Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Michael J. Meyer (DePaul University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1982

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The Color Purple

by Alice Walker was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983 and two years later was the subject of Stephen Spielberg ‘s Oscar nominated film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. In 2005, the novel was transformed into a musical version that took Broadway by storm and introduced Walker's sympathetic main character, Celie, to yet another generation of fans.

Generally associated with the struggle of black women to gain self-respect and independence, the original novel was written in epistolary form and follows the protagonist, a woman named Celie, over a number of years that bring significant changes to her life. Although she experiences physical abuse and sexual violation at the hands of several male characters, Celie

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4840 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "The Color Purple". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1237, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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