Unit 4 Alice Walker &The Color Purple

Major Contents Alice WalerThe Color PurpleBrief Analysis

Alice Malsenior Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender. She is best known for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple (1982) for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Most of her writing portrays the lives of poor, oppressed African American women in the early 1900s. Walker’s novels place more emphasis on the inner workings of African American life than on the relationships between blacks and whites.

1. Early life Born on Feb. 9, 1944, in a small rural town of Georgia. In 1952, her brother Curtis accidentally shot Alice in the eye with a BB gun. The physical result was that Alice lost the sight in her right eye, which developed a disfiguring white scar. Psychologically, she grew more introspective, contending with feelings of sadness, alienation, and betrayal.

2. Education With the help of her great mother, Walker enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1961, where she quickly became involved in the civil rights movement. In 1964, Walker transferred to Sarah Lawrence College where Walker’s commitment to becoming a writer was nurtured.

The African-American Civil Rights Movement The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring Suffrage in Southern states.

After graduation Walker worked for the New York welfare system and learned about Blacks who were evicted from their homes for attempting to register to vote. Married a lawyer (whom she later divorced); (inter-racial marriage) one daughter, Rebecca Grant born in 1969;(political symbol)

3.Works The Third Life of Grange Copeland (1970) Meridian (1976) The Color Purple (1982) The Temple of My Familiar (1989) Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992) By the Light of My Father’s Smile (1998)

4. Awards The Color Purple 《紫色》 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 (the first black woman winner) National Book Award Kindred Spirits 《血缘》 O. Henry Award in 1986 “Humanist of the Year”honored by the American Humanist Association in 1997

II. The Color Purple 《紫色》 Set in rural Georgia during segregation, The Color Purple brings components of nineteenth- century slave autobiography and sentimental fiction together with a confessional narrative of sexual awakening.

The Story ： Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, tells the story of Celie, a Black woman in the South. Celie writes letters to God in which she tells about her life--her roles as daughter, wife, sister, and mother. In the course of her story, Celie meets a series of other Black women who shape her life: Nettie, Celie’s sister, who becomes a missionary teacher in Africa; Shug Avery, the Blues singer her husband Mr. __ is in love with, and who becomes Celie’s salvation; Sofia, the strong-willed daughter-in-law whose strength and courage inspire Celie. Throughout the story, Celie is the center of this community of women, the one who knows how to survive. P.452

Opposing reactions to the novel: The harshest critics have condemned Walker’s portrayal of black men in the novel as “male-bashing”; Some praise her forthright depiction of taboo subjects and her clear rendering of folk idiom and dialect.

A number of male African-American critics complained that the novel reaffirmed old racist stereotypes about pathology in black communities and of black men in particular. Critics also charged Walker with focusing heavily on sexism at the expense of addressing notions of racism in America.

The Color Purple also had its ardent supporters, especially among black women and others who praised the novel as a feminist fable.

III. Brief analysis of the story: Setting ( 背景） Character （人物） Plot （情节） Point of view （视角） Theme （主题） Style （风格） Symbolism （象征）

1. Setting ( 背景） the time, place and period in which the action takes place.

rural Georgia 1930s

Social & historical context: Racism Slavery Sexism

2. Character （人物） The people (or animals, things, etc. presented as people) appearing in a literary work.

Celie, protagonist Celie, protagonist a poor, uneducated young woman, abused by her stepfather Alphonso and husband Albert; Transform into a happy, successful, independent woman through the self-actualization;

Nettie: Celie’s younger sister, whom Albert had originally wanted to marry; Nettie acts as Celie’s protector; Highly intellectual;

Sofia Sofia: a strong and physically imposing woman marrying Harpo, one of Albert’s sons; a victim of slavery

Shug (short for “Sugar”) Avery :Albert’s mistress, a singer; Her relationship with Celie: mother, confidant, lover, sister, teacher and friend.

3. Plot （情节） The plot is the sequence of events or what happens in a story. Many plots contain a central problem (conflict) – something that goes wrong.

Chronological order; Celie’s transformation from a passive girl into an independent woman;

Climax Celie’s forceful assertion of this newfound power, her cursing of Mr. ______ for his years of abuse, is the novel’s climax.

4. Theme （主题） Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

a. Relationships The female relationships are friendly and sisterly and also sexual. Friendly Celie v.s. Sofia Sisterly Celie v.s. Nettie Sexual Celie v.s. Shug

b. Racism The 1930s Georgia was a difficult place to live for black people, due to widely-held prejudices amongst the white population. Slavery was a recent memory.

c. Sexism The majority of the men and women involved in the story are of the opinion that men should dominate women. Harpo feels threatened by his strong-willed, defiant wife, Sofia, and tries to become physically stronger than her so that he can beat her and return things to what he sees as their natural order. Throughout the book, women are degraded by men and treated as second- class citizens. This inequality mirrors the inequality between the races.

Textbook: What does the letter reveal? p

Assignments: Assignments: Qs: 1. Since the novel is entitled The Color Purple, what role does the color “purple” play in the story? 2. Why is the story made up of several letters mainly written by Celie? 3. What kind of point of view is adopted in the story?