The Color Purple

HCOM 324

Ivan Zamora

Maria Orozco

THE COLOR PURPLE

AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY

• Alice Walker (1944)

• African-American

• Novelist and Essay writer (fiction)

• “The Color Purple” (most famous book)

• First African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

• “Over Coming Speechless”

THE COLOR PURPLE

• Novel (fiction)

• Divided into 90 letters directed to God.

• Characters

• Celie

• Nettie

• Alphonso

• Mr. ____

• Shug Avery

• Harpe

• Shopia

• Sqeak

THEMES:

• Violence

• Denigration

• Lack of courage

• Abuse of power

• Gender roles

• Slavery (home, white, fear)

• Sexuality

• Female relationships

• Color

MEANING OF PURPLE

VIOLATION OF INNOCENCE

DENIGRATION OF WOMEN

LACK OF COURAGE

ABUSE OF POWER

GENDER ROLES

SEXUALITY

COLOR

FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS

• What other types of slavery exists other than being own as a property?

• What is role of women in society?

• What is Walker’s message to society?

• Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of Walker’s the color purple.