Pulitzer Prize winner, The Color Purple, is a feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman’s struggle for empowerment. Alice Walker introduces us to 14-year-old Celie who has been abused and degraded by her father and the bond she shares with her sister Nettie. Celie manages to survive by living one day at a time. The Color Purple is the story of two sisters—one a missionary to Africa and the other a child wife living in the South—who remain loyal to one another across time, distance, and silence. Beautifully imagined and deeply compassionate, this classic of American literature is rich with passion, pain, inspiration, and an indomitable love of life.
Buy The Color Purple by Alice Walker here!
Discussion Questions:
- How are Celie’s letters to God similar to the African-American slave narratives collected in the 1930s? How are they different?
- What does the way the community reacts to Shug’s illness say about the status of women?
- What role do you think Sofia plays in the novel? Describe her character and how she contributes to the themes in the book.
- Write a diary entry from Celie’s perspective. What might it feel like to be in her position?
