Key themes
- Voice, silence and the recovery of the self
- Women's solidarity as survival
- Race, gender and the compounded burden of oppression
About this book
Celie writes letters to God and to her sister Nettie from the American South of the early 20th century, charting her journey from abuse and silence through love, friendship and creative voice to a hard-won selfhood. Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is one of the defining works of American feminist literature.
Published in 1982, The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award — making Walker the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer.
Discussion questions
- Celie's letters begin addressed to God — the only recipient she believes will not punish her for speaking. How does Shug Avery change her relationship to both God and her own voice?
- The novel is written entirely in letters, in Celie's specific dialect. How does this epistolary form create intimacy with a narrator who has been told she is worth nothing?
- The relationship between Celie and Shug is sexual, spiritual and transformative. What is Walker saying about the relationship between love and liberation?
- Albert begins as a villain and ends as something more complex. What does his transformation say about the novel's moral framework?
- The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize and was immediately controversial — criticised for its portrayal of Black men. How do you engage with this critique — and does it affect your reading of the novel's achievements?
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The Color Purple appears on the following curriculum reading lists.
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