Alice Walker

The Color Purple

Introduction

The Color Purple is a novel written by Alice Walker in 1982. This novel documented the traumas and trials of Celie. Celie was an African American teenager who was raised in isolation in Georgia. This novel was congratulated on its female characters and its use of Black English Vernacular. Black English Vernacular is spoken by a large population of African Americans and is a dialect of American English. Celie narrates her life through letters. In an Encyclopedia about Alice Walker, it stated that critics, some, agreed with Walker’s beliefs, while many others believed that the novel should be considered a failure of feminists' text because it doesn’t promote a positive image of females.

About the Author

Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1994. Alice was an activist who was known for her wise depiction of African American life and culture. As stated on PBS, “An internationally celebrated author, poet and activist, Walker’s books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry. Walker has written many additional bestsellers; among them, Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), which detailed the devastating effects of female genital mutilation and led to the 1993 documentary Warrior Marks, a collaboration with the British-Indian filmmaker Pratibha Parmar, with Walker as executive producer. Walker’s work has been translated into more than two-dozen languages, and her books have sold more than fifteen million copies.” Alice Walker was very successful, she also acquired many awards and honors in her time.

About the book

The novel, The Color Purple, ended up being the main subject in a big motion picture and Broadway musical. As stated before, this novel documented the traumas and trials of a 14 year old girl named Celie. As stated in an article going deeper into the novel, it says, “The primary theme of The Color Purple, though, reflects Walker’s desire to project a positive outcome in life, even under the harshest conditions. Her central character triumphs over adversity and forgives those who oppressed her. This central theme of the triumph of good over evil is no doubt the source of the book’s great success.” Alice Walker wanted to show that no matter the conditions, you can aim to have a positive outcome in life, despite the situations that come your way.

Why the novel was banned

This novel has been banned in schools all around the country since 1984. It was banned due to its “graphic sexual content and situations of violence and abuse.” This story also contains a lot of controversial content, yet, that is what makes this novel very unique and “real.” When this novel was first published, many high school educators used it for classroom assignments. This led to many unhappy parents and them telling the teachers that it was offensive and inappropriate for highschoolers, due to its sexual and violent conetnt. Also, I found that the book was banned as it “went agianst God” as there was a lesbian relationship that was developed.

I can say that I do not agree with this. I beleive that this novel should be able to be in schools for mature highschool readers. There is a lot to be learned from this novel. If there was an issue, educators could have parents sign off that their children can read the book, as they do for some movies. I find that now we are trying to “hide” more and more from students that could truly teach them a lot. As far as the relathionship that Celia formed, I do not believe that this should be a reason to remove it from all schools. Everyone is able to form their own opinion on that situation, but at the end of the day, parents have to remember that it is a novel used for educational purposes. If the child does not beleive that that is okay, then that is fine, they are just using it for educational purposes.

Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Alice Walker”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Feb. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alice-Walker. Accessed 4 April 2022.

WNET. (2016, March 2). Alice Walker ~ biography and awards. PBS. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/alice-walker-biography-and-awards/2894/

“The Color Purple .” Novels for Students. . Encyclopedia.com. 28 Mar. 2022 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. Accessed 4 April 2022

Marshall, Demi. “Banned Books Week: ‘The Color Purple’.” The Torch, 6 Oct. 2017, Retrieved April 4, 2022 http://www.valpotorch.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_f4529d82-aadc-11e7-87b1 f7674f921188.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Color%20Purple%E2%80%9D%20by%20Alice,book%20so%20real%20and%20unique.