Book

The Color Purple review

Letters, God, and Color, the little things not so little

A veritable fusion of transformations of people, cultures and
world

 By Sonalika Chaturvedi

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

Orion publication

Rs.399

Sonalika Chaturvedi Page 1

 Book
The Color Purple review

The novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker is written in the first person narrative style. This
epistolary explores self-discovery through the characters eyes as she faces hardships, struggles
and achieves goals through inspiration. This novel written in the first person gives the reader the
feeling of having accessed another person’s mind and the ability to see the intimate side with no
detail hidden. And comes across as different from the traditional I-story as it narrates the story in
between situations where the writer of the letters doesn’t necessarily know the outcome of any
action. Celie who is the narrator and writer of these letters also creates a self-reflecting and
confessionary aspect by using the first person narrative style. Walker’s chosen narrator shows
that all people, including uneducated, poor, victimized black women have an important story to
tell.

The protagonist, Celie, narrates the novel through a series of letters addressed to God as she
attempts to make it through the life she has been dealt. Celie puts her faith instead in the women
around her and the relationships she has built. A story of oppression, the strength of female
bonds, and a consideration of one’s spiritual place in the world, The Color Purple is a novel that
faces the reality of life lived under numerous oppressive forces. As an intersectional discussion
of some of the issues faced by black women in the twentieth century, The Color Purple is
important. Walker demonstrates a strength similar to her characters in choosing not to wallow in
the oppression and cruelty suffered by her characters, to avoid looking always back to a troubled
past. Celie’s solution is an accepting passivity that is finally rewarded with a sense of cosmic
justice when she breaks her own shackles, whereas Walker as the author is the complete opposite
of passive, digging into the societal issues that allow the lives of her characters to be abused in
various different ways from the first page. She challenges ideas of femininity and shows a vast
array of modes of femininity.

Letters
The first half of the book showcases letters by Celie addressed to God talking about things in her
life and that of people around her. This is written from her point of view. The second half of the
book comprises of the letters exchanged between Nettie and Celie. This half shows the
difference in language, grammar and writing styles of both the women and their educational
backgrounds and circumstances they had to face. Celie's letters are not written in regular
English. Celie writes her letters in non-standard language, what Walker has called black folk
language. Thus, at first, Celie's language might seem uncomfortable to some of us. Celie is
uneducated, and she is writing precisely as she speaks and thinks. There is nothing fake about her
writing style. In fact, the most distinctive characteristic about Celie's letters is
their naturalness. There is an incessant stress on the oral sound and sense of what Celie writes,
rather than on the "written" style of the letters. There is also an eager and enduring quality of
honesty throughout Celie's letters. She is writing to God, trusting him as she would trust a best

Sonalika Chaturvedi Page 2

 Book
The Color Purple review

friend for guidance and power to carry on, despite the awful, painful sadness that she feels within
her and all those around her. We should also note that Celie doesn't sign her letters for a long
time, which can be explained by realizing that Celie doesn't think of herself as a person
of adequate worth to sign her name. When we meet Celie, she has very little self-confidence. She
feels detested. No one has made her feel important. Thus, she turns to God but even in God's
company, Celie feels of little worth.

By presenting the story mostly in the form of letters that too, addressed to God and to a sister
Celie may never see again, Walker highlights the need for communication to give voice to one’s
true feelings. The letter format also poignantly highlights the loneliness and the alienation of the
Black women who had no one to confide in, to turn to for advice and thus it is only paper that
can help the characters make sense of their feelings and offer some respite. Moreover, the book
also points out the importance of sisterhood, and shows how female bonding can be more
important than heterosexual relationships and therefore, a crucial tool for personal and
community advancement. When it comes to the plot, the ending may seem more of a wish-
fulfillment than realistic, yet it seems a deliberate move to end the book on a tone of hope and
promise. Yet it is this hope and love that is very vital for the advancement of those oppressed
and marginalized, and The Color Purple gives voice to those who were previously and even now,
denied one.

The transformation
Growing up in poverty, Celie is molested by her step-father and only escapes the cycle of abuse
and pregnancy that marks her teenage years by being married off to a local man named Albert.
He is little better than Celie’s step-father but
when she meets her new husband’s mistress,
Shug Avery, Celie’s I think it pisses God off if you walk by education in life truly
begins. Shug is vibrant the color purple in a field somewhere – a singer, sexually
confident, and smart to and don’t notice it. the world. The pair become
more than friends and Shug gives Celie the skills
she needs to shake off the passivity that keeps her in her old life, and seek reconciliation with her
estranged sister, Nettie, who has ended up living with an African tribe as a missionary by a
strange series of events. When Celie eventually learns of her sister’s fate, she begins to dream of
being reunited and living amongst her family once more. Throwing off all the patriarchal
shackles that have impoverished her life (including the white, male god to whom she writes)
Celie puts her faith instead in the women around her and the relationships she has built.

Sonalika Chaturvedi Page 3

 Book
The Color Purple review

Sometimes funny, mostly heart breaking and yet laced with a fairytale charm, The Color Purple
bravely tackles social issues and should be required reading for all, and especially those who still
choose to turn a blind eye to the abuses and violence perpetrated on account of sexism and
racism.

Sonalika Chaturvedi Page 4