Although netties letters are indeed quite encyclopedic and contain less raw experience and emotion, they play an important role in the novel. Color purple nettie teaches celie to read an academy award winning motion picture about siblings who were torn apart by challanges and abuse they faced right in there home. For the first time, she realized that the ethiopians in the bible were black. Pdf the color purple book by alice walker free download. The only thing i would change about this book would be the beginning of the exchange of letters between nettie and celie, the first section where it is just about 20. He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it. In the color purple, in the color purple, nettie and celies daughter and son travel and they start to try and raise money for their missionary jobs in africa. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated african american womans struggle for empowerment, the color purple was praised for the depth of its female characters. Unlike celie, nettie is educated and independent of all men. She meets a husbandandwife pair of missionaries, samuel and corrine. There might have been a token of happiness with shug but the end of the book was the first time i really felt that we saw celienettie be happy, and thats why i was so moved by it. In 1983, the book won the pulitzer prize for fiction and the national book award for fiction. Soon the roadbuilders led by the white man decide to demolish the village without any concern for the villagers page 153, as well as uprooting existing orest in order to plant rubber trees.
And now i feels sick every time i be the one to cook. Some justify this approach as epitome of realism and some call it as wanton cynicism. In assessing alberts character, one always returns, ultimately, to his cruelty to celie. Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to mister, a brutal man who terrorizes her.
It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name. Although celie had to leave school after she became pregnant by pa, celie steers pa away from nettie so that nettie can have a better life and continue her education. The novel and the movie a comparison a story that describes life style of the early years of the xx century but most importantly that defines the love and survival of two sisters. There might have been a token of happiness with shug but the end of the book was the first time i really felt that we saw celie nettie be happy, and thats why i was so moved by it. The color purple, alice walker the color purple is a 1982 epistolary novel, by american author alice walker, which won the 1983 pulitzer prize, for fiction and the national book award for fiction. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Separated as girls, sisters celie and nettie sustain their. An african american author alice walker wrote the novel the color purple in 1982. The book vividly portrays the harsh life of rural, poor african americans especially women in the precivil. In 1983, walker became the first africanamerican woman to win a pulitzer prize for fiction with her novel the color purple, which also won the national book award. Parents need to know that the color purple is a moving, inspirational novel told in letters that includes an abundance of mature content explicit sex, rape, incest, sexism and violence toward women, and a lesbian relationship. Celie then turns her attention to protecting her sister, nettie, from her fathers sexual advances. Her other bestselling novels include by the light of my fathers smile, possessing the secret of joy and the temple of my familiar.
Akosua busia is the daughter of kofi abrefa busia, who was prime minister of the republic of ghana from 1969. Separated as girls, sisters celie and nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time. Sometime later in 1938, celie sees strangers on the horizon of her purple flower field and realizes the african visitors are nettie, as well as adam and olivia. The color purple is a novel that should be read by adolescents and adults alike. Nettie is intelligent, resilient, and completely loyal to celie. The character of nettie in the color purple from litcharts. Separated as girls, sisters celie and nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other. By the end of the book, celie removes the notion of god representing a. He hides the letters that nettie writes to celie to hurt both nettie and celie. Nettie, a missionary in africa, and celie, a childwife living in the south, in the medium of their letters to each other and in celies case, the desperate letters she begins, dear god. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 295 pages and is available in paperback format. From this, she also becomes very independent without a man around.
Always update books hourly, if not looking, search in. Albert had to take secondbest, fonsos spoiled daughter. The novel, the color purple, is about the main character, celie, and her sister nettie. Although the olinka men in africa think very little of nettie. The color purple timeline created by chandlerchamb. The first edition of the novel was published in 1982, and was written by alice walker. In her letters to celie, nettie writes that she is lonely, showing that like celie. Some other characters are celie and netties stepfather, celies husband, and celies lover, shug. Free download or read online the color purple pdf epub book. The obstacles that the sisters have to face are very life risking. The interesting thing about this love between the two is that celie also acts like a mother figure to nettie. The color purple study guide contains a biography of alice walker, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and an. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are nettie, albert. General fiction alice walkers masterpiece, a powerful novel of courage in the face of oppression celie has grown up in.
Instead of looking for personal value and meaning through marriage, nettie doesn. Celie is a poor, uneducated 14yearold girl living in the. The colour purple is a relatively recent novel though, so in this case it may be used to add to the sense of realism by blanking the name, it makes you feel as though the author is trying to protect a real persons identity. Nettie is highly intellectual and from an early age recognizes the value of education. The color purple has been challenged multiple times since it published, including most recently in 2017. The color purple flliee walker r tl pulitzer prize winner ik f tl authors. For most of the book, nettie is unmarried and selfsustaining. Book summary alice walkers the color purple weaves an intricate mosaic of women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them, and the children they care for. The color purple is a 1982 novel written by alice walker. Orinoco womble tidy bag and all if you read the book, its a reference to something shug says to celie. Prescott 1982, the color purple is in the category of the great works of literature. Nettie is the person who ultimately brings up celies illegitimate children, olivia and adam, indicating her sense of responsibility. Alice walkers iconic modern classic is now a penguin book.
She says that she thinks god gets angry when you walk past the colour purple in a field and dont notice it. Winner of the pulitzer prize and the national book award. In the climax of the color purple, there is a bit of a twist in the relationship between celie and nettie. It uses detailed imagery to paint a picture of all of the characters, their physical and emotional attributes. Alice walker won the pulitzer prize and the american book award for her novel the color purple, which was preceded by the third life of grange copeland and meridian. The novel is told in an epistolary style, through the usage of 90 different letters written by the characters. She ends up going to africa with them as a missionary. With not having a husband in the picture, nettie is quite happy with her life. She survives a stepfather who rapes her and steals her babies and also survives an abusive husband.
The color purple section 7 summary and analysis gradesaver. This post explain how to deal with the book in essays. With celie getting in the way of nettie having an unhappy marriage life, she is sent on a journey to africa with celies kids. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated african american womans struggle for empowerment, the color purple was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black english vernacular. Nettie finally tells corrine and samuel that her sister is the biological mother of the children. How is the epistolary form used in the color purple by alice walker.
Though younger than her sister, nettie often acts as celies protector. The color purple cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. The the color purple quotes below are all either spoken by nettie or refer to nettie. This is made evident by the void that is left in celies heart when her babies are taken away from her. Thematic significancea responsible womancomparison to celiea nurturing careran underdeveloped character. A girl at church say you git big if you bleed every month. Soon thereafter nettie flees alphonso and briefly lives with celie.
The character of nettie in the color purple from litcharts the. Unmarried for the majority of the book, nettie never judges her personal worth in relation to men. Their mutual love for each other remains steadfast even after the sisters are separated for thirty years without any contact. At this point in the book, nettie has been kicked out of mr.
As a black intellectual traveling the world in pursuit of the uplift of black people everywhere, nettie has a vastly different experience from celie. Despite the tension within the household, nettie does her best to help celie with her lessons along with the other children too. Jan 10, 2009 mister separates celie and nettie from each other. Nettie seeks refuge with a minister and his wife, who adopted celies children. The traditional male and female roles that take place in celies life in the american south often mirror the gender roles in her sister netties african culture. The story reveals that alphonso gave him those children, and that he was not cellies and netties real father. Nettie is the only character who loves celie consistently and unconditionally throughout the entire novel. Nettie seeks the truth from samuel about where the children came from. The word epistolary refers to literary works that written in the form of letters or. Today in schools and churches around the nation, fundraising different things for their club or church to help them either travel or help pay the expenses of things.
However, even though nettie is smart and ambitious, mr. I think one reason why this ending feels so satisfying is because there didnt seem to be any respite from the hardships that celie and nettie were experiencing. Nettie becomes an object of pity and contempt to the olinka people. The color purple is the 1st book in the color purple collection, which also includes the temple of my familiar and possessing the secret of joy. Akosua gyamama busia born 30 december 1966 is a ghanaian actress, film director, author and songwriter who lives in the eu.
Soon, nettie runs away from home and comes to live with celie, where a new problem brews. In the first few letters, celie tells god that she has been raped by her father and that she is pregnant for the second time with his child. I found myself swallowing it whole, reading it cover to cover in one day, and not merely remembering why i liked the book, but loving it once again. She is best known for her role as nettie harris in the 1985 film the color purple alongside whoopi goldberg. Watching the joyful reunion from celies porch, shug notices albert in the distance and recognizes his contribution to celies happiness. In africa, nettie is both admired as a teacher and missionary and despised because she is unmarried and childless. Taking place mostly in rural georgia, the story focuses on the life of africanamerican women in the southern united. Celie and her younger sister, 12yearold nettie, learn that a man. The color purple, novel by alice walker, published in 1982. Despite the attempts to censor it, the novel has received more critical acclaim than any other novel in recent history. She says that she thinks god gets angry when you walk past the colour purplemore if you read the book, its a reference to something shug says to celie. The importance of celie in the color purple celine is the main charter, she grows as an individual and the book revolves around her written letters. In the exposition of the color purple, celie shares a sisterly love with nettie. In both worlds, women are considered inferior and therefore are subservient to the males surrounding them.
The color purple collection 3 book series kindle edition. The book vividly portrays the harsh life of rural, poor african americans especially women in the precivil rights south, and has been criticized for its. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Celie is a poor, uneducated black woman with a sad personal history. At the novels end, the two sisters are reunited, while albert and harpo have learned.
Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sisters letters from her. Celie character analysis in the color purple litcharts. Before she left, nettie had read a lot of books about africa. When they go to memphis, what does celie do for work. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. The color purple by alice walker meet your next favorite book. Despite the numerous attempts to ban the color purple, it continues to find its way onto the shelves of interested readers. The color purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by american author alice walker which won the 1983 pulitzer prize for fiction and the national book award for fiction. In 1985 steven spielberg directed an acclaimed film adaptation of the book. You can say what you want in your the color purple essay. Nettie, still living in africa, marries the nowwidowed man who had adopted her sisters children, thus becoming a mother to her niece and nephew.
The book has been banned from school libraries in the united states between 1984 to 20. In many ways, nettie is the woman she is as a result of celies sacrifices. Sep 08, 2017 color purple nettie teaches celie to read an academy award winning motion picture about siblings who were torn apart by challanges and abuse they faced right in there home. A powerful cultural touchstone of modern american literature, the color purple depicts the lives of african american women in early twentiethcentury rural georgia. And since sisterly love is one of the central themes of the novel, we would expect nettie to be guaranteed a significant role in both plot and theme. Get ebooks the color purple on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. This custom was prevalent throughout the world at the time of the color purples setting circa 1930. Alice walker, the color purple the banned books project.