The Color Purple
Book report English literature by Elena Hermens, V5B
The color purple, by Alice Walker (original 1983, reprinted version of 1991)
Genre:
Novel
Point of view:
The story is told in the I-narration. The first part of the book consists of letters from Celie to God, like in a diary. After a while there are also letters between Celie and her sister Nettie. The last letter is a letter to God.
Language:
Spoken (black) English, which becomes gradually better English during the book. (Celie is only fourteen when she starts writing to God)
Theme(s):
Abuse, discrimination, slavery, love and freedom.
Characters:
Rounded characters:
• Celie: The novel begins when she is only fourteen years old and ends with her as a older woman. She has two children, Olivia and Adam, and a husband Albert whom she refers to as Mr. ______ for most of the novel. The Color Purple is about the gradual empowerment of Celie as she gets older and eventually achieves freedom for herself.
• Mr. ______ : Also known as Albert. He is Celie's husband and treats her very poorly by beating her and making her work like a slave. He is in love with Shug Avery, and he brings Shug to his house when she gets ill. He eventually reforms by the end of the novel and becomes good friends with Celie on a platonic level.
• Nettie: Celie's younger sister who leaves to join Samuel and Corinne in Africa. She eventually adopts Celie's two children and marries Samuel after Corinne's death. Nettie writes letters to Celie detailing her life in the African village. She finally returns home at the end of the novel.
• Shug Avery: Shug is a singer who makes a great deal of money from her performances. She is loved by both Albert and Celie and is the first person to ever love Celie after Nettie leaves. Shug is crucial to helping Celie first find love and then the ability to leave Albert. She also helps Celie set up her pant business.
• Harpo: Harpo is the eldest son of Albert. He falls in love with Sophia and...
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