The Color Purple Essay
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
If you are taking an American Literature course, you may probably be asked to write a The Color Purple essay. This is an acclaimed novel from American writer Alice Walker, which was published in 1982 and received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. Later, the novel was adapted into a film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopy Goldberg, and also a musical, both of the same name. If you wish to try and write your own The Color Purple essay, here are some tips you will find really useful.
A brief summary of the plot
Every time that you have to write a literature essay, it is strongly recommended not to constrain your work to storytelling. That is, knowing that your teacher has already read the book, what you have to do is prove in your English essay you have understood it, that you can make an analysis of your own, and not only that you can repeat descriptions of the characters and summarize the main lines of the plot. However, there are some elements you could include.
The Color Purple mostly takes place in rural Georgia, during the 1930s. It is the story of Celie, a black girl who has always been oppressed by man. Raped by her father, her children taken away from her, she is forced to marry Albert, whom she doesn’t love, and to raise his children. Celie is very close to her sister Nettie. However, both sisters are forced to be apart. At first, it seems that Celie will never gain control over her life, until she meets Shug Avery, a strong woman who teaches many things about life, love, relationships, even God.
Possible topics
You could write a discussion essay on The Color Purple: this novel has been censored often, and it appears on the list that the American Library Association has of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. The contents of this novel are explicit and sometimes violent. A possible topic for your The Color Purple essay would be whether you are for or against censoring this book, and why.
One topic your literature teacher may appreciate is the meaning of the title. The Color Purple appears in many parts of the novel: “I been so busy thinking bout him I never truly notice nothing God make. Not a blade of corn (how it do that?) not the color purple (where it come from?)”.
Other possible topics for The Color Purple essays include: the role of black women in the American society, the importance of love for building up the self-esteem, the role of Africa, etc.
The Color Purple is a wonderful book, and you could write essays based on many of its topics: feminism, African American history, family, friendship, love and homosexuality. However, we understand you probably don’t have the time to read this long epistolary novel before your essay due date comes, so we suggest buying a custom made paper, written especially for you, impossible to track down and with plenty academic value.
