FREE ESSAY ON THE COLOR PURPLE

THE COLOR PURPLE

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a very intense book to read. By intense, I mean it
is a book touching very difficult and hard aspects of life of a poor, black oppressed
woman in the
early twentieth century. Walker does social criticism in her novel, mostly criticizing
the way
black women were treated in the early twentieth century. Walker uses the life experiences
of
Celie to illustrate her social criticism.
The Color Purple is not written in the style of most novels. The author does not tell us
everything about the characters, the setting, and why the characters behave the way they
do. The
novel is written in a series of letters, not dated. There are large gaps between some
letters, but
this is not revealed by the author; we have to figure it out ourselves. The letters are
written in
what Walker calls black folk language, which also reduces the easiness of the reading.
When the novel opens, Celie is a young black girl living in Georgia in the early years
of
the twentieth century. She in an uneducated girl, and writes her letters in common
language. 
Celie is entering her adolescence believing she was raped by her father and that he
killed both of
their children. She writes to God, because she has no one else to write to. She feels
that what
happened to her is so terrible that she can only talk about it to someone she feels
loves
her. She knows her sister Nettie loves her, but she is too young to understand. Celie
believe only
to God may she talk honestly and openly about her suffering. Celie is not, however, at
this point,
complaining to God, she is simply confiding in him.
Celie was born into a poor family; her mother was sick most of the time, mentally and
physically; there were too many children in the family; and Celie was abused by the man
she
believed was her father. Celie feels used and abused, but does not understand why. So
many bad
things have happened to Celie that she lacks self esteem and confidence. Celie does not
even
feel she is worth enough to sign her name at the end of the letters.
Slowly, Celie evolves into a mature woman with great confidence, but not before her
sister Nettie is taken away from her, and she marries a cruel man who really wanted to
marry
Nettie. For a long time, Celie is almost a slave to her husband, until her husband's
mistress
comes to live with them to recuperate from a sickness, and Celie becomes her nurse. Shug
is a
strong woman, and encourages Celie to grow stronger. At the same time, Sofia, Celie's
daughter
in law, shows Celie to stand up for herself and fight prejudice and injustice, and fight.

By the end of the novel, Celie's new strength pays off, because she is able to live
happily
with the people she loves. She reunites with Nettie and her two children, who have been
raised
by Nettie. Celie learned to fight, to stand up for herself, and she was rewarded. Celie
was able to
survive physically and spiritually, and is able to mature into a full, modern twentieth
century
woman.
In The Color Purple, Alice Walker is able to illustrate the abuse, neglect, and
oppression
a black woman had to go through in the early twentieth century, but she also illustrate
how a
woman must fight back to regain the self esteem and confidence lost way back in the
early
adolescent years. The Color Purple is a story about growth, endurance, and fight, all
nurtured by
love.