The Color Purple

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The Color Purple (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)

Walker's third novel, The Color Purple, made her famous, winning both the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award. The novel takes the form of letters: from Celie to God and Nettie, from Nettie in Africa to Celie. The letters afford the characters the opportunity to speak in their own voices, their own unique language. Not only does the language enhance the storytelling qualities of the novel, but the changes in Celie's language also illustrate her emotional growth.

Warned by her father to tell “nobody but God” about his sexual abuse of her, Celie writes letters to...

[The entire page is 1522 words long]

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• The Color Purple (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
• The Color Purple (Censorship (Ready Reference series))
• The Color Purple (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
• The Color Purple (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)
• The Color Purple (Magill Book Reviews)
• The Color Purple (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
• The Color Purple (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
• The Color Purple (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
• The Color Purple (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)

See Also:

• Alice Walker (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
• Alice Walker (Poetry)
• Alice Walker (Short Fiction)
• Alice Walker (Long Fiction)
• Alice Walker (Dictionary of World Biography)
• Alice Walker (Identities and Issues)
• Alice Walker (Women’s Issues)

See Also:

• - For teachers, the The Color Purple Lesson Plan.
• - The Color Purple summary and study guide in the eNotes.