into the storytelling characteristic that Reed and Reed write about.

Another important bond is between Celie and Sofia, the two most abused characters in the book. Their sufferings bring them together in a strong African-American, Southern style, sisterly type relationship. In the past, Celie has only known the importance of standing up for other women in her family. She has willingly protected both her mother and her sister from Alphonso's abuse by sacrificing herself: "I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy sick" (Walker 7). Therefore, at first, Celie is unwilling to help Sofia in her situation. In fact, she happens to be the one that tells Harpo to "Beat her" (Walker 35). When Sofia questions Celie about the advice she had given to Harpo, she admitted her mistake and worked diligently to mend the mess she had created. Immediately after the argument between Sofia and Celie, Sofia offered to Celie that they "make quilt pieces out of these messed up curtains" (Walker 40). From that point on, Celie and Sofia became friends, quilting together, offering advice to each

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1443
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)