Published 1982
Set in the early years of the twentieth century.
Questions for you to find the answer (Sparknotes):
- how was the book first received in 1982?
- why is it still important today?
- what are the main themes of the story?
Look up critical responses to find out.
- what is meant by the term 'slave narrative'?
Does it apply to the Color Purple?
Page 3:
1: The book is an epistolary narrative - look it up - what does it mean?
2: What do we learn of the main character from reading this opening page?
3: Her style of writing is phonetic and it could be argued that this style makes the story harder to read - so why choose to do this?
We will now write a short profile of Celie's character:
First of all consider the following aspects of her personality by noting down evidence of the following:
1: Celie's education
2: Her religion and faith
3: Her influences in terms viewpoints, time, people around her.
4: Consider the following statements -
'She spoiled - twice'(Page 9)
'She ugly. He say. But she ain't no stranger to hard work. And she clean. You can do everything just like you want to and she ain't gonna make you feed it or clothe it. (Page 10)
Quote | Page Number | Effect on you | |
Education (what sort of education has Celie already had?) | |||
Religion (her views on it) | |||
Surroundings (What part of USA?) |
Why do you think she refers to Mr___________ by not naming him? Why not use his name?
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
Find examples of where AAVE is used and note them down under 'AAVE' in your notebook.
'All drug out'
'Like it wasn't nothing'
Find the above two references and consider what is wrong with them in terms of grammar. After you have thought about this, move on to the next paragraph below and check your answers.
1: Mixing up the past and present tense.
2: Use of double negative.
Do you see the mistakes now? These are two of the conventions we note when Celie speaks in AAVE. Do you notice any other conventions?
3: Missing out words (Ellipsis)
So you now have three of the conventions employed when writing in AAVE.
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Page 11:
'Pa say, whoever listen to anything Addie Beasley have to say. She run off at the mouth so much no man would have her. That how come she have to teach school.'
What does this say about the prevailing attitude towards women in 1909 Georgia?
Note the position of Georgia on the map above (bottom right), Slavery began 1619 and continued until 1865. The 'deep south' of the USA was considered more predominantly racist than the northern areas of the USA - do you know why this was?
The spread of slavery until 1861
What do you think are the implications for a black family growing up in Georgia fifty years after the abolition of slavery? - write out your answer - 5-6 lines - see how it compares to the statement on the next tab (Page 14 onwards).
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Themes:
Status of Women.
Page 14:
Find examples of where the status of women is addressed on this page (14). What can you find?
1: How does 'He' show his lack of interest?
2: 'Your sister thinking about marriage' - how is this ironic?
3: Why doesn't the kid respect her?
4: What does 'He' offer as a bargaining offer?
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1: Rattles his newspaper
2: She clearly isn't thinking about marriage.
3: She's a woman - therefore her view isn't important.
4: He offers the cow - as if that is more important than the human.
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Page 14:
Celie's description of the brutal sexual act and her being married off is very simple and direct - her lack of detail and obvious sentiment or feeling suggests her character - resilient and stoical - accepting this as 'the way of things'. It is as if she feels there is no choice in the matter. This tells us what it was like growing up as a young black woman in the southern states of the USA in the early 1900s.
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